The Tragic Life of Mary, Queen of Scots
From baby queen to bloody execution
Mary, Queen of Scots, may have been born royal in 1542 but she was born into conflict. Conflict would follow her for the rest of her life, manifesting itself in her divided subjects, the great rivalry with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, and above all, in her fight to survive. That’s without mentioning the antagonistic men that make up her ill-fated love life.
As the granddaughter of King Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret Tudor, Mary had a strong indisputable claim to the English throne. It was the height of the reformation (the major movement away from the Catholic Church and the establishment of Protestantism) and the two sides were deeply divided.
Mary was devoutly Catholic; to some she was a pawn for their grand plots to ally with European powers and overthrow the English throne and the Protestant state. That meant for others, she was an unbelievably dangerous threat.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this was all a creation for a big Hollywood movie. It’s rather befitting her long struggle is ended with a gruesome and dramatic death. Here is her tragic story.
Right out of the blocks
Born in turbulent times in the sixteenth century, Mary Stuart had a bizarre start to life. Her…
