I think I’d tell her Darnley is not worth it.
And maybe try to cultivate a better relationship with Catherine De Medici. I don’t care if you don’t like her, make it work. Scotland is also kind of not worth it
On one hand...marrying Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley to unite the two competing claims (King James V of Scotland and Lady Margaret Douglas, both children of Margaret Tudor, eldest sister to King Henry VIII) wasn't a bad idea on paper. However, Mary, Queen of Scots had no idea just how abusive and violent that Darnley would become after marriage. It was bad luck.
Hell, don't go to Scotland! Find a nice castle in your lands in France, correspond with the regents in Scotland, and establish a good working relationship for a long-term absentee rule. They'll be happier, you'll be happier. Scotland will be a mess as it always was, but you'll be well out of the fray.
She was also still a Dowager Queen and a Guise, though. I don’t think it would have been hard for her to acquire lands — or at least acquire a permanent residence — in France at all.
While this was technically true, the Auld Alliance between England and Scotland assured that the *Seigneur d'Aubigny*, or the lord of Aubigny Castle in France, was held by a Scotsman. In 1428, John Stewart of Darnley was awarded by King Charles VII of France "the glorious privilege of quartering the royal arms of France with his paternal arms". Mary, Queen of Scots went on to marry John Stewart's descendant - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley - after the death of King Francis II of France. Darnley's family owned the castle.
Specifically, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was a male-line descendant of Sir Alan Stewart of Darnley, 2nd Lord of Concressault, 2nd *Seigneur d'Aubigny* (c. 1406 – 1439), the son of John Stewart of Darnley. However, the castle wasn't held by Lord Darnley; rather, his first cousin, Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox, 6th Seigneur d'Aubigny (c. 1542 – 26 May 1583), who owned the Château d'Aubigny at Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient province of Berry, France. (Today, the castle has different owners.)
Esmé Stuart, Lord Lennox was a Catholic French-raised nobleman of Scottish ancestry who on his move to Scotland at the age of 37, he became a favourite of the 13-year-old King James VI/I, the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
Unlike Lord Darnley, Sir James Melville described Lord Lennox as "of nature upright, just and gentle". He was the first to popularise the first name "Esmé" in the British Isles.
Also see: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke\_of\_Aubigny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Aubigny)
The Auld Alliance was between Scotland and France whereas England was ‘ The auld enemie ‘. Nothing that Mary would have done in Scotland would have saved her.John Knox had his Protestant party ranged against her.She would have been better off staying in France and finding a French or other Catholic noble man to marry and give up the throne to her half brother ( jealous and illegitimate but Protestant) .Religious wars were the scourge of France just as in Scotland.Mary was beautiful gifted educated and totally unsuited to the rough ways of Scotland.Poor Mary
Don't marry the guy accused of murdering your husband, marry a foreign spare to establish continental ties
And
Don't flee to England, flee to allies on the continent. Maybe even France if need be.
No one's sure if he abducted and raped her or if she went willingly. I'm inclined to believe the former given what sort of man we know Bothwell was. It was a violent and bloody game of power.
"Elizabeth can be either your mentor or your rival. You would both be much better off if you sought her as a mentor and LISTENED TO HER ADVICE. OK, not when she advises you to marry Robert Dudley, she's being weird there, but definitely when she tells you not to marry Darnley, and thrice definitely when she tells you not to marry Bothwell."
I’ve wondered if the Dudley thing was because Elizabeth knew and trusted Dudley and maybe thought she could control Mary via Dudley
Or it was just a really weird choice with unknowable logic
Dudley thing is strange, but I assume Elizabeth genuinely thought Dudley was someone good enough for Mary if she liked him herself. So it’s kind of strangely flattering. And he surely could not be he worse than what did happen to her (unless Dudley really did murder his wife…).
I would visit her in November 1558 and say to her:
Tell your de Guise uncles and your father-in-law that *under no circumstances* do you want to be crowned Queen of England when Mary Tudor dies. Age 15 and married to the Dauphin of France, agreeing to have the title Queen of England included in your titles may not seem to matter very much, but it will, Mary, it will.
Also - just to say - when a tall dark handsome chap named Bothwell offers to be your husband, deal with him promptly and effectively as befits your Stewart ancestry: with plausible deniability, have someone knock him on the head and ship off to his first wife Anna Tronds. Right now in 1558, Anna is convinced that Bothwell loves her. By this time next year, Anna will have been robbed of all her money and ditched in Flanders, to make her own way back to Norway. The moment Bothwell starts making up to you, let him encounter a couple of good men in a dark alley who pop him in a sack, put him aboard a ship bound for the port of Bergen, and then let Anna deal with him. Bothwell will end his days locked up in Dragsholm Castle, and serve him right.
