Books with title Queen of Scots

|This story is written for 10 - 14 year olds but will also be on interest to those keen to learn more about Mary. On the night of February 7th 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots prepared for her execution at Fotheringhay Castle. What were the thoughts of the captive Queen as her last hours slipped by? Mary was born in Linlithgow Palace on December 8th 1542. As told in the story, Mary was only six days old when her father James V died. Mary was crowned as Queen of Scots at Stirling Castle in September 1543. Her uncle, Henry VIII of England wanted the infant Mary to marry his son Edward. The Scots though refused this proposed marriage. An English army invaded Scotland. Edinburgh was captured in 1544 and burnt to the ground. In August 1548, Mary was sent to France for her safety. There she was brought up in the French Court of Henri II. Mary married Francois, the Dauphin of France on Sunday 24th April 1558 in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Mary was 15, Francois was only 14. In July 1559 her father-in-law, Henri II died. Mary found herself Queen of France as well as Queen of Scots. However her sickly husband died in December the following year. News of her mother’s death in 1560 prompted her decision to return to Scotland where she arrived on 19th August 1561. She was just 19 years of age. For the first 4 years of her reign, Mary ruled the turbulent Scotland well. However Scotland needed an heir. Who should she marry? Mary made one of several mistakes by marrying her cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley in July 1565. She quickly though discovered that this marriage was a disaster. Darnley was an arrogant, jealous and at times, violent young man. Mary had angered many of her Scottish nobles who resented this young upstart. Mary lacked strong advisers by her side whom she could rely on. Instead she drew ever closer to a small group of friends and courtiers including her Italian secretary, David Rizzio. This close friendship provoked the rage of her husband, Henry Darnley. He plotted the murder of the Queen’s secretary. In March 1566 Rizzio was brutally stabbed to death in front of Mary by a group of Darnley's friends. She retreated to the safety of Edinburgh Castle to await the birth of her child. Her son James was born in June 1566. In March 1603, James succeeded his cousin Queen Elizabeth and was crowned King of the new United Kingdom of England and Scotland. On the night of the 10th February 1567 Darnley was assassinated in Edinburgh. Historians continue to argue over Mary's involvement in her husband's murder. Mary did not help her cause by marrying the Earl of Bothwell, the man many believed to have been one of Darnley’s murderers, just 3 months after his death. The country was outraged and she and Bothwell were confronted at Carberry just outside Edinburgh, by a coalition of her nobles on 15th June 1567. Bothwell fled while Mary surrendered herself to her nobles. She was brought back to Edinburgh in disgrace. She was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle and forced to abdicate. She daringly escaped from the castle on 2nd May 1568. Mary took the fateful decision to throw herself on the mercy of the English Queen. For the next nineteen years, Mary was effectively held as a prisoner by her royal cousin. Mary was held in confinement in a succession of castles in the Midlands of England. She never met Elizabeth. Mary was implicated in several Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Almost certainly any evidence produced was forged. After a brief trial Mary was found guilty of treason. Pressed by her advisers, Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant. Mary was executed at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8th February 1587. Her son James had the body of “his dearest mother” moved from Peterborough Cathedral to Westminster Abbey in 1612. Arguments continue to this day about Mary - martyred heroine or wicked murderess? Our story summarises the life of one of the most remarkable characters in history.

"Mary Queen of Scots," by Jacob Abbott, provides a detailed and fascinating biography of an important woman in world history. Mary I (also known as Marie Stuart) reigned as queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 A.D. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V. She was six days old when her father died and she was crowned nine months later. In 1558, she married Francis, Dauphin of France, who ascended the French throne as Francis II in 1559. Mary was not Queen of France for long; she was widowed on 5 December 1560. After her husband's death, Mary returned to Scotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Four years later, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Their union was unhappy and in February 1567, there was a huge explosion at their house, and Darnley was found dead, apparently strangled, in the garden. She soon married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who was generally believed to be Darnley's murderer. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle on 15 June and forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son, James VI. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, Mary fled to England seeking protection from her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I, whose kingdom she hoped to inherit. Elizabeth ordered her arrest because of the threat presented by Mary, who had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics, including participants in the Rising of the North. After 19 years in custody in a number of castles and manor houses in England, she was tried and executed for treason for her involvement in three plots to assassinate Elizabeth.

A detailed and fascinating biography of an important woman in world history. Mary I (popularly known in the English-speaking world as Mary, Queen of Scots and, in France, as Marie Stuart) (8 December 1542 - 8 February 1587) was for time the Queen of Scotland before her eventual imprisinment and execution by her relative, Queen Elizabeth I. Author Jacob Abbott was the celebrated author of the "Makers of History" series of historical biographies. His stated aim in writing biographies of historical figures was "to present a clear, distinct, and connected narrative of the lives of those great personages who have in various ages of the world made themselves celebrated as leaders among mankind, and, by the part they have taken in the public affairs of great nations, have exerted the widest influence on the history of the human race."

Travelers who go into Scotland take a great interest in visiting, among other places, a certain room in the ruins of an old palace, where Queen Mary was born. Queen Mary was very beautiful, but she was very unfortunate and unhappy. Every body takes a strong interest in her story, and this interest attaches, in some degree, to the room where her sad and sorrowful life was begun.