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Born

8 Dec 1542

Born At

Died

8 Feb 1587

Buried At

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The infant Queen

ary Stuart was the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland only days after her birth when her father died in December of 1542. As Mary was too young to rule, James Hamilton, the Earl of Arran was chosen as regent of Scotland. An agreement was made with Henry VIII, King of England, for Mary to marry Prince Edward, Henry's heir, but this agreement was abandoned by the Scots.

Escape to France

When the English invaded Scotland and defeated the Scots at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547 Mary was secretly moved for her safety to Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith. The abbey was home for the young queen for a few months before an agreement with France was reached whereby the French would assist the Scots against the English and Mary would marry the French Dauphin. Mary was moved to Dumbarton Castle on the River Clyde before sailing for France in August of 1548.

Growing up in France

Mary was brought up in the French court along with Francis, the future king of France and her future husband. Mary learnt to speak French and was given a varied education suitable for a European monarch. An agreement was reached between the Scottish commissioners and the French king Henry II for the marriage of Mary and Francis. The terms of the agreement allowed the Scots to maintain their traditional rights and would become united with France when Francis became King of France. It was also agreed that if Mary died without having children the Scottish throne would go to the Earl of Arran. But a secret marriage agreement was signed by Mary giving control of Scotland to France if she died without having children.

Marriage and Deaths

Mary and Francis were married in April of 1558. A year later Henry II, the King of France, was killed in a tournament jousting accident leaving Francis and Mary as the new King and Queen of France. Francis had always suffered from poor health and just over a year into his reign he fell ill and died. Mary's mother, Mary of Guise had died a few months before Francis.

Return to France

After the death of Francis Mary had a proposal of marriage from Don Carlos of Spain. Don carlos was a Catholic like Mary and the Mary approved of the idea, but the Scots refused and Mary decided to return to Scotland.

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See Also - Places

Carlisle Castle

Family Tree Details

Father:	James (V, King of Scotland 1513-1542) (b.1512 - d.1542)
Mother:	Mary (of Guise) ( - d.1560)

Mary (Stuart, Queen of Scotland) (b.1542 - d.1587)
         +Francis (II, King of France 1559-1560) (b.1544 - d.1560)
         +Henry (Lord Darnley) (b.1546 - d.1567)
                  =James (VI of Scotland, 1567-1625, from 1603 James I of England) (b.1566 - d.1625)
                           +Anne (of Denmark, Queen Consort of Scotland) (b.1574 - d.1619)
                                    =Henry Frederick (Prince of Wales) (b.1594 - d.1612)
                                    =Elizabeth (Queen Consort of Bohemia) (b.1596 - d.1662)
                                    =Charles (I, King of England and Scotland 1625-1649) (b.1600 - d.1649)
                                             +Henrietta Maria (Queen of England)
                                                      =Charles (II, King of England 1660-1685) (b.1630 - d.1685)
                                                      =Mary (Princess Royal, Daughter of Charles I) (b.1631 - d.1660)
                                                      =James (II, King of England, VII of Scotland) (b.1633 - d.1701)
                                                      =Elizabeth (Princess) (b.1635 - )

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Mini Timeline (Ages are approximate)

