Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Happy Birthday, Mary Queen of Scots

December 8 marks the birthday in 1542 of Mary, Queen of Scots! (Which would make her, er, 467 years old). Her beginning didn't really augur well--she was born at Stirling Castle in the middle of a fierce winter storm to Queen Marie de Guise, while her father, King James V, lay dying at Linlithgow Palace. She was a weak baby, not really expected to live, but she soon began to thrive. When her father died she became Queen at 6 days old. She was crowned at Stirling in September, not even able to sit upright on her new throne, and at age 5 (after years of dangerous civil war) her mother sent her to be raised in France as the betrothed of the Dauphin. She would not return to Scotland until she was a grown-up young widow--and we all know how that turned out...

And if it's Tuesday, I must be over at the Riskies! Join me there as I talk about the actress Eliza Poe (mother of Edgar).

1 comment:

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said...

Happy Birthday Mary!