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On February 8, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle after being convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot. From the article:
"Biography of Mary, Queen of Scots
A Tragic Story of British Royalty
Mary, Queen of Scots (December 8, 1542–February 8, 1587), was the ruler of Scotland as well as a potential claimant to the throne of England. Her tragic life included two disastrous marriages, imprisonment, and eventual execution by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Fast Facts: Mary, Queen of Scots
Known For: Queen of Scotland and cousin to Queen Elizabeth I who eventually had Mary executed
Also Known As: Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart
Born: December 8, 1542 in Linlithgow Palace, Scotland
Parents: King James V and his French second wife, Mary of Guise
Died: February 8, 1587 in Fotheringhay Castle, England
Education: Extensive private education including instruction in Latin, Greek, poetry and prose, horsemanship, needlework falconry, Spanish, Greek, and French
Spouse(s): Francis II, Dauphin of France, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell
Children: James VI of England (also James I of Scotland)
Notable Quote: Mary's last words are recorded as: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” (“Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit”)
Early Life
The mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, was Mary of Guise (Mary of Lorraine) and her father was James V of Scotland, each in their second marriage. Mary was born on December 8, 1542, and her father James died on December 14, so the infant Mary became queen of Scotland when she was just a week old.
James Hamilton, Duke of Arran, was made regent for Mary, Queen of Scots, and he arranged a betrothal with Prince Edward, the son of Henry VIII of England. But Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, was in favor of an alliance with France instead of England, and she worked to overturn this betrothal and instead arranged for Mary to be promised in marriage to France's dauphin, Francis.
The young Mary, Queen of Scots, only 5 years old, was sent to France in 1548 to be raised as the future queen of France. She married Francis in 1558, and in July 1559, when his father Henry II died, Francis II became king and Mary became queen consort of France.
Mary's Claim to the English Throne
Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart (she took the French spelling rather than the Scottish Stewart), was the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor; Margaret was the older sister of Henry VIII of England. In the view of many Catholics, the divorce of Henry VIII from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his marriage to Anne Boleyn were invalid, and the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth, was therefore illegitimate. Mary, Queen of Scots, in their eyes, was the rightful heir of Mary I of England, Henry VIII's daughter by his first wife.
When Mary I died in 1558, Mary, Queen of Scots, and her husband Francis asserted their right to the English crown, but the English recognized Elizabeth as the heir. Elizabeth, a Protestant, supported the Protestant Reformation in Scotland as well as in England.
Mary Stuart's time as queen of France was very short. When Francis died, his mother Catherine de Medici assumed the role of regent for his brother, Charles IX. Mary's mother's family, the Guise relatives, had lost their power and influence, and so Mary Stuart returned to Scotland, where she could rule in her own right as queen.
Mary in Scotland
In 1560, Mary's mother died, in the middle of a civil war she stirred up by attempting to suppress the Protestants, including John Knox. After the death of Mary of Guise, the Catholic and Protestant nobles of Scotland signed a treaty recognizing Elizabeth's right to rule in England. But Mary Stuart, returning to Scotland, managed to avoid signing or endorsing either the treaty or recognition of her cousin Elizabeth.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was herself a Catholic and insisted on her freedom to practice her religion. But she did not interfere with Protestantism's role in Scottish life. John Knox, a powerful Presbyterian during Mary's rule, nevertheless denounced her power and influence.
Marriage to Darnley
Mary, Queen of Scots, held on to hopes of claiming the English throne which she considered hers by right. She turned down Elizabeth's suggestion that she marry Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's favorite, and be recognized as Elizabeth's heir. Instead, in 1565 she married her first cousin, Lord Darnley, in a Roman Catholic ceremony.
Darnley, another grandson of Margaret Tudor and heir of another family with a claim to the Scottish throne, was in the Catholic perspective the next in line to Elizabeth's throne after Mary Stuart herself.
Many believed that Mary's match with Darnley was impetuous and unwise. Lord James Stuart, the Earl of Moray, who was Mary's half-brother (his mother was King James' mistress), opposed Mary's marriage to Darnley. Mary personally led troops in the "chase-about raid," chasing Moray and his supporters to England, outlawing them and seizing their estates.
