The Life and Death of Mary Queen of Scots

Did you know that Mary, Queen of Scots, was also the Queen of France? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the Catholic Queen of Scotland and briefly the Queen of France, Mary, Queen of Scots. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organisation and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week. So make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. Mary Queen of Scots was both the Queen of Scotland between 1542 and 1567 and briefly the Queen Consort of France between 1559 and 1560. She was born to King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise in Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian near Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 8, 1542. Mary at just one week old became the first Queen to rule Scotland in her own right, after the death of her father, and she was crowned in September the following year at the age of nine months, with her mother acting as regent. Henry VIII entertained the marriage of his son Edward to Mary, but the Scottish Parliament refused, and in 1544 England and Scotland were at war. Mary, in fact, had another claim to the throne of England, albeit distant, with her grandmother Margaret Tudor being Henry VIII's sister. In 1548, though, Mary was sent from Scotland to be educated in France at the court of King Henry II. Did you know that only a small fraction of viewers are subscribers? Be sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of our new uploads, and to help us create more great history content. At the French court, Mary was treated like the Queen she was, and was well looked after by her mother's relatives. She received a cultured education, learning French, Italian, and Latin. She was known as an excellent dancer and a devout Catholic. And it was her religious beliefs, though, that would prove to have serious consequences in her later life. In April of 1558, the 15-year-old Mary married the 14-year-old Prince Francis, who, the very next year, became King Francis II of France, with Mary becoming Queen. The next year, though, 1560, both Mary's mother and her new husband died, and at the age of 18, she decided to return to Scotland and press her claim for the English throne. The English royal arms had been quartered with those of the French, that symbolised Mary's claim to the English throne. And Elizabeth, the Queen of England, was outraged by it, and refused to offer Mary safe passage to her homeland. The two queens took hits at each other, with Elizabeth refusing to acknowledge Mary as her heir, and Mary not recognising the Treaty of Edinburgh, which had officially accepted Elizabeth's right to be Queen of England. Mary returned to Scotland as a Catholic, and she was not welcomed by the barons of her government, for although they were themselves divided between Catholicism and Protestantism, the Protestants were winning the battle. Figures such as John Knox were influential in the religious changes occurring, with Knox founding the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and becoming famous for his views that women shouldn't rule, and they especially shouldn't rule if they followed the wrong religion. Despite the Protestant nobles being against her, Mary was determined to rule her kingdom, visiting many regions throughout Scotland between 1562 and 1566. She was described as a beautiful and vivacious woman, enlivening her residence at Holyrood House with dancing parties and hunting. She tried to reconcile the two religious sects of her kingdom, only practising Mass privately and recognising the Reformed Church. Suspicions remained though, especially after marrying her cousin, Henry Stuart, who was a Protestant, but began favouring Catholic Mass. Her husband's jealousy was piqued when he learned that Mary's private secretary, the Italian David Rizzio, was Catholic, and very friendly with the Queen, and so he led a group of nobles to murder him. Rizzio was stabbed 56 times. In 1567 though, Henry Stuart himself was murdered, and it was possible that Mary knew of the plot, and that she hadn't forgiven him for Rizzio's murder. Henry and Mary had had a son though, James, and since Elizabeth had no children, he became heir to the thrones of both Scotland and England. The Earl of Bothwell, James Hepburn, was the ringleader of the assassination of Mary's And he then proceeded to marry Mary, which only increased the rumours that she was in on the murder plans. The Scottish Protestant barons were pretty sick of Mary's dubious private life, and the barons ended up defeating Mary and Bothwell in 1567, where Mary lost whatever limited support she had left. After this blow, Mary was locked in a castle on the island of Loch Leven, where she miscarried twins, presumably the children of Bothwell. On July 24th, 1567, Mary abdicated her throne and her son became James VI of Scotland. But since he was only a year old, he was easily manipulated by the barons, and it was made sure he received a Protestant education. Fearing for her safety, Mary fled Scotland and sought sanctuary with her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. She first tried to escape Loch Leven castle dressed as a washwoman, but it was her second escape attempt involving rowing a boat that was successful. Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure what to do with Mary, who was a royal and a family relation, but also a real threat to her throne. And so Elizabeth put her cousin under house arrest, and she was regularly moved around to different country houses, and kept under very close observation. Mary endured 20 years of imprisonment, and never saw her son or Scotland ever again. Even in confinement and never meeting in person, Mary was still a threat to Elizabeth, as a figurehead for Catholic-inspired plots to remove the Protestant Elizabeth from the English throne. The various plots and rebellions were unsuccessful, but Mary was still able to add an additional threat to Elizabeth's throne by naming the Catholic Philip II of Spain her heir. One of Elizabeth's chief ministers, who also acted as spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, worked to show Mary's treachery once and for all. He embroiled the former Scottish Queen in another plot against Elizabeth, intercepting letters and gathering indisputable proof against Mary, which several modern-day scholars claim were forgeries. Mary protested her innocence, but was tried and condemned to death on October 14th, 1586. Elizabeth had previously been asked twice to sign Mary's death warrant, and had refused, but on the 1st of February, 1587, Elizabeth signed it. And on February 8th, at the age of 44, Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed, without Elizabeth first being consulted, a condition of Mary's execution that was insisted on, but was disregarded. Mary wore a black dress and a red petticoat as a sign of her Catholic faith. And at the end of the day, Mary got the better of Elizabeth, when her son, James VI of Scotland, also became James I of England after Elizabeth's death in 1603, ending the House of Tudor and beginning the Jacobean era. Do you believe Mary was a serious threat to Elizabeth's reign? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 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