Brief Biography of Mary, Queen of Scotts

In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots was to flee to England from Scotland after her imprisonment in Scotland after a rebellion against her rule. The rebellion was sparked after she had been accused of plotting the murder of her husband. After arriving in England, she was imprisoned as she was seen as a threat to the monarch at the time, Queen Elizabeth the First. As her imprisonment lasted on, the current of nationalism grew in England (Warnicke, 168). The people of England believed the crimes that Mary had been accused of. They also believed that Mary was a treacherous women who wanted to usurp the throne of England. Ultimately, Mary was sentenced to death in 1587 after being convicted of plotting to assassinate the Queen of England. This conviction, and the long imprisonment, cemented the views of the English and they saw Scottish people as treacherous individuals because their queen was (Warnicke,

The question of this essay is ‘Did Mary I really deserve the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’? This essay will show the reasons why she does and why she doesn’t deserve the nickname.

In July 1559, Mary and Francis assumed the royal titles of King and Queen of France since Henry II had died. Her happiness was short, after she learned the death of her mother in June 1560. Six months later, her husband King Francis II was also dead. Mary was devastated and extremely depressed. In spite of these personal tragedies, Mary chose to return to Scotland although it was a different country from the one she had left 13 years ago. In Mary’s absence the Protestant party had gained power in Scotland by abolishing the authority of the pope and forbidding the celebration of the Mass.

In the stories of “Mary Queen of Scots” and “Elizabeth I”, it is known that Mary and Elizabeth I are two different people, but also the similar in some ways. Both Elizabeth and Mary lived within the same time period and were even related, although their lives ended up completely different. Elizabeth was a well-respected queen with an interesting personal life. Mary on the other hand was convicted of aiding a homicide and had many problems in her personal life. Therefore, Elizabeth and Mary both had some similarities and differences between their early lives and their personal lives.

The only child of James V of Scotland and his French-born wife Mary of Guise, I was born in December 1542 in the Linlithgow Palace as Mary Stuart. My Father died a six days after my birth, and then I became Mary, Queen of Scots, with my mother acting as a regent in my stead (Source 1). At just five years of age, I was betrothed to Henry VIII’s son, Edward, but my Catholic guardians were opposed to the match, and took me too Stirling Castle, breaking the agreement(Source 1). The Scots betrothed me to the son of Henry II, Francis, the four year old heir to the French crown, and sent me to be raised at his courts (Source 1). I loved him with a strong sisterly affection (Source 4) and he loved me as a brother would love a sister.

Though Mary Queen of Scots life has been criticized for many years, critics often forget to talk about her early life.

Born to the King’s 3rd wife in later years her mother was beheaded . she had a good childhood none-the-less then many years later her half sister Mary, (Bloody Mary) (Born to the King’s 2nd wife) was crowned queen . She is called because Bloody Mary was when she was queen she was Catholic and married a Catholic King. Anyone that was not Catholic she would torture them and kill them . When Mary died due to Cancer, Elizabeth was Queen . She was a humble leader who cared about her people. She did many great things like protect her country from invaders like the Spanish Armada. she really was a great Queen to England . She cared so much about her people . This is all summary. You didn’t follow the format at

Mary’s uncle, Henry VIII, didn’t accept Mary having power at her age and he wanted the power. Of course, Mary’s mother didn’t allow that. Eventually Mary was engaged to her uncle’s son, Prince Edward of England. This idea was later rejected by the Scottish Catholics and this led to problems between England and Scotland, and Mary was sent away. Mary’s mom was French. Being that the French and the Scots had a long-lasting alliance, Mary was sent to and raised in France. At the age of five Mary was engaged to Francis, A four-year-old French heir, and this led to many other important changes in Mary’s life.

Then on February 18, 1516, Henry VIII and his wife Catherine had their first child . They named their little girl Mary, who later became known as “Bloody Mary”. Princess Mary of England was their first child to survive infancy, and she was Catherine’s only child. Later in Mary’s life she became the Queen of England and the Queen of Ireland .

And yet, counties weren’t always the ones who had faced much fallout in the Middle Ages. Families of all types suffered their own kind of fallout, even royalty. And one of the main pawns whom suffered in the ordeal would be Mary Stuart, also known as the Queen of Scots. What makes her unique is the fact that she became Queen of Scots when she was just 6 days old due to her father’s death in 1542. And if that wasn’t bad enough, marriage became a big problem with her, as she was told to marry off Prince Edward of England, but eventually she did not. Instead, she went off to France and stay there at the age of 5. And by the time she returned, she was a complete outsider due to her faith and Scotland’s faith, but she eventually got everything got

After Edwards’s death in 1553 his half-sister Mary I (1516-58) became Queen. Mary who was a devout Catholic began to undo the changes that Edward and Henry had started and set the nation back to the Catholic faith. During her reign (1553-1558) hundreds of Protestants, who refused to turn Catholic, were burned at the stake, this led to Mary acquiring the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’ (Steele & MacDonald, 2007).

In Scottish history there has been many monarchs that influenced Scottish society, on the political, economic, religious and cultural scale. Many of which were queens helping, consort, regents or just direct heirs to the throne they have helped shape Scottish history in many ways. The three main ones of interest, are Queen Margaret of Scotland, has she shaped and confirmed Scotland’s religious position for Christianity and through her husband’s reign kept peace and prosperity through the kingdom. Secondly, Marie De Guise, as Queen Regent of Scotland tried to maintain peace in Scotland even though thoughts of rebellion such as protestant thinking and rebellious Scottish lords, as well as the English threatening position. Finally the most popular

“She was a king’s daughter, she was a king’s sister, she was a king’s wife, she was a queen, and by the same title a king also” # Mary Tudor was an influential women of her time period. Many in modern society know her for her particularly bad reputation as Bloody Mary, however they do not realize the contributions she made, or her influence on history . The story behind Mary’s reputation gives insight as to her true accomplishments as England’s first queen.

“Mary Queen of Scotland and France, whose involvement in the religious and dynastic turbulence of her times led to her abdication and execution.” (Loa 398). On December 8, 1542, Mary Stuart was born to Mary of Guise, the queen of James V of Scotland, in Linlithgow,

Sixteenth century England experienced a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the Age of Queens. The decisive power of the country was placed in women’s hands and their reigns were watched with a reasonable doubt. There is contrast of rule in terms of reigns between Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth of England, both of whom were engaged in a protracted struggle for the English throne. Beside the legitimacy of their claims, there are more significant considerations which predestined them to either increase or lose their power. The rule and attitudes of the two monarchs bore significant influence upon the times in which they lived, including social, political and legal precedents which were being challenged and in some cases reversed. The fact that both Queens encountered situations of striking similarity, serves as a suitable example for a remarkable comparison, helping to analyze the lives of the two Queens and how their lives diverged as a result of such encounters and their actions thereafter. They were both Queens, struggling for the throne, they were women as well as rivals; they both had affairs with married men, however, one managed a narrow escape from the disgraceful situation, while the other failed to do so. Mary grew to hate Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth, because he took the position of her mother Catharine as Queen of England. Before Elizabeth came to the scene, Mary was loved and was the only child of King Henry VIII of