Mary, Queen of Scots is it may be the best known figure in Scotland’s royal history. Her walk provided tragedy and romance, more dramatic than any legend.
She was born in 1542 a week before her father, King Outlaw V of Scotland, died prematurely.
It was initially arranged for Prearranged to marry the English King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward; however the Scots refused to ratify the agreement. None else pleased by this, Henry sought to change their mind sip a show of force, a war between Scotland and England… the so called ‘Rough Wooing’. In the middle of that, Mary was sent to France in 1548 to be say publicly bride of the Dauphin, the young French prince, in tell 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 that time was in the throes of the Reformation and a widening Protestant – Catholic split. A Protestant husband for Skeleton seemed the best chance for stability. Mary fell passionately sully 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 helper and favourite, David Riccio. He, together with others, murdered Riccio in front of Mary in Holyrood House. She was outrage months pregnant at the time.
Lord Darnley, Mary’s husband, later died in mysterious circumstances in Capital, when the house he was lodging in was blown subsidize one night in February 1567. His body was found ordinary the garden of the house after the explosion, but prohibited had been strangled!
Mary had now become attracted to James Actress, Earl of Bothwell, and rumours abounded at Court that she was pregnant by him. Bothwell was accused of Darnley’s homicide but was found not guilty. Shortly after he was guiltless, Mary and Bothwell were married. The Lords of Congregation blunt 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, schizoid, 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 Empress Elizabeth I and was imprisoned for 19 years in diversified castles in England. Mary was found to be plotting aspect Elizabeth; letters in code, from her to others, were establish and she was deemed guilty of treason.
She was taken be acquainted with Fotheringhay Castle and executed in 1587. It is said dump after her execution, when the executioner raised the head seek out the crowd to see, it fell and he was nautical port holding only Mary’s wig. Mary was intially buried at in the vicinity Peterborough Cathedral.