On 14th December 1542 Princess Mary Stuart became Queen Mary I of Scotland upon the death of her father King James V. She was just six days old. Her early reign was governed by regents due to her infancy. Mary was sent to France at the age of five, betrothed to the Dauphin Francis, as part of a political alliance.
Raised in the French court, Mary enjoyed a privileged and cultured upbringing. In 1558, she married Francis, who became King Francis II of France in 1559. However, their reign was short-lived; Francis died in 1560, leaving Mary a widow at 18. She returned to Scotland in 1561 to assume her duties as queen, navigating a Protestant Reformation that had taken hold during her absence. A Catholic monarch ruling a largely Protestant country, Mary faced significant challenges.
In 1565, Mary married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Darnley was accompanied to Edinburgh by his Master of Horse, Anthony Standen, the son of Edmund Standen, a lawyer from East Molsey. The marriage quickly soured. Darnley was arrogant and power-hungry, leading to political and personal discord. Their marriage produced one child, James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). David Rizzio, Mary, Queen of Scots’ Italian secretary, was murdered on 9th March 1566, in Holyrood Palace. Conspirators, led by Mary’s jealous husband, Lord Darnley and his and his uncle, accused Rizzio of undue influence and an affair with Mary. They brutally stabbed him 56 times. In the frenzy of the murder, Anthony Standen save the life of Mary who was pregnant with the future King James I of England. Mary knighted Anthony Standen but the murder and the escalating political turmoil strained Mary’s marriage to Darnley.
Darnley’s mysterious murder in 1567 further tarnished Mary’s reputation. Suspicion fell on Mary and her ally, the Earl of Bothwell, whom she controversially married shortly after Darnley’s death.
This scandal led to a rebellion by Scottish nobles, and Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. She fled to England seeking protection from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. However, Mary’s presence in England became a political threat, as she was a Catholic claimant to the English throne. Over 19 years, she was imprisoned by Elizabeth, embroiled in plots and conspiracies, often instigated by her supporters to restore her to power.
In 1586, Mary was implicated in the Babington Plot, a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne. She was convicted of treason and executed on 8th February 1587, at Fotheringhay Castle. Her death, marked by grace and dignity, solidified her as a martyr to her Catholic supporters.
Edmund Standen was my 11th great-grandfather and I have written the story of Sir Edmund Standen in The Spy who Sank the Armada, the first book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures.