When Princess Mary Stuart ascended to the Scottish throne on December 14, 1542, she had been alive for a mere six days. Having entered the world on December 8, 1542, this newborn monarch was obviously in no position to handle the responsibilities of governing a nation. Regents stepped in to manage the kingdom on her behalf, and for a period, her own mother took on that role. What made Princess Mary's story even more dramatic was her connection to the British Royal family — a connection that would day get her killed. From the very start, her life was anything but ordinary for a royal. She arrived during an era of relentless conflict, when monarchs and their realms waged war over land and the authority to govern. Her father, King James of Scotland, lost his life in one of these very struggles.
Princess Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, came from a lineage tied to French nobility. She had become the second wife of King James, who faced enormous pressure to produce an heir to the Scottish Crown. His first marriage, to Madeleine of Valois, ended in tragedy when she succumbed to tuberculosis before the couple could have children. Following that loss, King James wed Mary of Guise, and together they brought Princess Mary into the world. As the only surviving child, she held a legitimate claim to the Crown. Tragically, though, her bloodlines extended beyond Scotland — reaching into the British Royal family and connecting her to King Henry VIII.
In a world where men held the reins of power, Princess Mary was little more than a human chess piece. An arrangement was made for her to marry the son of King Henry VIII, a union that would have allowed England to consolidate its authority. That marriage never came to pass, but Princess Mary's relocation to France drew her deep into French Politics, and she even wore the crown as Queen of France. Yet life had other plans for her. Upon her return to England, the reigning Queen threw her in prison, convinced that Princess Mary posed a threat to her hold on the English Crown. After 18 years of captivity, Queen Elizabeth ordered Princess Mary beheaded.