Mary, Queen of Scots Tour
A romantic yet tragic figure, Mary seemed destined for glory, succeeding to the Scottish throne at only 5 days old, crowned Queen of France as a teenager and hailed by many as England's true Queen, yet she died a lonely figure, exiled from her country and the son she last saw as a baby. Involvement in a series of ill-fated plots resulted in imprisonment for over half her life and execution by her cousin Elizabeth I.
Highlights
- Edinburgh, where Mary was jeered at for her Catholicism and where her husband Darnley was brutally murdered. Holyrood Palace, where Mary's Secretary David Rizzio was murdered and Edinburgh Castle where James I was born.
- Linlithgow Castle, where she was born and Stirling Castle where she was crowned as a baby.
- Inchmahome Priory where as a small child she lived in sanctuary and in hiding, for fear of abduction by Henry VIII.
- Jedburgh, where she scandalously lived during her affair with the Earl of Bothwell and Loch Leven Castle, where her Scottish nobles held her prisoner.
- Chatsworth, famous seat of the Cavendish family, where Mary was held for many years in the custody of the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury and Hardwick Hall.
- Fortheringay Castle, where Mary was tried and executed and her English prisons of Carlisle, Bolton and Tutbury Castles.
- Mary's famous Death Mask and the notorious silver casket of letters used in evidence against her at her trial.
Photo credits:
Slideshow: Stirling Castle © Historic Environment Scotland; Palace of Holyroodhouse © John Freeman Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019; inside Edinburgh Castle © Historic Environment Scotland.
Photo to the right of the tour: Inchmahome Priory © Historic Environment Scotland.
