Mary I of Scotland was born in Linlithgow Palace on 7 December 1542 - just six days before her father, King James V, died.
From the moment she was born, Scotland’s opposing factions (pro-English and pro-French) plotted to gain control of her. James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, was Mary’s Regent for the first 12 years of her life.
When she was only six months old, the Treaties of Greenwich promised Mary would be married to the future Edward VI of England. Mary’s mother, Marie de Guise, was strongly opposed to the match and hid with her daughter at Stirling Castle.
At only nine months old, Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. The ceremony was apparently hastily organised and solemn, with little rejoicing. The pro-English faction was not present.
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Listen to Lude's Supper, a clàrsach tune handed down through generations of the Robertson family of Lude House in Perthshire. The Robertsons are the descendants of Beatrix Gardyne, whose musical skill so impressed Mary Queen of Scots that the queen gave Beatrix her own beautiful clàrsach.
Simon Chadwick is a musician working on the music and traditions of the early clàrsach (Gaelic harp).
This video clip from BBC Learning Zone gives an account of the death of James V and the birth of his only daughter, Mary who became Queen of Scots within days of her birth.
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