Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 9 September 1543
- The famous Queen Mary Stuart was a very romantic person. Mary’s cousin Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered her execution.
The 6-day-old Mary Stuart inherited the Scottish throne.
At the age of 15, she married the heir to the French throne. He became King of France, and Mary – Queen of France and Scotland.
She lived in the French court, under the protection of her powerful uncles – two cardinals and the Duke of Guise.
After her husband’s death, she returned to Scotland and married Henry Stuart. Their successors became British kings (the Stuart dynasty).
The ruling Queen Elizabeth ordered Mary’s execution because she wanted inherit the throne of England.
Some reports show that the executioner cut off her head with two ax blows. He first hit the back of her head, not her neck, so she died a martyr’s death.
Mary’s son James inherited the throne of Scotland and England, and these thrones have remained united ever since.
Actresses Katharine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave played Mary Stuart in the famous movies about her.