Mary vs. Darnley
While Mary, Queen of Scots, was at first charmed by Darnley, their relationship soon became strained. Already pregnant by Darnley, Mary, Queen of Scots, began to place trust and friendship in her Italian secretary, David Rizzio, who in turn treated Darnley and the other Scottish nobles with contempt. On March 9, 1566, Darnley and the nobles murdered Rizzio, planning that Darnley would put Mary Stuart in prison and rule in her place.
But Mary outwitted the plotters: she convinced Darnley of her commitment to him, and together they escaped. James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who had supported her mother in her battles with the Scottish nobles, provided 2,000 soldiers, and Mary took Edinburgh from the rebels. Darnley tried to deny his role in the rebellion, but the others produced a paper that he had signed promising to restore Moray and his fellow exiles to their lands when the murder was complete.
Three months after Rizzio's murder, James, the son of Darnley and Mary Stuart, was born. Mary pardoned the exiles and allowed them to return to Scotland. Darnley, motivated by Mary's split from him and by his expectations that the exiled nobles would hold his denial against him, threatened to create a scandal and leave Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, was apparently by this time in love with Bothwell.
The Death of Darnley—and Another Marriage
Mary Stuart explored ways to escape from her marriage. Bothwell and the nobles assured her that they would find a way for her to do so. Months later, on February 10, 1567, Darnley was staying at a house in Edinburgh, possibly recovering from smallpox. He awakened to an explosion and fire. The bodies of Darnley and his page were found in the garden of the house, strangled.
The public blamed Bothwell for the death of Darnley. Bothwell faced charges at a private trial where no witnesses were called. He told others that Mary had agreed to marry him, and he got the other nobles to sign a paper asking her to do so. Immediate marriage, however, would violate any number of etiquette and legal rules. Bothwell was already married, and Mary would be expected to formally mourn her late husband Darnley for a few months at least.
Before the official period of mourning was complete, Bothwell kidnapped Mary; many suspected that the event occurred with her cooperation. His wife divorced him for infidelity. Mary Stuart announced that, despite her kidnapping, she trusted Bothwell's loyalty and would agree with the nobles who urged her to marry him. Under threat of being hanged, a minister published the banns, and Bothwell and Mary were married on Mary 15, 1567.
Mary, Queen of Scots, subsequently attempted to give Bothwell more authority, but this was met with outrage. Letters (whose authenticity is questioned by some historians) were found tying Mary and Bothwell to Darnley's murder.
Fleeing to England
Mary abdicated the throne of Scotland, making her year-old son James VI, King of Scotland. Moray was appointed regent. Mary Stuart later repudiated the abdication and attempted to regain her power by force, but in May 1568, her forces were defeated. She was forced to flee to England, where she asked her cousin Elizabeth for vindication.
Elizabeth deftly dealt with the charges against Mary and Moray: she found Mary not guilty of murder and Moray not guilty of treason. She recognized Moray's regency, and she did not allow Mary Stuart to leave England.
For nearly 20 years, Mary, Queen of Scots, remained in England, plotting to free herself, to assassinate Elizabeth, and to gain the crown with the help of an invading Spanish army. Three separate conspiracies were launched, discovered, and squelched.
Death
In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought to trial on charges of treason in Fotheringay castle. She was found guilty and, three months later, Elizabeth signed the death warrant. Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed by beheading on February 8, 1587.
Legacy
The story of Mary, Queen of Scots, is still well known more than 400 years after her death. But while her life story is fascinating, her most significant legacy resulted from the birth of her son, James VI. James made it possible for the Stuart line to continue, and for Scotland, Ireland, and England to unite through the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Famous Quotes
The best-known quotations from Mary, Queen of Scots, relate to her trial and execution.
To those who stood in judgment of her relative to accusations of plotting against Elizabeth: "Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the whole world is wider than the kingdom of England."
To those executing her: "I forgive you with all my heart, for now, I hope, you shall make an end of all my troubles."
Last words, prior to beheading: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum ("Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit")."
