Mary Stuart was one of the most famous women in Scotland, and her execution in 1587 was a tragic event in the life of the country.
She was born on December 8, 1542. The future queen was brought up at the French court, studied languages and arts from childhood. At the age of 14, she was married to the Dauphin of France - Francis II. Shortly after this wedding, the English throne was free.
The only legitimate heir was Mary, descended in a direct line from Henry VII. But the British were against the French-educated “pigalis”, who professed Catholicism, and not Protestantism. Therefore, they placed the daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth, on the throne.
However, Mary Stuart did not give up her desire to rule England. She adopted the coat of arms of England, combining it with the coat of arms of Scotland. Elizabeth, by this time, had already managed to gain authority in her country. Francis II died in 1560 and she had to return to Scotland. After the luxury of the Louvre, the poverty and savagery of her native country made her feel sad. And Maria allowed herself to flirt with the nobleman Chatelar.
Mary Stuart, whose biography is complex andromantic, known as a noble and feminine ruler who lived more by feelings than by political interests. She refused a marriage proposal to the son of the Spanish monarch, the Swedish and Danish kings, and suddenly "jumped out" to marry Lord Darnley. Political interests were sacrificed for love. Darnley was the offspring of the royal houses of the Tudors and Stuarts. But the marriage lasted only six months.
Mary with her supporters expelled her husband from the capital and took a lover - Count Boswell. She understood that the Pope would not give permission for a divorce, so she fraudulently lured Darnley to the capital, where he was killed. After that, the lovers got married, despite the fact that the Scots considered Boswell to be the murderer of Darnley. This turned the people against the queen. An uprising broke out - Mary Stuart was captured, Boswell managed to escape.
The lords imprisoned the queen in Lochleven Castle and forced her to sign an abdication. Her son James VI became king. After some time, the captive queen slipped away from the imposed "guardianship" and gathered an army, but was defeated. Mary fled to England in the hope of gaining Elizabeth's support. But in fact, she ended up in an honorable captivity in England, her son abandoned her.
For nineteen years she led a modest and joyless life in a foreign country, after which she decided on another adventure. Mary supported the Babington plot against Elizabeth. But he was revealed, and Maria was accused of complicity. Elizabeth (albeit with great difficulty) decidedsign the death warrant of a cousin. Mary Stuart did not ask for clemency. The execution itself, which took place on February 8, 1587, was beautifully described by Stefan Zweig.
Many writers addressed the story of the unfortunate queen in their works. Schiller ("Mary Stuart") wrote about her, presenting her to readers not as a great ruler, but as a woman - smart, emotional, fatal, whose feelings prevented her from becoming an effective leader. She was strong and determined. She was a personality, which made her figure so famous, attractive and worthy of constant attention.
