Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots, is one of the most colourful (not to say tragic) characters in British history, and a great favourite of quiz setters. This page (especially the 'Other' subcategory) probably includes far more information than you're ever going to need in any quiz, but you never know.

Key events

Born		8 December 1542
Place of birth		Linlithgow Palace
Succeeded to the Scottish throne (aged 6 days)		14 December 1542
Crowned (aged 1 year 212 days)		9 September 1543
Crowned at		Stirling Castle

Regent 1542–54

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran

Mary's son James (the future James VI of Scotland and James I of England) born

19 June 1566

Marriages

1	1558–60		Francois (Francis) II of France
2	1565–67		Henry Stewart (Stuart), Lord Darnley – assassinated in July 1567
3	1567–70		James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell – she divorced him in 1570

Execution and burials

Date of execution		8 February 1587
Place of execution		Fotheringay Castle
Number of blows of the axe said to have been required to sever her head		3
Age at death		44 years 62 days
Buried (initially)		Peterborough Cathedral
Re–interred 1612 on the orders of her son, James I of England		Westminster Abbey

Pedigree

This section explains Mary's claim to the English and Scottish thrones.

King of England and great–grandfather of Mary, Queen of Scots		Henry VII
Elder surviving daughter of Henry VII, married James IV of Scotland; mother of James V of Scotland, grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots		Margaret
Father of Mary, Queen of Scots		James V of Scotland
Mother of Mary, Queen of Scots – acted as regent from 1554 until her death in 1560		Mary of Guise (Mary of Lorraine)

Other

This section deals with other events in Mary's life, in chronological order.

1543 treaties that promised Mary to be married to Edward, son of Henry VIII of England (Edward VI), uniting the crowns of England and Scotland – renounced by the Scottish parliament after Henry tried to change the terms and force Scotland to break its alliance with France		Treaties of Greenwich
Raids on Scotland initiated by Henry VIII in an attempt to force the Scots to allow Mary to marry Edward		Rough Wooings
10th September 1547: the last battle between English and Scottish royal armies, and the first 'modern' battle (i.e. involving active co–operation between infantry, artillery and cavalry, and naval bombardment in support of land forces) on British soil. Duke of Somerset capitalised on a fatal blunder by the Scottish regent Hamilton; 15,000 Scottish troops killed. Known in Scotland as Black Saturday		Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Following the French Marriage Treaty, the French fleet left to carry Mary to France on		7th August 1548
Collective nickname of Mary's Scottish friends in the French court		The Four Marys
First husband – heir to the French throne, upon succession became		Francois II
Mary married the Dauphin (aged 15 years 137 days) at Notre Dame, Paris		24th April 1558
Henri II died and Francois succeeded him as Francois II; Mary became Queen of France		10th July 1559
Treaty (15th July 1560) by which Mary's representatives agreed to withdraw French troops from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth I's right to the English throne (Mary refused to recognise it)		Treaty of Edinburgh
Francois II died (3 days before Mary's 18th birthday)		5th December 1560
Brother of Francois II – succeeded him aged 10		Charles IX
Mother of Francois II – acted as Regent following his death		Catherine de Medici
Mary returned to Scotland		19th August 1561
Mary's illegitimate half–brother (born c.1531), leader of the Protestant faction in Scotland and a prominent advisor to Mary		James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
Scottish Protestant reformer who preached against Mary		John Knox
Ambassador sent by Mary to persuade Elizabeth of her right to succeed her		William Maitland of Lethington
Childhood companion of Mary's father James V, a leading Scottish Catholic; Mary transferred the Earldom of Moray from him to her half brother James Stewart; captured by Mary following continued opposition; died in prison 1562		George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly
Cousin and second husband, an English subject; father of King James I of England; participated in the murder of David Rizzio; assassinated in 1567 as a result of Boswell's conspiracy		Henry Stewart (Stuart), Lord Darnley
Mary married Darnley		29th July 1565
Moray's unsuccessful rebellion against Mary's marriage to Darnley		The Chaseabout Raid
Third and last husband (1567–70); recipient of the 'casket letters; alleged to have caused the explosion that killed Darnley; fled to Norway and Sweden after the marriage caused a revolt; divorced by Mary on grounds of rape before marriage; died insane while imprisoned in a castle in Zeeland, Netherlands		James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
Italian adventurer and Mary's secretary; incited Darnley's jealousy and advised her to refuse him the crown matrimonial		David Rizzio
Rizzio murdered – stabbed allegedly 57 times – at Holyrood House, in Mary's presence		9th March 1566
Mary's son James (the future James VI of Scotland and James I of England) born		19th June 1566
Darnley murdered following an explosion at Kirk o' Field House (a.k.a. the Provost's House), Edinburgh, where he was lodging at the time (his body was found in a nearby orchard – apparently strangled; Kirk o' Field is a colloquial name for the collegiate church of St. Mary in the Fields)		9th / 10th February 1567
Agreement by some of the Scottish lords to support Bothwell's claims to marry Mary		Ainslie Tavern Bond
Mary visits her son James in Stirling for the last time; while returning to Edinburgh she is captured by Bothwell and taken to Dunbar Castle, where she may have been raped by him		24th April 1567
Mary married Bothwell at Holyrood House, according to Protestant rites		15th May 1567
Confrontation on 15th June 1567 at which Mary agreed to follow the lords provided they let Bothwell go (there was no battle)		Carberry Hill
Mary imprisoned after the Lords broke the agreement made at Carberry Hill (she miscarried twins there in July 1567)		Loch Leven Castle
Mary escaped from Loch Leven Castle		2nd May 1568
Mary defeated by Moray on 13th May 1568; she subsequently flred to England and was imprisoned by Elizabeth's officers in Carlisle Castle (19th May 1568)		Battle of Langside
'Inquiry' (October 1568 to January 1568) into Mary's involvement in the murder of Darnley: held at		York
The eight letters purportedly from Mary to Bothwell (although their authenticity is hotly disputed), which led to her conviction of involvement in the murder of Darnley		Casket Letters
Mary's custodian 1569–80		George Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury
Redoubtable wife of Shrewsbury – he was her 4th husband; supported the claims of her grand–daughter Arbella Stuart (daughter of Lord Darnley's brother, Charles Stuart) to the thrones of England and Scotland; see also People in History: 1500s		Bess of Hardwick
During Shrewsbury's custodianship, Mary was held in the castle and manor of		Sheffield
Mary's keeper from 1580 until her execution in 1587		Sir Amias Paulet
Site of Mary's final imprisonment and execution (Northamptonshire)		Fotheringay Castle
Elizabeth's advisor, who negotiated with Mary after the representatives of Charles IX of France persuaded her to help Mary regain the throne of Scotland. (Elizabeth in return demanded the ratification of the Treaty of Edinburgh, but Mary refused)		William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
Catholic plot of 1570, intended to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary on the English throne; Elizabeth subsequently encouraged Parliament to introduce a Bill barring Mary from the throne, but unexpectedly declined to give Royal assent		Ridolfi Plot
Bothwell died in prison in Denmark		14th April 1578
Document introduced by Elizabeth 1584, aimed at preventing any would–be successor from profiting from her murder. Not legally, binding, but signed by thousands – including Mary		Bond of Association
Leader of the plot against Elizabeth I (1586) that led to Mary's trial and execution		Anthony Babington

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23