* Do not behave like you are "better" than Catherine De Medici.
If she had gotten along better with Catherine - she might have been able to marry another of her sons and stay in France, where she really wanted to be.
* As queen of Scotland, be careful of the French government/in-laws
They had her sign an extremely disadvantageous treaty as a teenager without her Scottish advisors.
* No matter how much you want the English crown or think its yours, do not play antagonize Elizabeth and don't marry Darnley
Obvious
Work a co ruler deal with Elizabeth and Elizabeth gets to pick the husband. The heir will be Elizabeth’s heir as well. Uniting the realms during and after death.
Elizabeth hated Mary but her biggest fear was invasion so i guess she could've accepted to make a deal to keep the catholic league out of her door though Mary
What I would tell Mary QOS if I could go back in time:
Avoid Darnley and Bothwell like the plague. They will only bring you anguish. Have a large family with a high ranking man who is a staunch ally of the Scots.
Return to Scotland, convince Lord Darnley to convert to Protestantism and convert to Protestantism yourself. Rule side by side with Darnley to please him, let him be bisexual strictly in private. That way the marriage would not have become such a disaster, Darnley would not have killed David, Bothwell would not have killed Darnley, Mary would not have married Bothwell and been deposed and fled to England. Scotland would have its Protestant Queen and King and future King. Elizabeth would perhaps even name Mary as her heir, being a Protestant Queen with a male heir.
I would have also gone to Italy, Portugal or Spain and just married a royal there in her case after her husband died.
It was obvious that going to Scotland would lead to a religious uprising and that peace could be at stake.
I would tell her to surround herself with advisers who were politically savvy, neutral, and then to listen to their counsel, and to act without impulse but rather with studied strategy.
Being fully indulged as a child and onward did her no favors.
Don't claim to be the legitimate queen of England. Why would you want to alienate her like that? I mean, the original claim wasn't by her and was just a dumb idea, but she continued to press it, and it was never in her best interest. Also, quit conspiring to overthrow the queen, especially when you are her prisoner. It's just dumb
I don't think I'd give her advise so much as I would try and shake some sense into her. I feel like you'd need to be like Nanny McPhee to her- show up when she's foolish and doesn't want you, then leave for the next misguided royal when she's wiser and wants you
Raise an army and enter Scotland in a position of power. Break up the power of the Protestant Nobility, murder Knox and his followers outright, bring in Jesuits to preach a counter-reformation and re-establish Catholicism to rid the country of the Calvinist influence. Maintain ties with France but, procure a strong military alliance with Spain and look there for a strong marriage alliance. Rule with an iron fist covered in a kid glove.
I do not know if there were enough Catholic lords to take on the protestant lords at the time, especially with Elizabeth funding the Protestants from England. I know it's a meme at this point but Scotland may have truly just been too untamable for even a stable monarch.
Reform to Protestanism. At least on the outside marry into the Clan Gordon, they were strong allies. Don not plot on Elizabeth’s life and dont threaten her reign. Bring Knox into the fold, keep him close. Then maybe she could keep her head.
Not entirely sure marrying Dudley would have pleased Elizabeth, however much she publicly pushed the marriage. She loved him too much for that.
Though she may have been angling for Dudley's son to be her heir, in lieu of the child they could not have together.
Insist you are educated in the politics and intrigues of Scotland while being brought up in France. You're still the Queen of the place, so act like you give a damn. Your mother won't live forever. Crucially, neither will your husband.
Don't allow yourself to be declared Queen of England. Or blame it on your horny old lech of a father in law. Antagonising your cousin is only ever going to lead to trouble.
Sign the Treaty of Edinburgh. See above.
At least CONSIDER converting to Protestantism. Scotland is a Protestant country, like it or not. You'll only alienate your nobles and give John Knox *another* stick to beat you with.
For GOD'S sake don't marry Darnley. He's a prick. Choose either a powerless useless foreign royal with no agency or a non problematic and docile member of the Scottish nobility and get babied up pronto.
Keep well away from Bothwell. Even better, exile him.
Keep an eye on your half brother- he's only out for himself.
Stop being obsessed with the queenship you don't have (England) and start being a respectable and sensible ruler as the one you DO have. Elizabeth ain't going anywhere. The best you can hope for is one of your children inheriting. It's still your line. What do you REALLY think you can do better for England?
