Mary Queen of Scots – Life and Imprisonment (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Mary Queen of Scots – Life and Imprisonment

Mary Queen of Scots dominated the central period of Elizabeth's reign from her flight into England in 1568 until her execution in February 1587. Her presence posed profound challenges to Elizabeth's rule, intertwining England's foreign policy with religious tensions and domestic security concerns. Understanding Mary's importance requires examining her background, her actions in Scotland, and the complex situation created when she became Elizabeth's prisoner.

Mary in France and Scotland

Early life and succession (1542-1548)

Mary succeeded to the Scottish throne at just one week of age following the death of her father, James V of Scotland, in 1542. Scotland and England were at war at the time, leaving the infant queen in a precarious position. Scottish nobles governed on behalf of the child, whilst England sought to extend its influence northward. Had Edward VI survived longer, diplomatic plans existed to unite the crowns through marriage between Mary and the English king. Both monarchs descended from Henry VII, making such an alliance dynastically logical.

In 1548, Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, arranged for her daughter's education at the French court, where she received a Catholic upbringing. This French connection would shape Mary's entire life, giving her sophisticated manners and fluent French but also distancing her from Scottish culture and the Protestant Reformation taking hold in her homeland.

Life in France and widowhood (1558-1561)

At sixteen, Mary married the French dauphin in 1558. The following year, her husband became Francis II of France, making Mary Queen of both Scotland and France. This dual monarchy positioned her as a major European figure and, as a Catholic with Tudor blood, a potential claimant to the English throne should Elizabeth die or be deposed.

However, Francis II died suddenly in 1560, leaving Mary widowed at eighteen. His death occurred during the French Wars of Religion, a brutal conflict between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants) that created chaos across France. With her mother-in-law taking control at the French court and her position there weakened, Mary faced an uncertain future.

In 1561, Mary returned to Scotland to assume direct rule. The Treaty of Edinburgh had restored peace between England and Scotland, and the Scottish government actively supported Protestantism. Rival noble factions threatened civil war, and Mary possessed neither power nor influence despite her royal status. As the Catholic heir to the English throne, she likely calculated that better opportunities existed in England than Scotland. Having been raised in France and speaking fluent French rather than Scots, she felt somewhat foreign in her own kingdom.

The Darnley marriage and its consequences (1565-1567)

In 1565, Mary married Lord Darnley, a great-grandson of Henry VII. This union sparked speculation about English succession, as the marriage united two individuals with strong claims to Elizabeth's throne. Darnley and Mary were first cousins, strengthening their combined claim to succeed Elizabeth as Catholic heir whilst also asserting claims to the Scottish throne and more distant European royal lines.

The Darnley marriage proved disastrous. Mary became pregnant, but rumours circulated that David Rizzio, her secretary and close confidant, had fathered the child. In 1566, Rizzio was murdered in front of the pregnant Mary by armed men acting under Lord Darnley's direction. The murder demonstrated Darnley's jealousy and suggested coordination with Scottish nobles opposed to Mary's rule. Nevertheless, Mary gave birth to a son, James, later that year—the heir to both the Scottish throne and, after his mother, to England's throne.

Lord Darnley's death marked the beginning of Mary's downfall. In February 1567, whilst Darnley recovered from illness (possibly smallpox or syphilis) at Kirk-o-Field, the house was destroyed by an explosion at 2 a.m. whilst Darnley and his valet slept. Evidence indicated that Darnley had been strangled before the explosion occurred. Suspicion fell immediately on both Mary and the Earl of Bothwell, though Bothwell was suspected of executing the plot. Bothwell stood trial but was not convicted of involvement.

Suspicions intensified when Mary and Bothwell fled together and married. She later miscarried twins, though by then the marriage had effectively ended and Bothwell had escaped to Denmark. Unsurprisingly, few Scots believed Mary's actions during the 1560s made her suitable to rule. She was compelled to abdicate in favour of her infant son James, with the Earl of Murray—leader of the Protestant nobility—becoming Regent.

Mary as a prisoner in England

The flight to England (1568)

In 1568, Mary fled to England, placing Elizabeth in an extraordinarily difficult position. Supporting her deposed cousin would mean attacking the Queen's Protestant allies in Scotland. However, refusing to act might suggest that Elizabeth accepted the principle that monarchs could be lawfully deposed—a dangerous precedent given the religious tensions surrounding Elizabeth's own position and the sanctity of hereditary rule across Europe.

Elizabeth confined Mary under close watch and house arrest for the following nineteen years. Mary had become a focal point for Catholic and noble discontent, presenting a potential instrument for Spain or France to undermine or depose Elizabeth. One of Elizabeth's ministers captured the problem Mary posed:

Mary Stuart became the centre of plots and conspiracies, though Elizabeth remained reluctant to take decisive action against her cousin.

Source analysis: the problem of Mary

S. T. Bindoff's 1952 analysis in Tudor England identified Mary's arrival as a problem that would only be resolved through her execution nineteen years later. Bindoff argued there were effectively "two Mary Stuarts" to consider. One was the exiled sovereign who merited honourable asylum and perhaps assistance in regaining her throne. The other was a Catholic claimant to the English succession who would become queen if Elizabeth died, representing the figure who had lived under Mary Tudor and Mary Tudor under Somerset and Northumberland—a magnet attracting scattered elements of religious and political opposition.

Bindoff emphasised how Mary's presence during her first eighteen months in England demonstrated her dangerous potential. The period witnessed the reign's first major conspiracies and its only serious rebellion, highlighting the threat she posed to Elizabeth's security.

Grounds of Mary's deposition

Between 1568 and 1569, all three parties—Mary, Murray (representing the Scottish government), and Elizabeth—had their cases legally examined, first at York and subsequently at Westminster. Murray produced the notorious Casket letters, documents allegedly discovered after Mary's flight that supposedly proved her status as Bothwell's mistress and her involvement in a plot against Darnley even before his death at Kirk-o-Field.

The case, examined under Scottish law, was not proven, but the damage had been done. Murray returned to Scotland confirmed as Regent whilst Mary remained imprisoned in England, held under observation. Elizabeth played for time, hoping the situation would resolve itself, but Mary's presence in England rapidly proved to be a substantial problem for the regime.