Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587)
Mary Stuart was Queen of Scotland from 1542 until she was forced to step down in 1567. More about that later. Her father James V had ruled for almost 30 years since inheriting the throne at less than two years old. King Henry VIII attempted to secure her hand for his son, Edward when she was only six months old. She was to marry him at the age of 10 as agreed in the Treaty of Greenwich. The treaty didn’t last and the countries had a turbulent relationship. Mary was only six days old when she became Queen of Scotland, and only six years old when she was engaged to Frances, Dauphin of France (who was only three at the time!). She spent the rest of her childhood in France, and she married Frances when she was 16 to become Queen Consort of France. She was widowed only three years later and returned to Scotland.
By this time, Protestantism had largely replaced Catholicism in Scotland (you’ll have heard of the Reformation), but the Catholic Queen agreed to let things be. However, the underlying tensions remained and her actions, or lack of them, angered the Catholic church as well as the Scottish protestant nobility.
Her second husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered at Kirk o’Field in Edinburgh by an explosion. The Earl of Bothwell was accused of the murder after laying gunpowder at the site, but he was acquitted. A group of Parliamentary noblemen and Bishops approved the acquittal, signing the Ainslie Tavern Bond. In a rather shocking twist, the same document approved the Earl of Bothwell as a suitable husband for the bereaved Queen.
Just a week later, Mary was travelling from Linlithgow Palace (where she was born) to Edinburgh when she was surrounded by 800 men – and Bothwell. He told her there was danger in Edinburgh and offered to keep her safe in Dunbar. It’s said she was taken prisoner and raped before being married to him – 12 days after he divorced his first wife! National restlessness continued and emotions spilled over at the battle of Carberry Hill where Queen Mary surrendered and the Earl of Bothwell escaped. Her one year old son, James VI was crowned King after she abdicated.
The Earl fled to Denmark via the Scottish isles and Norway, was taken into custody and imprisoned at Dragsholm Castle where he was stripped of all Scottish titles and chained to a pillar for ten years.
Mary was also imprisoned, spending time at Lochleven Castle (you can still visit the island on Loch Leven, near Kinross) where it’s said she miscarried twins. She then escaped to Dumbarton Castle, then England where she spent many years under the watchful eye of Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I was her first cousin and although Henry III had explicitly excluded the Stuarts from succeeding to the English throne, many Catholics claimed Mary Stuart was the rightful Queen of England. This caused a rift between Mary and Elizabeth. Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and was beheaded in 1587. It’s said her wig fell during the beheading revealing short, grey hair rather than the distinctive red hair we see in paintings.
She is an iconic figure in Scotland.
This stained glass portrait of Mary Queen of Scots has been made using the copper foil technique and is framed with zinc. She has the Scottish flag behind her, the St Andrew’s cross, with its white saltire (x-shaped cross) on a blue field. Interestingly the shade of blue has changed through the years, though it’s most commonly navy or thereabouts.
She is wearing a striking black and brown dress. I’ve used a hammered iridescent glass for the skin and an iridescent black for her hair.
A chain has been added so it’s ready to hang. The refraction from the blue when the sun hits it is beautiful.
Read about some of my other stained glass portraits here.