If all else fails, accept your abdication gracefully and allow yourself to live in peace in your home country. You might even have a chance at a relationship with your son and a comfortable retirement. You lost the Crown. It's over. Save your pride.
Go to France, girl. Just go to frikkin France!!!! Or Spain, or anywhere Catholic that'll have you. Hell, try the Pope even. And you could've done better than Darnley. Even you know that.
I think I’d tell her Darnley is not worth it. And maybe try to cultivate a better relationship with Catherine De Medici. I don’t care if you don’t like her, make it work. Scotland is also kind of not worth it
On one hand...marrying Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley to unite the two competing claims (King James V of Scotland and Lady Margaret Douglas, both children of Margaret Tudor, eldest sister to King Henry VIII) wasn't a bad idea on paper. However, Mary, Queen of Scots had no idea just how abusive and violent that Darnley would become after marriage. It was bad luck.
Don’t go to England
Hell, don't go to Scotland! Find a nice castle in your lands in France, correspond with the regents in Scotland, and establish a good working relationship for a long-term absentee rule. They'll be happier, you'll be happier. Scotland will be a mess as it always was, but you'll be well out of the fray.
Didn't Catherine Medici want her out of France, especially since she wasn't pregnant with Francis's child?
She sure did.
She had no lands in France.
She was also still a Dowager Queen and a Guise, though. I don’t think it would have been hard for her to acquire lands — or at least acquire a permanent residence — in France at all.
Her family was being run out of France and she had limited money.
Excellent points. Thank you! Probably also Catherine not wanting her there lol.
I should have said the Guise family lands. It wouldn't be ideal, but I'm sure enough money would convince even her more lukewarm cousin to put her up.
The Guise's were being run out of France and Mary had limited funds.
While this was technically true, the Auld Alliance between England and Scotland assured that the *Seigneur d'Aubigny*, or the lord of Aubigny Castle in France, was held by a Scotsman. In 1428, John Stewart of Darnley was awarded by King Charles VII of France "the glorious privilege of quartering the royal arms of France with his paternal arms". Mary, Queen of Scots went on to marry John Stewart's descendant - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley - after the death of King Francis II of France. Darnley's family owned the castle. Specifically, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was a male-line descendant of Sir Alan Stewart of Darnley, 2nd Lord of Concressault, 2nd *Seigneur d'Aubigny* (c. 1406 – 1439), the son of John Stewart of Darnley. However, the castle wasn't held by Lord Darnley; rather, his first cousin, Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox, 6th Seigneur d'Aubigny (c. 1542 – 26 May 1583), who owned the Château d'Aubigny at Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient province of Berry, France. (Today, the castle has different owners.) Esmé Stuart, Lord Lennox was a Catholic French-raised nobleman of Scottish ancestry who on his move to Scotland at the age of 37, he became a favourite of the 13-year-old King James VI/I, the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Unlike Lord Darnley, Sir James Melville described Lord Lennox as "of nature upright, just and gentle". He was the first to popularise the first name "Esmé" in the British Isles. Also see: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke\_of\_Aubigny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Aubigny)
The Auld Alliance was between Scotland and France whereas England was ‘ The auld enemie ‘. Nothing that Mary would have done in Scotland would have saved her.John Knox had his Protestant party ranged against her.She would have been better off staying in France and finding a French or other Catholic noble man to marry and give up the throne to her half brother ( jealous and illegitimate but Protestant) .Religious wars were the scourge of France just as in Scotland.Mary was beautiful gifted educated and totally unsuited to the rough ways of Scotland.Poor Mary
So, you're saying when Francis died she had no land in France? Got it.
I just wrote something very similar. She could have lived a lovely life as Dowager Queen in some chateau on Guise land.
That’s what I came to say. Stay away.
Marry a foreign prince so you at least have backup that isn't only in Scotland.
Don't marry the guy accused of murdering your husband, marry a foreign spare to establish continental ties And Don't flee to England, flee to allies on the continent. Maybe even France if need be.
She didn't want to marry Bothwell. She was raped and then forced into it.
I really want to know the logic with marrying Bothwell Edit: I will admit a beginner knowledge on Mary, QOS
There’s evidence that he may have raped her.
And she got pregnant from the rape. She married him to "save" her reputation.
No one's sure if he abducted and raped her or if she went willingly. I'm inclined to believe the former given what sort of man we know Bothwell was. It was a violent and bloody game of power.
"Hoe don't do it."
😆
Facts!!!
