Mary DE GUISE-LORRAINE

  General Notes:

Mary of Guise, 1515-60, queen consort of James V of Scotland and regent for her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots . The daughter of Claude de Lorraine, Duc de Guise , she was also known as Mary of Lorraine. Before her marriage (1538) to James V she had been married (1534) to Louis d'Orléans, 2nd Duc de Longueville, who died in 1537. When James died (1542), shortly after his daughter's birth, James Hamilton , 2nd Earl of Arran, became regent. He negotiated (1543) the betrothal of the infant Queen Mary to Prince Edward (later Edward VI) of England, but the queen mother persuaded the Scottish Parliament to repudiate the agreement. After the outbreak of war with England, Mary of Guise arranged the betrothal of her daughter to the French dauphin, and the young queen was sent to France.

By 1554, with French aid, Mary of Guise had replaced the ineffectual Arran as regent, and she made no secret of her desire to bring France and Scotland together. Meanwhile, Protestantism was spreading rapidly in Scotland, and Mary, though at first conciliatory toward the reformers, began a campaign of suppression. In 1559 the Protestants, exhorted by John Knox , rose against the regent and declared her deposed. Mary received French aid, but the Protestants, allied with the English, proved the stronger force. The civil war was concluded shortly after Mary's death by the Treaty of Edinburgh (1560), which ended the French domination of Scotland and opened the way for the establishment of the Protestant church.

Mary of Guise was born on 20 November 1515, eldest daughter of the marriage of love between Antoinette of Bourbon and Claud, Count of Guise Her father became somewhat of a hero but his military career kept him away from the family home at Joinville where she grew up. He distinguished himself fighting in the Italian Wars and was created Duc de Guise by King Francis I. Her mother, far from being the subdued housewife type, took a vivid interest in her husband's affairs and believed in conveying that sense to her daughter. Claud's own mother, Philippa of Gueldres was a formidable woman with a devout nature who, sickly and aged 58, decided to join a convent and make vow of poverty. Her son came to her for advice when Martin Luther's revolutionary ideas began to spread the Protestant movement, and she urged him to fight heresy. From this moment onwards, Claud saw himself as the defender of the faith. It is therefore not surprising that Antoinette wished for her daughter to receive a strong Christian education, and what better teacher than her own grandmother. Mary was thus sent to Pont-au-Mousson to learn. However, when aged 14, her uncle Antony and his wife paid her a visit and recognised her father's looks and charms. Such a girl should no longer languish in a convent but be introduced to the glamour of Francis's court. It was thus that Mary had her first contact with the world of courtiers with all its jealousy and insincerity. However, Mary remained unmarried for some time although she divided her time between court and the family home. Finally, on 4 August 1534, she married another illustrious young man, Louis, Duke of Longueville in the chapel of the Royal Palace of the Louvres. Their union was a happy one and Mary found a purpose in becoming the source of charity for local people. On 30 October 1535 her first son Francis was born. In the winter of 1536, she attended the wedding of the King of Scotland, James V and the French King's eldest daughter, Princess Madeleine. Princess Madeleine however, a tubercular, could not withstand the rigours of the Scottish climate and died a couple of weeks after her departure. Mary, who was once again pregnant shared in the general sorrow which was soon to be her lot too. On 9 June 1537, Louis her husband died at Rouens from an unclear epidemic and left her a widow at the age of 21.

Mary married King Of Scotland James V STEWART, son of King Of Scotland James IV STEWART and Princess Of England Margaret TUDOR. (King Of Scotland James V STEWART was born on 10 Apr 1512 in Linlithgow Palace, Lothian Scotland and died on 14 Dec 1542 in Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland.)

Mary next married Louis II D'ORLEANS-LONGUEVILLE. (Louis II D'ORLEANS-LONGUEVILLE was born on 5 Jun 1510 in Blandy, France and died on 9 Jun 1537 in France.)