14 tragic facts from the life of the most unfortunate queen in history: Mary Stuart

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Mary Stuart's life was turbulent and incredibly dramatic. And it is not at all surprising that she has become a favorite object of filmmakers and writers, praising and throwing mud at her. As a Catholic, the Scottish queen, raised in France, faced a Protestant wave during her six-year reign. She had no luck with men, and it seemed that fate was against her at every turn. Problems and strife did not subside around the crown. Since Mary was a direct descendant of Henry VII, then, therefore, she could lay claim to the English throne of Elizabeth I. This fact became the main problem in the relationship between Mary and the Good Queen Bess, who became sworn enemies for life.

1. She became Queen of Scots on the sixth day after her birth

Maria was born at Linlithgow Palace near Edinburgh. And six days after her birth, she inherited the throne of her father. James V unfortunately died of an illness that some believe he could have contracted by drinking the contaminated water. As a result, the young newly-made queen could only rely on the honesty of the regents, including her formidable mother, the Frenchwoman Marie de Guise, who ruled on her behalf until Mary was nineteen years old.

2. She got engaged at the age of five

Her mother provided workarounds and married the royal house in France, which was part of the "old alliance" with Scotland. Following the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, France and Scotland have for centuries built a Union based on a shared hatred of England. Therefore, Maria de Guise sent her five-year-old daughter to the French court, where the named Francis, who at that time was only three years old, was waiting for her. For several years, the French court served as Mary's home, filled with intrigue, mystery, luxury and politics.

3. She was queen of France

Her first husband was a young Dauphin, heir to the French throne, Francis II. They got married when Mary was fifteen years old. Their marriage was very short, but quite happy.

After the tragic death of Henry II, young Francis ascended the throne with Mary as his queen. But, unfortunately, he ruled for less than two years, having died from ear disease. After the death of its king, the French court instantly lost all its respect and interest in Mary.

In order not to miss her chance, Catherine de Medici, immediately taking advantage of the situation that had happened, took the place of regent, starting her reign in place of her ten-year-old son Charles. As a result, Maria had no choice but to return to her homeland in order to begin her full-fledged duties there.

4. Her second husband was a jealous despot

Maria understood that her second marriage was of great importance, so she chose as the second spouse Lord Darnley, a handsome man with an excellent pedigree and legitimate claims to the Scottish and English thrones. Despite the fact that she admired his appearance, describing the lord as the most handsome and stately man she had ever seen, their marriage turned out to be a real natural disaster, which entailed a series of tragic events. The new spouse quickly revealed his true face, finding himself an inveterate drunkard, rude, jealous and gulian (it was assumed that he had contracted syphilis).

5. Shocking incident

One of the most tragic moments in the life of the Queen of Scots happened on a March night. Darnley, suspecting Maria and her secretary David Rizzio (David Riccio) in an intimate relationship, literally went off the rails.

As a result, he had an insidious and cruel plan. At night, a group of mercenaries (hired by her husband) burst into Maria's private apartments, killing David right in front of her and her court ladies. The incident for a long time plunged the pregnant queen into shock and this terrible incident she could not forget for a long time. Despite the fact that the lord in every possible way denied his involvement, his accomplices showed Maria his written consent to the murder of Rizzio.

6. She was accused of murdering her husband

Lord Darnley was not in the mercy of many and never enjoyed special love and respect from the public, much less from his own wife. He died under mysterious circumstances - he was found strangled in the garden, after the explosion of the house in which he was allegedly at that time. Nevertheless, the people hastened to point a finger at Mary and the man they considered her lover, the Earl of Boswell (Bothwell). Whether Mary had anything to do with her husband's death or not remains a controversial issue. But there is evidence that a group of Scottish conspirators (without the knowledge or permission of the Queen) had a hand in this.

7. Earl Boswell

However, Earl of Boswell was one of the most ambitious and unloved nobles at the court of the Scottish queen. Accordingly, when her second husband, Lord Darnley, died under mysterious circumstances, Boswell immediately decided to seize the opportunity. After a hastily organized divorce from his first wife, he and eight hundred people met Mary's royal retinue on the way to Edinburgh from Stirling Castle, where her young son lived. The count literally kidnapped Maria, raped her and forced her to marry him.

