Basic Info:
Mary Stuart
Reigned from December 14, 1542 to July 24, 1567
Born- December 8, 1542
Died- February 8, 1587
Mother- Mary of Guise
Father- James V of Scotland

Childhood and Early Life:
Mary was the only child of James V and Mary of Guise. Her father died six days after she was born, leaving the young Mary, Queen of Scotland.

Mary's mother sent her off to France when she was five and she was raised at the court of the French king and queen, Henry II and Catherine de Médicis. She had a life of luxury here in France and hunted, danced, and was well educated in several languages such as Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and French. She grew into a Frenchwoman rather than a Scot.

She was known to be rather beautiful, 5'11", red hair, warm brown eyes.

She soon married the price of France, Francis, in April of 1558. It was mainly a political union, but the couple was reportedly very happy together, although the marriage was likely never consummated.

Trouble with the Crown and Becoming Queen:
Because of her Tudor blood, she was next in like to the English throne after Elizabeth I. Many Roman Catholics considered Elizabeth illegitimate because they never accepted Anne Boleyn as Henry VIII's true wife, and they believed Mary of Scotland was their true queen.

After Henry II died in 1559, the French throne was left to Francis and Mary. This happiness and their rule didn't last long. It ended with Francis' early death in December of 1560. Mary was left a widow at age 18.

She returned to Scotland the next August and she began to realize that her luxurious life had done nothing to prepare her for her job as queen of Scotland.

Elizabeth was angry with Mary and the Catholics, and she refused to acknowledge Mary as next in like for the English throne.

Mary even now seemed foreign to the Catholics because she had become a Protestant during her time in France.

Despite the difficulties brought to her by the lords and other noblemen, she managed to support her country well in her first year as queen. Although some of the citizens were concerned by her religion and by the idea of having a single woman rule.

Mary eventually married Henry Stewart, early of Darnley (and her cousin). He was handsome and she married him rather recklessly for love and for politics.

Elizabeth hated that Mary had been married to another person of the Tudor line and Mary's half brother, James, rebelled. Darnley proved himself to be weak, yet ambitious within a few short months of their marriage. They had a very tense marriage. Darnley got jealous of Mary's secretary, David Riccio, and he along with several others, murdered Riccio right in front of Mary. She was six months pregnant at the time.

Their son, James VI of Scotland, was born in June. He was baptized in the catholic faith.

Mary now had the heir she needed.

According to some, it was within the next eight months that she began a relationship with James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell. She planned the death of her husband Darnley with him and they hoped to marry once Darnley was out of the way. Most evidence supporting this plot was proven to be invalid. However, Mary did consider divorcing Darnley after she battled a serious sickness in October 1566.

On February 9, 1567, Darnley was recovering from a sickness on the outside of Edinburgh. Someone caused an explosion at the house and he attempted to escape, but was strangled in the process. There were theories that he'd been setting a trap for Mary, but fell into it himself, but nothing like this was ever proven.

Three months after Darnley's death, Mary allowed herself to be married to the earl of Bothwell (who happened to be a main suspect in Darnley's murder, but was acquitted after his trial). Rumors were spreading that he'd gotten her pregnant.

The Lords Of Congregation didn't approve of this relationship with Bothwell and she was imprisoned in Leven Castle. (One of the sources I used stated that she gave birth to stillborn twins while in prison, but I couldn't find anything else on this)

Bothwell and Mary separated on June 15, 1567. Bothwell was sent away to exile and imprisonment until his death in 1578 in Denmark. Mary was sent to the island of Lock Leven, where she was officially deposed.

Imprisonment:
She managed to escape her confinement and gather a band of loyal supporters. Her supporters fought a battle at Langside, but lost, Mary sought refuge in England with her cousin.

Once in England, Mary was now at the mercy of her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth had all the political knowledge and power that Mary didn't and she came up with various excuses involving Darnley's death in order to hold Mary prisoner. She was smart enough to know how to get her only challenger to the English throne out of her way.

For the next eighteen years of her life, Mary traveled from prison to prison. She didn't do well in prison, as can be expected of anybody. Her health was poor and the beauty that she'd been greatly praised for started to fade. During this time, she attempted to help the Catholics dethrone Elizabeth, although she was constantly under close watch.

A plot to assassinate Elizabeth was discovered in 1568. The government found a letter that was apparently written by Mary, helping to plot the murder of the queen.

Mary was tried by an English court for her treason and sentenced to death. Her son James made no move to stop this, likely because he wanted the English throne and he hadn't seen his mother since he was a baby.

Death:
Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded in 1587 in the great hall at Fotheringhay Castle.

She was given a blindfold to cover her eyes. During her execution, she recited Catholic prayers, but the executioner reportedly kept interrupting. She laid her head on the block when she was finished. It took three blows for her head to be completely severed. A few witnesses say they could hear her making small noises of pain after the first blow.

After her head was off, the executioner lifted it up and shouted "God save the Queen!"

She was 44 years old. She was buried at Peterborough Cathedral, but James removed her body and reburied her at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth was buried there as well. James ascended to the throne eventually and built a huge monument to his mother there.

Cool facts:
• Mary was the subject of a Nazi war propaganda movie: Das Herz der Konigin. The film was obviously anti-British, using the execution of Mary to describe how 'cruel' and 'awful' the British are.
• as part of her beauty regime, Mary would wash her face in white wine. It helped keep her complexion smooth and pale
• there have been multiple attempts to make Mary a saint, but all have failed due to the uncertainty of her involvement in Darnley's death
• despite her nickname, Queen of Scots, she spent very little time in Scotland. Her youth was spent in France and she was imprisoned in England for almost two decades

Movies and television:
There's a movie called Mary, Queen of Scots starting Saoirse Ronan and Morgot Robbie.
There's also a great television show that's very loosely based off her life called Reign.

Feel free to leave me some feedback. What are some thing you'd like to see more of? Should I add more pictures, more off my random comments and thoughts? Less of those things?