Strangulation, stillbirths, torrid affairs . . . it’s no wonder the life of Mary, Queen of Scots has been made into a blockbuster movie starring two of the world’s best actresses, Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan.
Mary Queen of Scots, played powerfully by Ronan, was one of the most controversial rulers of her time and is perhaps the best-known figure in Scotland’s history because of the amount of drama and tragedy she packed into just 44 years of life.
Crowned queen at 9-months-old
It all began just six days after she was born on 8th December 1542, when her father, James V, the King of Scotland, died, making Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots.
Her coronation took place in September the following year, when she was just nine months old.
At five, Mary was then sent to France to spend her formative years at a French court so she could be the bride of Francis, the Dauphin of France, and secure a Catholic alliance against England.
Mary married Francis in 1554 and all seemed to go swimmingly and she even briefly became Queen of France when his father, Henry, the King of France, died in 1559 but then tragedy struck once more, with Francis dying prematurely less than a year later.
Just 18, Mary returned to Scotland, a beautiful but miserable widow, her sadness at leaving her beloved France obvious from the poem she wrote, ‘Farewell, my dearest homeland’.
Jealous love triangle
Now all eyes were on Mary’s next decision: who should she take as a new husband?
She ended up following her heart rather than her head, falling for Lord Darnley, a handsome young cousin while nursing him through a bout of measles.
The match was opposed on all sides, largely on grounds of doubt about Darnley’s suitability and yet she married Darnley in July 1565.
The marriage, however, soon turned sour when she refused to make him her King.
Who’s the baby-daddy?
A rebuffed Darnley ended up playing the field but he became consumed with jealousy when Mary fell pregnant, with rumours circulating that the child’s father was, in fact, none other than Mary’s private secretary, David Rizzio.
Astonishingly, when Mary was six months pregnant, Rizzio was brutally murdered in her presence at a supper party at Holyrood Palace – the plot thought to be led by Darnley.
On June 19, 1566, Mary gave birth to her son, James – later James I – in Edinburgh Castle, and Scotland got its new inheritor to the throne.
Husband blown up or strangled
But relations continued to be strained between the married couple – Darnley did not attend his son’s baptism.
In February 1567, Darnley was mysteriously found murdered following a massive explosion at Kirk o’ Field, a house in Edinburgh where he was recuperating after a bout of syphilis.
But further mystery surrounded Darnley’s death.
He and a fellow servant were found strangled in the orchard behind the house. Many were suspected, including Mary and her friend and rumoured lover, James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell.
Darnley’s influential family accused the Earl of Bothwell of the murder on the grounds that with Darnley out of the way, Bothwell could pursue his own well-known ambitions to marry Mary, despite him already being married.
Bothwell was tried for the crime but the trial was rigged, no prosecution witnesses turned up and he was acquitted.
In fact, both Bothwell and Mary (among others) were involved in the plot to kill Darnley, a plot known as the ‘Craigmillar Bond’ as it had been planned out at Craigmillar Castle.
Married her husband’s murderer – then gave birth to stillborn twins
Bothwell obtained a divorce from his first wife, Jean Gordon on the 7th May 1567 and just eight days later he and Mary were married – an act that horrified the general public as she was widely perceived as having married her husband’s murderer.
The scandalous union made the Scottish dignities rise up against Mary and she was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her infant son James, then imprisoned in Leven’s Castle where she gave birth to stillborn twins.
As if this wasn’t traumatic enough, Bothwell then said goodbye to Mary and she never saw him again. Apparently, he died in Denmark some ten years later, insane.
On May 2, 1568, Mary escaped from Leven’s castle with the aid of the castle’s owner.
After a futile endeavour to regain the throne, she fled towards England, seeking protection – some say naively – from her first cousin, Elizabeth I, played by actress Margot Robbie in the film.
But instead of helping Mary, Elizabeth I detained her and kept her as a prisoner for almost 20 years in various English castles before executing her after letters in code, from Mary to others, were found and she was deemed guilty of treason.
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On February 1, 1587, Queen Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant and she was executed a week later at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire.
It is said that after her execution, when the executioner raised the head for the crowd to see, it fell and he was left holding only Mary’s wig.
Mary’s son did eventually become James I of England and VI of Scotland after Elizabeth’s death in 1603 – so at least some success did come out of all this tragedy, albeit long after her death.
Mary Queen of Scots is in cinemas from Friday January 18.
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News Photo The shocking true story of Mary Queen of Scots whose rumoured lover was murdered in front of her, gave birth to stillborn twins while in prison and was executed by her cousin
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