Mary, queen of scots father

Mary, Queen of Scots is perhaps the best known figure in Scotland’s royal history. Her life provided tragedy and romance, more dramatic than any legend.

She was born in 1542 a week before her father, King James V of Scotland, died prematurely.

It was initially arranged for Mary to marry the English King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward; however the Scots refused to ratify the agreement.

None too pleased by this, Henry sought to change their mind through a show of force, a war between Scotland and England… the so called ‘Rough Wooing’.

Mary queen of scots death

In the middle of this, Mary was sent to France in 1548 to be the bride of the Dauphin, the young French prince, in order 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 this time was in the throes of the Reformation and a widening Protestant – Catholic split.

A Pro