"Biography of Mary, Queen of Scots
A Tragic Story of British Royalty
Mary, Queen of Scots (December 8, 1542–February 8, 1587), was the ruler of Scotland as well as a potential claimant to the throne of England. Her tragic life included two disastrous marriages, imprisonment, and eventual execution by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Fast Facts: Mary, Queen of Scots
Known For: Queen of Scotland and cousin to Queen Elizabeth I who eventually had Mary executed
Also Known As: Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart
Born: December 8, 1542 in Linlithgow Palace, Scotland
Parents: King James V and his French second wife, Mary of Guise
Died: February 8, 1587 in Fotheringhay Castle, England
Education: Extensive private education including instruction in Latin, Greek, poetry and prose, horsemanship, needlework falconry, Spanish, Greek, and French
Spouse(s): Francis II, Dauphin of France, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell
Children: James VI of England (also James I of Scotland)
Notable Quote: Mary's last words are recorded as: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” (“Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit”)
Early Life
The mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, was Mary of Guise (Mary of Lorraine) and her father was James V of Scotland, each in their second marriage. Mary was born on December 8, 1542, and her father James died on December 14, so the infant Mary became queen of Scotland when she was just a week old.
James Hamilton, Duke of Arran, was made regent for Mary, Queen of Scots, and he arranged a betrothal with Prince Edward, the son of Henry VIII of England. But Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, was in favor of an alliance with France instead of England, and she worked to overturn this betrothal and instead arranged for Mary to be promised in marriage to France's dauphin, Francis.
The young Mary, Queen of Scots, only 5 years old, was sent to France in 1548 to be raised as the future queen of France. She married Francis in 1558, and in July 1559, when his father Henry II died, Francis II became king and Mary became queen consort of France.
Mary's Claim to the English Throne
Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart (she took the French spelling rather than the Scottish Stewart), was the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor; Margaret was the older sister of Henry VIII of England. In the view of many Catholics, the divorce of Henry VIII from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his marriage to Anne Boleyn were invalid, and the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth, was therefore illegitimate. Mary, Queen of Scots, in their eyes, was the rightful heir of Mary I of England, Henry VIII's daughter by his first wife.
When Mary I died in 1558, Mary, Queen of Scots, and her husband Francis asserted their right to the English crown, but the English recognized Elizabeth as the heir. Elizabeth, a Protestant, supported the Protestant Reformation in Scotland as well as in England.
Mary Stuart's time as queen of France was very short. When Francis died, his mother Catherine de Medici assumed the role of regent for his brother, Charles IX. Mary's mother's family, the Guise relatives, had lost their power and influence, and so Mary Stuart returned to Scotland, where she could rule in her own right as queen.
Mary in Scotland
In 1560, Mary's mother died, in the middle of a civil war she stirred up by attempting to suppress the Protestants, including John Knox. After the death of Mary of Guise, the Catholic and Protestant nobles of Scotland signed a treaty recognizing Elizabeth's right to rule in England. But Mary Stuart, returning to Scotland, managed to avoid signing or endorsing either the treaty or recognition of her cousin Elizabeth.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was herself a Catholic and insisted on her freedom to practice her religion. But she did not interfere with Protestantism's role in Scottish life. John Knox, a powerful Presbyterian during Mary's rule, nevertheless denounced her power and influence.
Marriage to Darnley
Mary, Queen of Scots, held on to hopes of claiming the English throne which she considered hers by right. She turned down Elizabeth's suggestion that she marry Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's favorite, and be recognized as Elizabeth's heir. Instead, in 1565 she married her first cousin, Lord Darnley, in a Roman Catholic ceremony.
Darnley, another grandson of Margaret Tudor and heir of another family with a claim to the Scottish throne, was in the Catholic perspective the next in line to Elizabeth's throne after Mary Stuart herself.
Many believed that Mary's match with Darnley was impetuous and unwise. Lord James Stuart, the Earl of Moray, who was Mary's half-brother (his mother was King James' mistress), opposed Mary's marriage to Darnley. Mary personally led troops in the "chase-about raid," chasing Moray and his supporters to England, outlawing them and seizing their estates.
Mary vs. Darnley
While Mary, Queen of Scots, was at first charmed by Darnley, their relationship soon became strained. Already pregnant by Darnley, Mary, Queen of Scots, began to place trust and friendship in her Italian secretary, David Rizzio, who in turn treated Darnley and the other Scottish nobles with contempt. On March 9, 1566, Darnley and the nobles murdered Rizzio, planning that Darnley would put Mary Stuart in prison and rule in her place.
