Mary Stewart Research Paper

793 Words2 Pages

Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots lived a life full of controversy and scandal. She is remembered fondly by her many followers and disapproved by many. Her dramatic life and political actions have interested historians and the public for many centuries. It all began we she was just six days old. Mary Stewart was born on December 8, 1542, in Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, Scotland. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mary Stewart was the only child to King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. King James passed away when Mary was only the six days old making her Queen of Scotland. As a young child, Mary was committed to marry the French heir. At the age of five her mother sent her to France where she was then raised at the court of King …show more content…

Although the marriage was a political arrangement, it was a happy marriage. A year after they were married Francis became King and Mary became Queen consort of France. Just one year later in 1560, Francis died of an ear infection. This left Mary a widow at the young age of eighteen. Mary returned to Scotland in August of 1561. By the time she returned to Scotland, much had changed. In the many years that Mary had been away from the country the official religion had changed from Roman Catholic to Protestant. At that time there was still a lot of uproar between Catholics and Protestants. Many Scots viewed the Queen Mary as a foreign queen of an alien religion. Her half brother, James, Earl of Moray helped her with ruling and policies. Queen Mary’s second marriage was to her cousin Henry, Lord Darnley in 1565. Darnley was the grandson of Margaret Tudor. This made Queen Elizabeth very upset because she felt it was a threat to her crown. Many, including Mary’s brother James, believed that the marriage to Darnley was a disastrous choice. Darnley was a weak alcoholic. Mary gave him no authority and ruled alone. Darnley became resentful of Mary’s secretary, David Riccio. He, along with a group of Protestants, murdered Riccio in front of Mary in Holyrood House. She was six months pregnant at the time. Mary and Darnley had a son named James in 1566, who was the future James VI of Scotland and …show more content…

Mary developed an extramarital affair with James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Eventually they started planning the death of her husband Darnley, to be followed by their marriage. Lord Darnley later died in mysterious circumstances in Edinburgh, when the house he was staying in exploded one night in February 1567. When they found his body, they discovered he had been strangled. Three months later, Mary and Lord Bothwell were married. This outrageous marriage made the Scottish upper class turn against Mary. Eventually, Bothwell was sent into exile where he was eventually arrested and held prisoner until his death, while Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. In July 1567, Queen Mary was forced to give up the throne in favor of her infant son,

Open Document