Early Modern Period (1500-1800) - Under Construction
1542	Dec 8	Birth of Mary, Queen of Scots
		Mary was born at Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian, Scotland. She was the daughter of James V, king of Scotland and Mary of Guise, from France. James V died a week after Mary was born and she became Queen of Scotland.
	Dec 14	Death of James V of Scotland
		The defeat of the Scottish army at Solway Moss a few weeks earlier is supposed to have shocked James V so much that he died. His daughter Mary was only a week or so old when he died and she became queen, known as Mary Queen of Scots. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran became regent of Scotland as Mary was too young to rule.
1543	Jul	Treaties at Greenwich	Age: 1
		A treaty was signed by the Scots and Henry VIII swearing peace between the two nations and the agreement that Mary, Queen of Scots, should marry Henry's son Edward.
	Sep 9	Queen Mary's Coronation
		The coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place at Stirling.¹
1547	Sep 10	Battle of Pinkie Cleugh	Age: 5
		Thousands of Scots gathered near the town of Musselburgh, just to the east of Edinburgh. They faced an English army led by the Duke of Somerset. The Scots had a good position on the battle field but wasted it when they attacked. The Scots were heavily defeated. The defeat at Pinkie Cleugh was a threat to Queen Mary and so she was secretly moved from Stirling Castle to the Augustinian Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith.¹
1548	Qtr 1	Queen Mary moved to Dumbarton Castle	Age: 6
		To comply with the agreement to marry Mary to the French Dauphin, the young queen was moved from Inchmahome Priory to Dumbarton Castle on the banks of the River Clyde on the west of Scotland. It was here that she waited before sailing to France.¹
	Jul	The French arrive in Scotland
		The request of the Scottish Regent, Mary of Guise, for help to fight the English was answered by the arrival of a army of several thousand French. The assistance came on condition that her daughter Mary should marry the French Dauphin, Francis.²
	Aug 13	Queen Mary arrives in France
		Queen Mary arrived in France. Four girls all also called Mary and coming from noble families were chosen to accompany the Queen. Known as the 'Four Maries' the girls were Mary Beaton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston and Mary Seton. They landed, possibly, at Roscoff on the north-west coast of France.¹
1557	Dec	The Lords of the Congregation	Age: 15
		A group of Scottish Lords signed a covenant promising to support the advancement 'the most blessed Word of God' and to push forward the Reformation in Scotland. This was a move against what they saw as the threat from France with that came from the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the French Dauphin. They called themselves the Lords of the Congregation.²
1558	Apr	Betrothal of Mary and Dauphin Francis	Age: 16
		An agreement was reached between the Scottish commissioners and the French king Henry II for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Francis, the Dauphin of France. The terms of the agreement allowed the Scots to maintain their traditional rights and would become united with France when Francis became King of France. It was also agreed that if Mary died without having children the Scottish throne would go to the Earl of Arran.³
	Apr 24	Marriage and a secret agreement
		Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis, the Dauphin of France. A secret marriage agreement was signed by Mary giving control of Scotland to France if she died without having children. ¹
1559	Sep	Coronation of Francis II, King of France	Age: 17
		Francis was crowned King of France at Rheims cathedral. The ceremony was subdued because of the untimely death of his father.¹
1560	Jun	Death of Mary of Guise	Age: 18
		Mary Stuart's mother, Mary of Guise, died in Scotland leaving the country in a state of civil war.³
	Dec	Death of Francis II, King of France
		Francis suffered from poor health throughout his life and he died at the age of sixteen from an abscess in his brain.¹
1561 - 1567		Mary tours her kingdom	Age: 19
		Mary Queen of Scots spent her time visiting the many castles and houses of her country.
	Spring	Marriage proposal from Spain
		After the death of Francis II, Mary Stuart was approached by Spain with a marriage proposal to Don Carlos of Spain. Both being Catholic, the marriage was a prefect choice but it fell through. Mary turned her attention to a return to Scotland.¹
	Aug 14	Mary Stuart leaves France
		Leaving France from Calais in a small flotilla of ships, Mary Stuart set sail for Scotland. Five days later the ships arrived at the port of Leith, now part of Edinburgh. Mary was met by her half-brother James Stewart³
1562	Oct	Fall of Huntley	Age: 20
		George Gordon, the 4th Earl of Huntley rebelled against Mary and at the battle of Corrichie his supporters were defeated by the Earl of Moray. Huntley died at the battle but not from a wound but because he was overweight and the strain of the events was too much for him.¹
1565	Jul 29	Mary Stuart marries Lord Darnley	Age: 23
		Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Lord Darnley in the chapel at Holyrood House. Henry then became King of Scotland but in title only as Mary still held all the power of the monarch.
1566	Jun 19	Birth of the James the future King of England	Age: 24
		James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He was born at Edinbugh Castle.
1567	Feb 10	Murder of Lord Darnley	Age: 25
		Henry, Lord Darnley, was murdered as he tried to escape from his attackers as they laid gunpowder in his house. His house was destroyed in the explosion. The culprit was thought to be the Earl of Bothwell who was then very close to Queen Mary and it may have been the Queen herself who ordered the killing.¹
1583	Nov	Throckmorton Plot	Age: 41
		Francis Throckmorton was found guilty of carrying messages with details of an assassination attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth, an invasion by Spain and the freeing of Mary Stuart from captivity. Along with the Earl of Northumberland, Throckmorton was put in the Tower of London before being executed for treason. Before his death, Throckmorton revealed that Queen Mary knew about the plot.⁴
1584	Jun	Bond of Association	Age: 42
		In response to the assassination threat to Queen Elizabeth an agreement signed by her supporters was devised. Those who signed agreed to prevent those who plotted against the Queen to succeed to the throne if the assassination was successful. They also agreed to prosecute anyone who would benefit whether they were involved in the assassination or not. The third agreement promised to case down and kill those who carried out the assassination attempt. This move was hoped to make supporters of Mary Stuart directly or indirectly taking part in any more plots against the Queen.⁴
1585	Jan	Parry Plot	Age: 43
		A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was uncovered. The person accused and found guilty was Dr. Parry, a supporter of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots. It was found that he had been assisted by Thomas Morgan, Mary Stuart's assistant who was looking after her affairs in Paris. Parry was executed for treason but no other action was taken.⁴