But Mary outwitted the plotters: she convinced Darnley of her commitment to him, and together they escaped. James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who had supported her mother in her battles with the Scottish nobles, provided 2,000 soldiers, and Mary took Edinburgh from the rebels. Darnley tried to deny his role in the rebellion, but the others produced a paper that he had signed promising to restore Moray and his fellow exiles to their lands when the murder was complete.
Three months after Rizzio's murder, James, the son of Darnley and Mary Stuart, was born. Mary pardoned the exiles and allowed them to return to Scotland. Darnley, motivated by Mary's split from him and by his expectations that the exiled nobles would hold his denial against him, threatened to create a scandal and leave Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, was apparently by this time in love with Bothwell.
The Death of Darnley—and Another Marriage
Mary Stuart explored ways to escape from her marriage. Bothwell and the nobles assured her that they would find a way for her to do so. Months later, on February 10, 1567, Darnley was staying at a house in Edinburgh, possibly recovering from smallpox. He awakened to an explosion and fire. The bodies of Darnley and his page were found in the garden of the house, strangled.
The public blamed Bothwell for the death of Darnley. Bothwell faced charges at a private trial where no witnesses were called. He told others that Mary had agreed to marry him, and he got the other nobles to sign a paper asking her to do so. Immediate marriage, however, would violate any number of etiquette and legal rules. Bothwell was already married, and Mary would be expected to formally mourn her late husband Darnley for a few months at least.
Before the official period of mourning was complete, Bothwell kidnapped Mary; many suspected that the event occurred with her cooperation. His wife divorced him for infidelity. Mary Stuart announced that, despite her kidnapping, she trusted Bothwell's loyalty and would agree with the nobles who urged her to marry him. Under threat of being hanged, a minister published the banns, and Bothwell and Mary were married on Mary 15, 1567.
Mary, Queen of Scots, subsequently attempted to give Bothwell more authority, but this was met with outrage. Letters (whose authenticity is questioned by some historians) were found tying Mary and Bothwell to Darnley's murder.
Fleeing to England
Mary abdicated the throne of Scotland, making her year-old son James VI, King of Scotland. Moray was appointed regent. Mary Stuart later repudiated the abdication and attempted to regain her power by force, but in May 1568, her forces were defeated. She was forced to flee to England, where she asked her cousin Elizabeth for vindication.
Elizabeth deftly dealt with the charges against Mary and Moray: she found Mary not guilty of murder and Moray not guilty of treason. She recognized Moray's regency, and she did not allow Mary Stuart to leave England.
For nearly 20 years, Mary, Queen of Scots, remained in England, plotting to free herself, to assassinate Elizabeth, and to gain the crown with the help of an invading Spanish army. Three separate conspiracies were launched, discovered, and squelched.
Death
In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought to trial on charges of treason in Fotheringay castle. She was found guilty and, three months later, Elizabeth signed the death warrant. Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed by beheading on February 8, 1587.
Legacy
The story of Mary, Queen of Scots, is still well known more than 400 years after her death. But while her life story is fascinating, her most significant legacy resulted from the birth of her son, James VI. James made it possible for the Stuart line to continue, and for Scotland, Ireland, and England to unite through the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Famous Quotes
The best-known quotations from Mary, Queen of Scots, relate to her trial and execution.
To those who stood in judgment of her relative to accusations of plotting against Elizabeth: "Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the whole world is wider than the kingdom of England."
To those executing her: "I forgive you with all my heart, for now, I hope, you shall make an end of all my troubles."
Last words, prior to beheading: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum ("Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit")."
Biography of Mary, Queen of Scots
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8th February 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
Having been imprisoned for 19 years in a variety of castles and manor houses, Mary was accused and found guilty of plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth I of Engl...
Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on February 8, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle after being convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot.
8th February 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
"Having been imprisoned for 19 years in a variety of castles and manor houses, Mary was accused and found guilty of plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1586.
Mary was put under house arrest in 1568 as she was a threat to Elizabeth, due to her strong claim to the English throne through her paternal grandmother Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister). Furthermore Mary was a rallying point for Catholic and Spanish plots that sought to overthrow Elizabeth and install her as the new queen of England. Mary herself didn’t hide her belief that she should be queen, as Catholics viewed Elizabeth as illegitimate due to her being born to Anne Boleyn – Henry VIII’s wife after his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
Mary’s imprisonment continued until a case could be made against her. She was finally charged with treason, despite not being an English citizen, after the spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham intercepted coded letters in which Mary approved of the Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Mary’s trial took place in October 1586, and she was convicted on the 25th. However, Elizabeth was reluctant to sign the death warrant and didn’t do so for over three months.
