by Megan McLaughlin, Linlithgow Museum Volunteer

As a Royal Burgh, here in Linlithgow we are famous for being the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her father, James V. However, amongst this, we tend to forget the notorious mother and wife of these famous Scottish monarchs, Mary of Guise.

Like her mother-in-law, Margaret Tudor, Mary was particularly fond of our very own Linlithgow Palace and rumour has it that her ghost can be spotted in Queen Margaret’s Bower at the top of the Palace, awaiting her husband’s return from Falkland Palace. However, James would never return following his death from fever on 14 December 1542. Although this would be the end of James’ story, it would not be the end of Mary’s as six days prior, she gave birth to a baby girl who would become the Queen of Scots. Mary, would have to work endlessly to protect herself and her infant daughter from those that wished to manipulate them for their own political gains. As a result, Mary has earned a bad reputation throughout history and many of her Scottish contemporaries detested her rule as regent. However, Mary was clearly a victim of the time and was viewed through the ideas of men who saw female rule to threaten the stability of the pre-existing patriarchal system. Instead, Mary was a strong-willed and intelligent woman who sought to achieve an effective rule during a time of religious turmoil and aimed to protect her daughter’s kingdom from the exploitation of men.

Mary of Guise was born at Bar-le-Duc in France on 22 November 1515 to an incredibly powerful stem of the House of Lorraine. As the eldest daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise, and his wife, Antoinette de Bourbon, Mary was an attractive candidate on the marriage market. Along with this, Mary’s great stature of 5 feet 11 inches provided her with a unique edge as very few men or women at the time could reach this height. Nevertheless, her family’s prominence as one of the most influential noble lineages in France would become highly advantageous for Mary’s progression at the court of King Francis I.

The stepping stones of Mary’s place at court was provided mainly by her uncle, the Duke of Lorraine, who’s influence at court saw a way of utilising her potential. Subsequently, Mary would navigate her way through the inner circle of the royal family and inaugurate herself at court, establishing a firm link with the daughters of the King, Madeleine and Margaret. Through this link, Mary’s friendship with the royals would become very important at the later stage of her life. Nevertheless, her current fortunes were already looking bright as Mary would marry Louis II d’Orleans, the Grand Chamberlain of France and the Duke of Longueville, at the age of just 18 on 4 August 1534. Despite the marriage only lasting for a mere three years following the death of the Duke on 9 June 1537, it was a blissful and fruitful union. The swift arrival of two sons in a short period of time would arguably make Mary an even more attractive marriage candidate.

During the latter half of 1537, Mary’s popular reputation at the French court became ever more apparent as she was being considered as a marriage candidate for a union with the King of Scotland, James V. Despite the newly widowed King of England, Henry VIII, also seeking Mary’s hand as his third wife, France saw it in their better interests to cement their alliance with Scotland against the English. Mary herself dismissed Henry’s proposal by referring to a comment made by his second consort, Queen Anne Boleyn, prior to her execution by beheading on 19 May 1536 and stating, “I may be a big woman, but I have a very little neck.". Here we see the strong and confident personality of a woman who was witty, intelligent, and incredibly shrewd.

Although one may see the benefits of marrying royalty, Mary was rather hesitant in leaving France behind. Despite leaving her family and friends, Mary must have been uneasy about her journey to an unknown country and one that had a sharp contrast in climate to the home she loved so dear. Typically of the politics of the time, Mary would be used as a powerful bargaining tool in firmly establishing an alliance with France’s Scottish neighbours. Coming from a rather ambitious family, Mary would eventually have to accept these terms. Mary would then set sail for Scotland to marry King James in June 1538 and would be crowned as his consort 2 years later on 22 February 1540 at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh. Although the marriage would be a passionless one, it did produce two sons who would die in infancy and a daughter who would be born at Linlithgow Palace on 8 December 1542. King James’ subsequent death six days later would make his infant daughter, Queen of Scots.

*Mary, Queen of Scots, statue at Linlithgow Palace*

As the widow of the previous King and the mother of the current Queen, Mary of Guise was in a dangerous position and was vulnerable to those who wished to exploit her. This must have been a difficult time for Mary as she was widowed and had in her possession an infant Queen in a foreign country. Fortunately for Mary, her aptitude would serve her well and she would protect Scotland successfully for her daughter and shield her from the efforts of Henry VIII who desired to have Scotland under his grasp. Mary thought it would be in the best interests of her daughter and Scotland’s alliance with France to send the young Queen of Scots over to France for protection and a marital union with the Dauphin of France in 1548.

Mary’s French connections and influence would eventually become incredibly unpopular in Scotland. After replacing James, second Earl of Arran as Regent of Scotland in 1554, Mary became a force to be reckoned with and would earn the title as the ‘Ruthless Regent’. Mary’s earlier efforts of religious tolerance was seen by her French counterparts to be incredibly dangerous and were deeply against her appeasement, viewing Mary’s leniency towards the ‘heretics’ as a major threat towards her Catholic powers. Subsequently, Mary needed to adopt a tighter policy to protect her daughter’s interests and authority as Queen of Scots.

As the Scottish Reformation was in full swing by 1560, Mary’s position as a French and Catholic female ruler was seen by Protestant figures such as John Knox, to be unnatural. Rebellion would break out and resistance against French domination in Scotland would become greater. However, Mary would die at Edinburgh Castle at the age of 44 on 11 June 1560. Mary’s death would signal a change that would alter Scotland’s history forever. In July 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh was signed, and French and Catholic influence was terminated in Scotland. This would pave the way for roots of the Scottish Reformation to firmly establish itself and facilitate the consolidation of the Protestant Church in Scotland. This change would make the return of her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, in August 1561, extremely challenging and rather difficult to maintain her authority as Queen for the next six years.