Nevertheless, many are inclined to believe that there was a romantic relationship between Mary and the count, and that what happened was an invention of the purest water. Their marriage shocked and horrified the Scottish nobles, who distrusted Boswell and used the event to further discredit Mary. Her marriage to the Count more or less marked the end of her reign. In a few months, the queen will succumb to public pressure and abdicate the crown and throne.

8. Escape

Abdicating in favor of her one-year-old son, Mary was imprisoned in Lohleven, in a small castle on an island in the middle of a lake. But she was not going to "play the role" of a prisoner in her own kingdom. Therefore, the former queen began to organize her escape. After eleven months in captivity, she gave her guards wine to drink and, with the help and support of the boys, managed to disguise herself and leave the island. In fact, she walked right out the front door of the castle. The May Day celebrations provided the perfect distraction from her exit and escape. But her freedom was short-lived, as she spent the rest of her life in captivity in England.

9. She spent 20 years in captivity

After Mary abdicated in favor of her young son, son James (Jacob), she escaped to the south of England, hoping that her cousin Elizabeth I would welcome her and help her regain the Scottish throne. But instead of hospitality, Elizabeth actually imprisoned Mary. Since Tudor blood flowed in Mary's veins, her grandmother was Elizabeth's aunt, therefore, the negligent Queen of Scots could easily claim the throne on which Elizabeth sat. As a result, in order to eliminate the threat in the person of her cousin, Elizabeth literally exiled Mary to one of the distant castles scattered across Central and Northern England.

10. Conspiracy and accusation

Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's spy, knew that the former Scottish queen was a major thorn in his queen's path. However, Elizabeth could not so easily order the execution of her cousin.

Therefore, Walsingham had to collect evidence that Mary posed a real threat to Elizabeth's throne. The occasion presented itself when the English Catholic Anthony Babington conspired to overthrow the Protestant Elizabeth, replacing her with Mary, who was a Catholic. Walsingham hired a double agent to forward letters for the former Queen of Scots, so the espionage master knew everything she wrote. When Babington finally contacted Mary and received her permission to follow through, Walsingham jumped at the chance to prove her guilt and involvement in the conspiracy.

11. Maria never saw her son again

Mary, 24, formally abdicated the crown in July 1567. Her young son was crowned King James VI of Scotland, and an entourage of regents will rule the kingdom until he comes of age. Although Maria will live for another twenty years, she will never see her son again. James will grow up to be a Protestant, never really getting to know his mother and not hearing from his own mentor that Scotland did the right thing to get rid of her.

12. Catholic Martyr

When Maria returned to her homeland, having lived in France for almost thirteen years, the religious direction of the country changed. As a Catholic, she had a hard time among those who were on the side of the Protestant wave. An ardent Protestant reformer named John Knox fiercely opposed the Catholic Mary, as well as against female rulers in general.

Mary was not only a political and cultural outsider in her country, but also a religious one. Judging by the last letter she wrote just a few hours before her death, Mary saw herself as a Catholic martyr.

13. Mary had a loyal friend

After her trial for high treason (although, as Mary herself pointed out, she was not an English subject and therefore could not be tried for treason), as a result of the Babington conspiracy, Mary was quickly sentenced to death. On February 8, 1587, she ascended the scaffold erected at Fotheringay Castle and bowed her head with dignity to the executioner. Five hundred spectators watched in horror as the executioner waved his hand several times before finally decapitating her. It must have been a painful death.

According to at least one eyewitness, her little dog was hidden in the folds of her dress and was found in the blood of her mistress in a state of intense excitement, completely refusing to leave "her little hiding place." At the end of her life, Mary still seems to have at least one loyal friend.

14. Her son inherited the English throne

Although Mary was executed because Elizabeth feared that she would usurp her throne, nevertheless, even after her death, Mary left an indelible mark on her cousin's life. Unmarried and childless, Elizabeth named her only son Mary - James, who, after the death of the good Queen Bess, James VI, King of Scotland, also became James I, King of England.

Read also about what often ended marriages in Europe and what really drove people at such moments.