On the 8th February 1587, Mary made her way from her chambers to the scaffold that had been erected in Fotheringhay Castle’s great hall. It took the executioner three strokes of his axe to behead her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTNIBYVA2I
Images:
1. Mary Stuart and Lord Darnley
2. The abdication of Mary Queen of Scots in 1568
3. Mary with her son, later James I
4. Mary Stuart
Biographies
1. historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Mary-Queen-of-Scots/
2. royal.uk/mary-queen-scots-r1542-1567]
1. Background from [https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Mary-Queen-of-Scots/]
Biography of Mary Queen of Scots
by Ellen Castelow
Mary, Queen of Scots is perhaps the best known figure in Scotland’s royal history. Her life provided tragedy and romance, more dramatic than any legend.
She was born in 1542 a week before her father, King James V of Scotland, died prematurely.
It was initially arranged for Mary to marry the English King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward; however the Scots refused to ratify the agreement. None too pleased by this, Henry sought to change their mind through a show of force, a war between Scotland and England… the so called ‘Rough Wooing’. In the middle of this, Mary was sent to France in 1548 to be the bride of the Dauphin, the young French prince, in order to secure a Catholic alliance against Protestant England. In 1561, after the Dauphin, still in his teens, died, Mary reluctantly returned to Scotland, a young and beautiful widow.
Scotland at this time was in the throes of the Reformation and a widening Protestant – Catholic split. A Protestant husband for Mary seemed the best chance for stability. Mary fell passionately in love with Henry, Lord Darnley, but it was not a success. Darnley was a weak man and soon became a drunkard as Mary ruled entirely alone and gave him no real authority in the country.
Darnley became jealous of Mary’s secretary and favourite, David Riccio. He, together with others, murdered Riccio in front of Mary in Holyrood House. She was six months pregnant at the time.
Her son, the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England, was baptised in the Catholic faith in Stirling Castle. This caused alarm amongst the Protestants.
Lord Darnley, Mary’s husband, later died in mysterious circumstances in Edinburgh, when the house he was lodging in was blown up one night in February 1567. His body was found in the garden of the house after the explosion, but he had been strangled!
Mary had now become attracted to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and rumours abounded at Court that she was pregnant by him. Bothwell was accused of Darnley’s murder but was found not guilty. Shortly after he was acquitted, Mary and Bothwell were married. The Lords of Congregation did not approve of Mary’s liaison with Bothwell and she was imprisoned in Leven Castle where she gave birth to still-born twins.
Bothwell meanwhile had bid Mary goodbye and fled to Dunbar. She never saw him again. He died in Denmark, insane, in 1578.
In May 1568 Mary escaped from Leven Castle. She gathered together a small army but was defeated at Langside by the Protestant faction. Mary then fled to England.
In England she became a political pawn in the hands of Queen Elizabeth I and was imprisoned for 19 years in various castles in England. Mary was found to be plotting against Elizabeth; letters in code, from her to others, were found and she was deemed guilty of treason.
She was taken to Fotheringhay Castle and executed in 1587. It is said that after her execution, when the executioner raised the head for the crowd to see, it fell and he was left holding only Mary’s wig. Mary was intially buried at nearby Peterborough Cathedral.
Mary’s son became James I of England and VI of Scotland after Elizabeth’s death in 1603. Although James would have had no personal memories of his mother, in 1612 he had Mary’s body exhumed from Peterborough and reburied in a place of honour at Westminster Abbey. At the same time he rehoused Queen Elizabeth to a rather less prominent tomb nearby"
2. Background from [https://www.royal.uk/mary-queen-scots-r1542-1567]
Her claims to the throne of England were almost as strong as her claims to the Scottish throne. As Henry VII of England's great-granddaughter, Mary was next in line to the English throne, after Henry VIII's children.
Given her youth and sex, the Scottish nobility decided that they must make peace with England, and they agreed that she should marry Henry VIII's son, the future Edward VI.
