Marie d'Guise is one of the most important but often overlooked figures of the Tudor era in British history. She was born in 1515 to Claude Duc d'Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon-Vendome and was first married to Louis d'Orleans, Duc d'Longueville in 1533. Less than five years later she was a widow and in 1538 married the Stuart monarch, King James V of Scotland (r.1513-42). France and Scotland had (and would be) old allies against the common threat of England, but the rise of Marie d'Guise as Queen of Scotland took things to a new level.
The royal couple's only child, the famous Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was born only a few days before the death of King James V. Marie d'Guise was immediately faced with a crisis when King Henry VIII of England (always looking for ways to increase his power) tried to take advantage of the situation and conquer Scotland, but was unsuccessful. The child Mary of Scots was spoken for by James, Earl of Arran until 1554 when Marie d'Guise deposed him and became regent of the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Queen Mother faced a difficult situation. Coming from the Guise family, she was a devout Roman Catholic, which made her unpopular with many of the Scottish nobles who were adherents to the new radical Protestantism of John Knox. However, Marie d'Guise was tolerant toward the Protestants and ruled in such an open manner that she made friends of many who would have been her enemies. The Protestants even backed her decision to marry their young Queen to the Dauphin of France, Francois II.
However, problems soon arose with England. Although Queen Elizabeth I had signed a peace treaty with Marie d'Guise, she soon attacked Scotland anyway and even when not at war, England supported and encouraged Protestant subversion against the regency. Marie d'Guise was forced to call in French troops and England forged an alliance with the Scottish elites and invaded north. Fortunately, Marie d'Guise defeated the English in a stunning victory at Leith. The crackdown against the Protestant rebels became a civil war. The Queen Mother was driven from power, but later was able to return. France and England continued to support the opposite sides but the Queen managed to hold the government together by sheer determination.
On June 11, 1560 Queen Marie d'Guise died of dropsy. However, even as her health failed she continued to lead. While on her deathbed she gathered the Scottish nobles around her and pleaded with them to come to an agreement and restore the peace that had existed between the two groups at the begining of her time as regent. Sadly, she died before the conference came to a conclusion. Her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, would continue to rule according to the dictates of her faith and sense of duty, but would also be plagued by religious attacks until she also became a victim of Elizabeth I. |