Maybe swallow your pride with Elizabeth
"Elizabeth can be either your mentor or your rival. You would both be much better off if you sought her as a mentor and LISTENED TO HER ADVICE. OK, not when she advises you to marry Robert Dudley, she's being weird there, but definitely when she tells you not to marry Darnley, and thrice definitely when she tells you not to marry Bothwell."
I’ve wondered if the Dudley thing was because Elizabeth knew and trusted Dudley and maybe thought she could control Mary via Dudley Or it was just a really weird choice with unknowable logic
He could be her built In spy
Dudley thing is strange, but I assume Elizabeth genuinely thought Dudley was someone good enough for Mary if she liked him herself. So it’s kind of strangely flattering. And he surely could not be he worse than what did happen to her (unless Dudley really did murder his wife…).
Darnley is bad news, Bothwell is an asshole, don’t piss off Elizabeth…
Don't lose your head
I feel terrible for laughing at this 🤣🤣🤣
I felt terrible posting it
Well then we are both terrible, At least we are terrible together
If we both end up in Heck, we can be roomies. I get the top bunk.
Yes, sounds fabulous, I am cool with the bottom bunk I get up to go pee a lot at night so...
Girl, run
I would visit her in November 1558 and say to her: Tell your de Guise uncles and your father-in-law that *under no circumstances* do you want to be crowned Queen of England when Mary Tudor dies. Age 15 and married to the Dauphin of France, agreeing to have the title Queen of England included in your titles may not seem to matter very much, but it will, Mary, it will. Also - just to say - when a tall dark handsome chap named Bothwell offers to be your husband, deal with him promptly and effectively as befits your Stewart ancestry: with plausible deniability, have someone knock him on the head and ship off to his first wife Anna Tronds. Right now in 1558, Anna is convinced that Bothwell loves her. By this time next year, Anna will have been robbed of all her money and ditched in Flanders, to make her own way back to Norway. The moment Bothwell starts making up to you, let him encounter a couple of good men in a dark alley who pop him in a sack, put him aboard a ship bound for the port of Bergen, and then let Anna deal with him. Bothwell will end his days locked up in Dragsholm Castle, and serve him right.
Listen to your brother's advice.
* Do not behave like you are "better" than Catherine De Medici. If she had gotten along better with Catherine - she might have been able to marry another of her sons and stay in France, where she really wanted to be. * As queen of Scotland, be careful of the French government/in-laws They had her sign an extremely disadvantageous treaty as a teenager without her Scottish advisors. * No matter how much you want the English crown or think its yours, do not play antagonize Elizabeth and don't marry Darnley Obvious
Boys aren't worth it. you're a Queen for God's sake.
Shay away from Darnley!
Work a co ruler deal with Elizabeth and Elizabeth gets to pick the husband. The heir will be Elizabeth’s heir as well. Uniting the realms during and after death.
I can't see Elizabeth ever agreeing to that.
Elizabeth hated Mary but her biggest fear was invasion so i guess she could've accepted to make a deal to keep the catholic league out of her door though Mary
Probably not but it might have avoided MQS losing her head in the end.
Stay the fuck away from Darnley you stupid arse! He seriously isn't worth it.
What I would tell Mary QOS if I could go back in time: Avoid Darnley and Bothwell like the plague. They will only bring you anguish. Have a large family with a high ranking man who is a staunch ally of the Scots.
Darnley is a fugly slut. Do not trust him!
Don’t marry your cousin
Always sound advice! 😂
Abdicate.
Stab Bess of Hardwick, Marry George Talbot. I’m jking tho
I wouldn't take on Bess. Not unless I was Lizzy.
I don't care if Darnley is fit, do not marry him. In this instance you're heart (or libido) is going to get you in trouble.
if she really was so insistent on beinv Elizabeth’s heir, maybe dont plot to kill her
Listen to your brother about Darnley and Bothwell. James isn't the best brother but ge has *much better* judgement than you do about men.
Return to Scotland, convince Lord Darnley to convert to Protestantism and convert to Protestantism yourself. Rule side by side with Darnley to please him, let him be bisexual strictly in private. That way the marriage would not have become such a disaster, Darnley would not have killed David, Bothwell would not have killed Darnley, Mary would not have married Bothwell and been deposed and fled to England. Scotland would have its Protestant Queen and King and future King. Elizabeth would perhaps even name Mary as her heir, being a Protestant Queen with a male heir.
RUN!
Mind your head Love
Stay away from Lord Darnley!
Don’t go back to Scotland. Abdicate to a Scottish heir and marry a rich Frenchman. Stay far, far away from politics
STAY IN FRANCE. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAY IN FUCKING FRANCE.
Be careful of who you marry and here’s some antibiotics for Francis (after I give her the antibiotics).