No sooner had the treaty been arranged, however, than Catholics opposed to the plan took the young Mary to Stirling Castle and, to Henry's fury, they broke the match, preferring to return to Scotland's traditional alliance with France.
Henry thereupon ordered the savage series of raids into Scotland known as 'The Rough Wooing'. His army set fire to the Abbey of Holyroodhouse where James V was buried, burned crops in the Tweed Valley and set ablaze the Border abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.
Undeterred, the Scots in 1548 betrothed Mary to the French King Henri II's heir, the Dauphin Francis, and sent her to be brought up at the French Court. It is said that the spelling of the royal family name of Stewart changed to Stuart at that time, to suit French conventional spelling.
Tall, graceful and quick-witted, Mary married the Dauphin in Paris on 24 April 1558. He succeeded to his father's throne in 1559, making Mary Queen of France as well as Scotland, but his reign was brief for he died of an ear infection in 1560.
The following year, despite the warnings of her friends, Mary decided to go back to Scotland, now an officially Protestant country after religious reforms led by John Knox.
She was a Roman Catholic, but her half-brother, Lord James Stewart, later Earl of Moray, had assured her that she would be allowed to worship as she wished and in August 1561 she returned, to an unexpectedly warm welcome from her Protestant subjects.
At first Mary ruled successfully and with moderation, advised by Lord James and William Maitland of Lethington, a subtle diplomat. However, her marriage in 1565 to her second cousin Henry, Lord Darnley (great-grandson of Henry VII) initiated a tragic series of events made worse by factious Scottish nobles.
Spoiled and petulant, Darnley became the tool of Mary's enemies and, with a group of conspirators, burst into her supper chamber, threatened the heavily pregnant queen and murdered her secretary, David Riccio, on 9 March 1566 inside the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The birth of Mary and Darnley's son James that summer did nothing to improve their relationship, and when Darnley was murdered at Kirk o'Field, just outside the walls of Edinburgh on 10 February 1567, people suspected that she was implicated in the crime.
Her subsequent marriage three months later to the Earl of Bothwell (generally believed to be the principal murderer) brought her inevitable ruin. Her Protestant Lords rose against her and her army confronted theirs at Carberry Hill, near Edinburgh, on 15 June 1567.
She surrendered, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Kinross-shire and forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. Bothwell fled to Scandinavia, where he was arrested and held prisoner until his death.
Mary escaped from Lochleven in 1568, only to be defeated at the Battle of Langside, near Glasgow, on 13 May. Fleeing south, she sought shelter in England, believing that Queen Elizabeth I would support her cause, but instead she was kept in captivity in England for 19 years.
The focus of a long series of Roman Catholic plots against Elizabeth, culminating in the Babington Plot to assassinate the English queen, led to Elizabeth's ministers demanding Mary's execution: 'so long as there is life in her, there is hope; so as they live in hope, we live in fear'.
Mary was finally executed at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February 1587, at the age of 44.
She was buried in Peterborough Cathedral, but in 1612 her son James VI and I had her body exhumed and placed in the vault of King Henry VII's Chapel in Westminster Abbey."
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8th February 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
"Having been imprisoned for 19 years in a variety of castles and manor houses, Mary was accused and found guilty of plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1586.
Mary was put under house arrest in 1568 as she was a threat to Elizabeth, due to her strong claim to the English throne through her paternal grandmother Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister). Furthermore Mary was a rallying point for Catholic and Spanish plots that sought to overthrow Elizabeth and install her as the new queen of England. Mary herself didn’t hide her belief that she should be queen, as Catholics viewed Elizabeth as illegitimate due to her being born to Anne Boleyn – Henry VIII’s wife after his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
Mary’s imprisonment continued until a case could be made against her. She was finally charged with treason, despite not being an English citizen, after the spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham intercepted coded letters in which Mary approved of the Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Mary’s trial took place in October 1586, and she was convicted on the 25th. However, Elizabeth was reluctant to sign the death warrant and didn’t do so for over three months.
