In 1558, at the age of 15, Mary married Francis, becoming Queen Consort of France. Their union briefly made her one of the most powerful women in Europe. When Henry II of France died in 1559, Francis and Mary ascended to the throne.
However, tragedy struck again. Francis was sickly and died from an ear infection just 17 months into his reign. At barely 18, Mary found herself a widow, stripped of influence at the French court now ruled by her formidable mother-in-law, Catherine de’ Medici. With little place in France, she decided to return to her native Scotland in 1561.
Returning to a Divided Scotland
Mary arrived back in Scotland to rule a kingdom very different from the one she had left. While she had grown up in Catholic France, Scotland had undergone a Protestant Reformation under the leadership of John Knox. The country was rife with religious tensions and suspicious of its young Catholic queen.
Nevertheless, Mary initially ruled with moderation, seeking to maintain peace between Protestants and Catholics. Her cousin, Elizabeth I of England—a Protestant—was watching closely. The two queens’ relationship would prove fateful. They were kin (both were granddaughters of Henry VII of England), yet political rivals. Mary, by most interpretations of lineage, had a strong claim to the English throne, a claim that would haunt both queens. shutdown123