'My lords and gentlemen, I place my cause in the hands of God...May God keep me from having to do with you all again.'

Her Childhood

Born at Linlithgow Palace on December 7 1542, Mary Stuart was the only surviving child¹ of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. She became Queen of Scotland on her father's death - only six days after her birth.

With both pro-English and pro-French groups in Scotland manoeuvring to gain control of the crown, Mary's mother sent her to live with the French royal family in 1548. On 24th April 1558 at age fifteen, she was married to the Dauphin² Francis, who was a year younger than her. A secret agreement was signed that Scotland should pass to France should she die without legitimate heir.

In July 1559, King Henry II of France died and Francis ascended to the throne, becoming King Francis II. Mary was thus Queen of France as well as of Scotland. Her situation was further complicated in that many Roman Catholics regarded her as the rightful Queen of England instead of Elizabeth - as the marriage of Elizabeth's parents (Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn) was seen as illegal by their church. Mary, as grand-daughter of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, was thus held by them to have the strongest claim to the English throne.

In November of 1560 Francis fell ill with an ear infection and died on 5th December after a reign of just 17 months. Mary, a widow at just short of 18 years old, found herself in a predicament - if she remained in France her mother-in-law, Catherine De Medici (who disliked Mary and was jealous of her), would severly restrict her freedom. Being a tall (almost six foot), beautiful redhead, who loved dancing and horse riding and led a very active life, she was unable to accept this and decided instead to return to her native Scotland.

A Turbulent Time

On 19th August 1561, Mary Stuart landed at Leith (the port of Edinburgh), unfortunately her ship arrived earlier than expected and in a thick sea mist. As arrangements for her reception were not in place, Mary spent her first night back in a nearby merchant's home³ before being escorted to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh on the following day.

On taking up her responsibilities as ruler of the Scottish nation, Mary's greatest difficulties lay in the task of walking the tightrope between her own Catholic upbringing and the Protestant reformation which had swept through Scotland. She accepted the advice of her more moderate advisors and recognised the Presbyterian Church, allowing it an endowment but not full establishment. This attitude worried both her Catholic followers, concerned about her apparent lack of support for their cause, and the more extreme Protestant reformers, who were were horrified because she attended Mass in her own chapel at Holyroodhouse. Mary's most vociferous critic was the misogynist preacher John Knox⁴, who had stated that 'a female monarch was a punishment from God for the sins of mankind' and took every opportunity to thunder his disapproval from the pulpit.

Despite this, Mary was popular with the common people. Her policies of non-discrimination and her desire to unify the nation, added to her beauty, obvious love of life and her fondness for sports endeared her to the masses. However, the same policies fomented discord with the notoriously intrigue-ridden nobility who were jealous of any attempt to weaken their power. Whilst this domestic struggle was taking place, Mary and her ministers also had to deal with the problems of keeping good relations with the Catholic realms of France and Spain at the same time as trying to form a friendly alliance with her Protestant cousin Elizabeth and the English government.

As Queen of Scotland, Mary was aware that it was considered to be her duty to marry and provide heirs to ensure the succession, and attempted to negotiate a marriage with Don Carlos, the son of Philip II of Spain. When this scheme failed, Mary accepted her first cousin, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and married him on 29th July 1565 in the chapel of Holyrood Palace. A papal dispensation for the marriage had been sought, as Mary and Darnley were blood relatives, but the ceremony took place without waiting for its arrival.

Why Mary chose Darnley is still argued about to this day - although he was tall and handsome and shared her enjoyment of the amusements of her court, he was four years younger than the Queen and of an unstable and rather petulant character⁵. Despite her quote that Darnley was the 'properest and best proportioned long man that ever she had seen ', it is most likely that Mary viewed the marriage as a political affair and discord soon arose between the royal couple. Darnley, having been refused the title of King of Scotland, grew jealous of the influence of Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio, and was encouraged to act on this belief by a group of the more rebellious nobility. On 9th March 1566 inside the Palace of Holyroodhouse and in the presence of a heavily pregnant Mary, the conspiritors burst in and savagely stabbed the Italian to death.

Mary gave birth to her son⁶ on 19th June 1566 in the royal apartments in Edinburgh Castle, where she had retired for safety. The birth did little to improve their relationship and Darnley did not even attend his son's christening at Stirling Chapel, where the godparents were given as the King of France, the Duke of Savoy and Elizabeth I of England. On 10 February 1567 the house where Darnley was staying at Kirk o'Field⁷ was destroyed in an early morning explosion and the bodies of Darnley and his servant were found strangled close by. It was assumed that he was killed whilst making his escape, and although Mary was attending a masque at Holyrood to celebrate the wedding of one of her pages, she and her lover, Lord Bothwell, were widely suspected of being implicated in the murders.

Bothwell, having obtained a divorce from his wife⁸ and being declared not guilty at his trial for Darnley's murder, married Mary on 15th May 1567. Their celebrations were, however, short-lived. Having retired to Borthwick Castle, they received news that the Lords (both Protestant and Catholic) had united against them. Escaping to Dunbar they raised a strong force and marched to meet their opponents on 15th June at Carbury Hill. No battle took place and Mary was forced into surrender⁹ and was subsequently taken to the Lord Provost's House in Edinburgh and then to Lochleven Castle as a prisoner.

Imprisonment and escape

Lochleven Castle is situated on a very small island near Kinross. At the time, it was in the possession of William Douglas, half-brother of the Earl of Moray. During her captivity on the island Mary fell very ill and suffered a miscarriage - the most widely accepted report is that of her secretary who wrote of stillborn twins who were buried on the island¹⁰. In this vulnerable state Moray forced her to sign abdication papers on 24 July 1567, ceding the crown to her son James. Moray was made Regent of Scotland on 22 August.

Mary did, however, make some friends in the castle - chiefly George Douglas (William's younger brother) and Willie or 'Wee Douglas' (said to be an orphaned cousin but possibly an illegitimate son of William Douglas). With the assistance of the two besotted youths, Mary attempted escape disguised as one of the laundresses who came to the island. Unfortunately, one of the boatmen noticed the white hands holding her cloak and discovered her identity. Following this attempt, George Douglas was sent from the island. On May 2nd 1568, during celebrations and with most of the castle's inhabitants inebriated, Willie Douglas managed to steal the keys of the main gate and accompanied by Mary dressed as a servant girl rowed ashore.