On the 8th February 1587, Mary made her way from her chambers to the scaffold that had been erected in Fotheringhay Castle’s great hall. It took the executioner three strokes of his axe to behead her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTNIBYVA2I
Images:
1. Mary Stuart and Lord Darnley
2. The abdication of Mary Queen of Scots in 1568
3. Mary with her son, later James I
4. Mary Stuart
Biographies
1. historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Mary-Queen-of-Scots/
2. royal.uk/mary-queen-scots-r1542-1567]
1. Background from [https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Mary-Queen-of-Scots/]
Biography of Mary Queen of Scots
by Ellen Castelow
Mary, Queen of Scots is perhaps the best known figure in Scotland’s royal history. Her life provided tragedy and romance, more dramatic than any legend.
She was born in 1542 a week before her father, King James V of Scotland, died prematurely.
It was initially arranged for Mary to marry the English King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward; however the Scots refused to ratify the agreement. None too pleased by this, Henry sought to change their mind through a show of force, a war between Scotland and England… the so called ‘Rough Wooing’. In the middle of this, Mary was sent to France in 1548 to be the bride of the Dauphin, the young French prince, in order to secure a Catholic alliance against Protestant England. In 1561, after the Dauphin, still in his teens, died, Mary reluctantly returned to Scotland, a young and beautiful widow.
Scotland at this time was in the throes of the Reformation and a widening Protestant – Catholic split. A Protestant husband for Mary seemed the best chance for stability. Mary fell passionately in love with Henry, Lord Darnley, but it was not a success. Darnley was a weak man and soon became a drunkard as Mary ruled entirely alone and gave him no real authority in the country.
Darnley became jealous of Mary’s secretary and favourite, David Riccio. He, together with others, murdered Riccio in front of Mary in Holyrood House. She was six months pregnant at the time.
Her son, the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England, was baptised in the Catholic faith in Stirling Castle. This caused alarm amongst the Protestants.
Lord Darnley, Mary’s husband, later died in mysterious circumstances in Edinburgh, when the house he was lodging in was blown up one night in February 1567. His body was found in the garden of the house after the explosion, but he had been strangled!
Mary had now become attracted to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and rumours abounded at Court that she was pregnant by him. Bothwell was accused of Darnley’s murder but was found not guilty. Shortly after he was acquitted, Mary and Bothwell were married. The Lords of Congregation did not approve of Mary’s liaison with Bothwell and she was imprisoned in Leven Castle where she gave birth to still-born twins.
Bothwell meanwhile had bid Mary goodbye and fled to Dunbar. She never saw him again. He died in Denmark, insane, in 1578.
In May 1568 Mary escaped from Leven Castle. She gathered together a small army but was defeated at Langside by the Protestant faction. Mary then fled to England.
In England she became a political pawn in the hands of Queen Elizabeth I and was imprisoned for 19 years in various castles in England. Mary was found to be plotting against Elizabeth; letters in code, from her to others, were found and she was deemed guilty of treason.
She was taken to Fotheringhay Castle and executed in 1587. It is said that after her execution, when the executioner raised the head for the crowd to see, it fell and he was left holding only Mary’s wig. Mary was intially buried at nearby Peterborough Cathedral.
Mary’s son became James I of England and VI of Scotland after Elizabeth’s death in 1603. Although James would have had no personal memories of his mother, in 1612 he had Mary’s body exhumed from Peterborough and reburied in a place of honour at Westminster Abbey. At the same time he rehoused Queen Elizabeth to a rather less prominent tomb nearby"
2. Background from [https://www.royal.uk/mary-queen-scots-r1542-1567]
Her claims to the throne of England were almost as strong as her claims to the Scottish throne. As Henry VII of England's great-granddaughter, Mary was next in line to the English throne, after Henry VIII's children.
Given her youth and sex, the Scottish nobility decided that they must make peace with England, and they agreed that she should marry Henry VIII's son, the future Edward VI.
No sooner had the treaty been arranged, however, than Catholics opposed to the plan took the young Mary to Stirling Castle and, to Henry's fury, they broke the match, preferring to return to Scotland's traditional alliance with France.
Henry thereupon ordered the savage series of raids into Scotland known as 'The Rough Wooing'. His army set fire to the Abbey of Holyroodhouse where James V was buried, burned crops in the Tweed Valley and set ablaze the Border abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.
Undeterred, the Scots in 1548 betrothed Mary to the French King Henri II's heir, the Dauphin Francis, and sent her to be brought up at the French Court. It is said that the spelling of the royal family name of Stewart changed to Stuart at that time, to suit French conventional spelling.
