Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots, born on 8 December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace, Scotland, was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. She became Queen of Scotland at six days old after her father’s death and was crowned on 9 September 1543. Her early reign was overseen by regents, and she spent her childhood in France, marrying Francis II and briefly serving as the French queen consort. Widowed in 1560, she returned to Scotland to find a country divided by religion. Mary’s second marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, ended with his controversial death, after which she married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Facing opposition, she was imprisoned and forced to abdicate in favor of her son, James VI. Fleeing to England for protection, she became a political prisoner until her execution at age 44. Her life is memorialized in culture, often as a romantic figure.