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| Queen Mary I of Scotland |
On this day in 1542, Mary Stewart was born to King James
V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. She was James’s only surviving legitimate
child, and became Queen of Scots upon his death six days later, making her the
youngest monarch in British history. She was also one of the most consequential, for without her, the monarchy and Britain as we know it today, may not have come into existence.
Throughout the annals of history, Mary, Queen of
Scots has been portrayed in a negative yet captivating light – as an adulteress,
seductress, possible accomplice to murder, and figurehead of a conspiracy
against her cousin, Elizabeth I of England and Ireland.
Whereas Elizabeth became Queen in her 20's, Mary succeeded to the Scottish throne when her father was killed in battle. She was eventually sent to live in France because she was married as a child to the heir to the French throne. Mary was briefly Queen consort of France upon her husband's accession as Francis II in July 1559. On his death the following year, she returned to Scotland, where she eventually married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, with whom she had a son named James. Their marriage became estranged, in part due to Darnley's unreliability, vanity, and violent streak aggravated by a drinking problem. When Darnley was assassinated, there was suspicion that Mary might have been an accomplice - especially after she married (for the third time) the man who was suspected of plotting the murder. Mary was forced to abdicate the throne and fled to England to seek sanctuary. There, she was held prisoner and a trial was held on the issue of Darnley's death, which resulted in no definitive ending. Mary was kept in England for the remainder of her life, which was hardly a comforting prospect for Elizabeth I.
Whereas Elizabeth became Queen in her 20's, Mary succeeded to the Scottish throne when her father was killed in battle. She was eventually sent to live in France because she was married as a child to the heir to the French throne. Mary was briefly Queen consort of France upon her husband's accession as Francis II in July 1559. On his death the following year, she returned to Scotland, where she eventually married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, with whom she had a son named James. Their marriage became estranged, in part due to Darnley's unreliability, vanity, and violent streak aggravated by a drinking problem. When Darnley was assassinated, there was suspicion that Mary might have been an accomplice - especially after she married (for the third time) the man who was suspected of plotting the murder. Mary was forced to abdicate the throne and fled to England to seek sanctuary. There, she was held prisoner and a trial was held on the issue of Darnley's death, which resulted in no definitive ending. Mary was kept in England for the remainder of her life, which was hardly a comforting prospect for Elizabeth I.
Queen Elizabeth had feared her royal cousin, for Queen
Mary
had a legitimate claim to the English and Irish thrones through her grandmother
– Margaret Tudor – who was the eldest daughter of Henry VII of England and
sister to Henry VIII, who had Elizabeth through his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Mary
was also a Catholic, and became a focal point around the opposition toward the
established Protestant church, of which Elizabeth was Supreme Governor. Elizabeth’s
fear was that Mary would lead a Catholic uprising against her,
with the ultimate goal of attaining the throne for herself. When Mary was implicated in the Babington plot to depose Elizabeth, she was put on
trial, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1587.
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| Elizabeth feared that her Scottish cousin would become the figurehead of Catholic opposition to her. |
In contrast to Mary, Elizabeth is viewed as a just, stable,
and moral leader who put her country before her personal life. She was the Virgin Queen who commanded
the respect of people throughout Europe (including the pope who had excommunicated her) and inspired men to fight in her name. And
yet, Queen Mary succeeded in one area where Queen Elizabeth did not: producing
an heir.
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| James VI & I |
Her only child, James Stuart, became King of Scots in
1567 at barely over one year old following his mother’s forced abdication. In
1603, Elizabeth I died and James VI of Scotland, as her closest Protestant
relation (first cousin, twice removed), became James I of England and Ireland – thereby uniting the crowns of
the British Isles under a single monarch for the first time. This eventually
resulted in the political mergers of England (including Wales), Scotland, and
Ireland into a single country – the United Kingdom.
So in an ironic twist of fate, though Mary, Queen of
Scots had failed to gain the English throne, her son did so, and in so doing
had helped to forge a new, unified, and modern Britain with a single royal line. To this day, the
current royal family is directly descended from Queen Mary I of Scotland – with
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom being Mary’s 10th great-granddaughter.
Simply put, without Mary, Queen of Scots, the British monarchy and the British nation as we know them today may never have come into existence. For all of her personal faults, she did produce an heir to the Scottish throne, who eventually went on to succeed to the other thrones of Britain, and in doing so, changed the course of British history.
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| Ironincally, Elizabeth II's direct ancestor - Mary, Queen of Scots - was executed on the orders of Elizabeth I. |
Simply put, without Mary, Queen of Scots, the British monarchy and the British nation as we know them today may never have come into existence. For all of her personal faults, she did produce an heir to the Scottish throne, who eventually went on to succeed to the other thrones of Britain, and in doing so, changed the course of British history.
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