Tall, graceful and quick-witted, Mary married the Dauphin in Paris on 24 April 1558. He succeeded to his father's throne in 1559, making Mary Queen of France as well as Scotland, but his reign was brief for he died of an ear infection in 1560.
The following year, despite the warnings of her friends, Mary decided to go back to Scotland, now an officially Protestant country after religious reforms led by John Knox.
She was a Roman Catholic, but her half-brother, Lord James Stewart, later Earl of Moray, had assured her that she would be allowed to worship as she wished and in August 1561 she returned, to an unexpectedly warm welcome from her Protestant subjects.
At first Mary ruled successfully and with moderation, advised by Lord James and William Maitland of Lethington, a subtle diplomat. However, her marriage in 1565 to her second cousin Henry, Lord Darnley (great-grandson of Henry VII) initiated a tragic series of events made worse by factious Scottish nobles.
Spoiled and petulant, Darnley became the tool of Mary's enemies and, with a group of conspirators, burst into her supper chamber, threatened the heavily pregnant queen and murdered her secretary, David Riccio, on 9 March 1566 inside the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The birth of Mary and Darnley's son James that summer did nothing to improve their relationship, and when Darnley was murdered at Kirk o'Field, just outside the walls of Edinburgh on 10 February 1567, people suspected that she was implicated in the crime.
Her subsequent marriage three months later to the Earl of Bothwell (generally believed to be the principal murderer) brought her inevitable ruin. Her Protestant Lords rose against her and her army confronted theirs at Carberry Hill, near Edinburgh, on 15 June 1567.
She surrendered, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Kinross-shire and forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. Bothwell fled to Scandinavia, where he was arrested and held prisoner until his death.
Mary escaped from Lochleven in 1568, only to be defeated at the Battle of Langside, near Glasgow, on 13 May. Fleeing south, she sought shelter in England, believing that Queen Elizabeth I would support her cause, but instead she was kept in captivity in England for 19 years.
The focus of a long series of Roman Catholic plots against Elizabeth, culminating in the Babington Plot to assassinate the English queen, led to Elizabeth's ministers demanding Mary's execution: 'so long as there is life in her, there is hope; so as they live in hope, we live in fear'.
Mary was finally executed at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February 1587, at the age of 44.
She was buried in Peterborough Cathedral, but in 1612 her son James VI and I had her body exhumed and placed in the vault of King Henry VII's Chapel in Westminster Abbey."
FYI Cynthia Croft SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SSG William JonesSP5 Jesse EngelMaj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland MSG Andrew White Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarterSPC Nancy GreeneSSG Franklin Briant1stsgt Glenn Brackin Sgt Kelli Mays SSG Robert "Rob" Wentworth ] CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins
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LTC Stephen F.
Mary, Queen of Scots 8 December 1542 - 8 February 1587
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 ...
Mary, Queen of Scots 8 December 1542 - 8 February 1587
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and Queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560. Mary's complicated personal life and political immaturity eventually led to her execution by Elizabeth I.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVzW0T9I8VY
FYI SSgt Terry P. MSG (Join to see)Capt Rich BuckleyCW4 G.L. SmithSPC Russ BoltonSPC Nancy GreeneJennifer Lee (Doerflinger) HillSP6 Stephen Rogerson
SSgt Corwin WhickerCPT Paul Whitmer1SG Steven ImermanSSG Samuel KermonSP5 Geoffrey VannersonCWO3 Dennis M. SFC William Farrell LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski
FYI SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCord
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and Queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560. Mary's complicated personal life and political immaturity eventually led to her execution by Elizabeth I.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVzW0T9I8VY
FYI SSgt Terry P. MSG (Join to see)Capt Rich BuckleyCW4 G.L. SmithSPC Russ BoltonSPC Nancy GreeneJennifer Lee (Doerflinger) HillSP6 Stephen Rogerson
SSgt Corwin WhickerCPT Paul Whitmer1SG Steven ImermanSSG Samuel KermonSP5 Geoffrey VannersonCWO3 Dennis M. SFC William Farrell LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski
FYI SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCord
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She was a threat to her cousin and she continually pushed Elizabeth's buttons...
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