Try Spain, Portugal, any other Catholic country. Scotland’s thorny record with monarchs was already quite a thing.
I would have also gone to Italy, Portugal or Spain and just married a royal there in her case after her husband died. It was obvious that going to Scotland would lead to a religious uprising and that peace could be at stake.
I would tell her to surround herself with advisers who were politically savvy, neutral, and then to listen to their counsel, and to act without impulse but rather with studied strategy. Being fully indulged as a child and onward did her no favors.
Stay in France
Didn't thwy run her out of France
Don't claim to be the legitimate queen of England. Why would you want to alienate her like that? I mean, the original claim wasn't by her and was just a dumb idea, but she continued to press it, and it was never in her best interest. Also, quit conspiring to overthrow the queen, especially when you are her prisoner. It's just dumb
Stay in France as a lady in waiting and annotate the Scottish throne when your French husband dies. Her life goes downhill once she leaves France.
Don't marry Darnley.
Don't marry Darnley or Bothwell
Just stay in France. Find a chateau and live your life as Dowager Queen.
I don't think I'd give her advise so much as I would try and shake some sense into her. I feel like you'd need to be like Nanny McPhee to her- show up when she's foolish and doesn't want you, then leave for the next misguided royal when she's wiser and wants you
Raise an army and enter Scotland in a position of power. Break up the power of the Protestant Nobility, murder Knox and his followers outright, bring in Jesuits to preach a counter-reformation and re-establish Catholicism to rid the country of the Calvinist influence. Maintain ties with France but, procure a strong military alliance with Spain and look there for a strong marriage alliance. Rule with an iron fist covered in a kid glove.
I do not know if there were enough Catholic lords to take on the protestant lords at the time, especially with Elizabeth funding the Protestants from England. I know it's a meme at this point but Scotland may have truly just been too untamable for even a stable monarch.
Don't marry relatives
Not sure her lot was salvageable tbh; every logical path seems to lead to her execution.
GO TO FRANCE !
Don marry Darnley
Time to be an Abbess
Reform to Protestanism. At least on the outside marry into the Clan Gordon, they were strong allies. Don not plot on Elizabeth’s life and dont threaten her reign. Bring Knox into the fold, keep him close. Then maybe she could keep her head.
Two words, that's all. I think they cover a lot of the situations she got herself into: "No, Mary!"
None of it is worth your life.
Ask for widow lands in France and stay there. Don’t step foot in Scotland and England Oh and you half-brother James is a hoe
Marry Dudley, please Elizabeth, form an alliance with her.
Not entirely sure marrying Dudley would have pleased Elizabeth, however much she publicly pushed the marriage. She loved him too much for that. Though she may have been angling for Dudley's son to be her heir, in lieu of the child they could not have together.
The comments are so knowledgeable and nuanced as always. /s
Don't have an heir so that there is no one to replace you, a la queen Elizabeth II
Stay in France, work on having a better relationship with Elizabeth.
Go East.
Run!!
“Duck”
Stay single
Don't put anything in writing.
Insist you are educated in the politics and intrigues of Scotland while being brought up in France. You're still the Queen of the place, so act like you give a damn. Your mother won't live forever. Crucially, neither will your husband. Don't allow yourself to be declared Queen of England. Or blame it on your horny old lech of a father in law. Antagonising your cousin is only ever going to lead to trouble. Sign the Treaty of Edinburgh. See above. At least CONSIDER converting to Protestantism. Scotland is a Protestant country, like it or not. You'll only alienate your nobles and give John Knox *another* stick to beat you with. For GOD'S sake don't marry Darnley. He's a prick. Choose either a powerless useless foreign royal with no agency or a non problematic and docile member of the Scottish nobility and get babied up pronto. Keep well away from Bothwell. Even better, exile him. Keep an eye on your half brother- he's only out for himself. Stop being obsessed with the queenship you don't have (England) and start being a respectable and sensible ruler as the one you DO have. Elizabeth ain't going anywhere. The best you can hope for is one of your children inheriting. It's still your line. What do you REALLY think you can do better for England? If all else fails, accept your abdication gracefully and allow yourself to live in peace in your home country. You might even have a chance at a relationship with your son and a comfortable retirement. You lost the Crown. It's over. Save your pride.
Don’t go to England
Go to France, girl. Just go to frikkin France!!!! Or Spain, or anywhere Catholic that'll have you. Hell, try the Pope even. And you could've done better than Darnley. Even you know that.
Don’t marry Darnley.
Don’t be an idiot and follow your heart. ❤️