Marie de Guise – mother, fighter and queen regent of Scotland

Marie de Guise © Corneille de Lyon

On this day, 11th June 1560 at Edinburgh Castle, one of history’s undervalued and influential women of power sadly passed away at forty-four years old. Marie de Guise, also known as Mary of Guise, was an influential woman of the sixteenth century as she was not only the mother of Scotland’s most famous and tragic queen, Mary Queen of Scots, but she successfully ruled Scotland in her daughter’s name as Queen Regent for many years before her early death. The accomplishments and hardships Marie de Guise faced during her short lifetime (short by modern standards, at least) are often overshadowed by the tragic life of her daughter who would later be executed by her cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth Tudor. Yet it is time for Marie de Guise and her importance to history to be thrust into the limelight for the first time.

To commemorate the anniversary of her death, this article will explore what information we have about who Marie was as well as the unpredictable events that occurred during her life such as her husband’s death and her early widowhood, and take a closer look into the relationship dynamic that Marie would have had with her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots.

. . .

Born at Bar-le-Duc on 22nd November 1515 as the eldest daughter of Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise and his wife, Antoinette of Bourbon, Marie was destined for greatness since birth. She was born into an incredibly powerful stem of the House of Lorraine and the House of Bourdon on her mother’s side. Whilst the Guise family held a claim to the French throne through their ancestry to the great Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, their claim was nowhere as strong as the Valois family nor the Bourbon family. However, their royal claim permitted them to be referred to as Princes of the Blood and provided them with great influence over the French court.

With royal blood in her veins and powerful heritage, Marie was immediate an attractive prospective bride on the marriage market. Powerful noble houses constantly sought marriages and arrangements with each other to keep their bloodlines strong and maintain highly sought after positions within the French court. At approximately five years old, Marie was sent off to join her paternal grandmother, Philippa of Guelders, at the convent of Poor Clares at Pont-à-Mousson, similar to how Marie would later send her own daughter off to a French convent.

Noble families had numerous reasons for sending their young daughters off to convents including educational and financial. Convents could provide a higher education for noble born ladies as well as instill firm religious beliefs that inevitably increased a young lady’s marketability for marriage. Additionally, convents could provide financial aid in terms of the bride’s dowry, meaning money the bride’s father paid to the groom – essentially how much he would pay to the groom to marry his daughter, as the convent would assume all financial responsibility for the young lady which could help the family either negotiate the dowry or save up for it.

During her time at the convent, Marie slowly grew from a little girl to a tall, mature, and extremely desirable young lady. She was reported to have stood at five feet, eleven inches, making her very tall for women of her age and status, with ‘with dark auburn hair and creamy skin.’ During the sixteenth century, tallness could often be a sign of fertility and being blessed by God, inevitably aiding Marie’s family in securing an advantageous marriage for their firstborn.

Interestingly, despite this, Marie was initially bound for a career within the church, something not uncommon for highborn noblewoman in France. Had Marie entered the church as initially intended, she might have escaped some of the later sorrowful events that occurred in her life but one cannot be certain. Thankfully, it was a visit from her paternal uncle Antoine, Duke of Lorraine that enabled Marie to make the impact on history that she did. Her uncle visited her at the convent when she was approximately fourteen years old and, upon seeing his young niece’s impressive qualities and stature, requested her immediate removal from the convent and introduction to the French court. For it was there that she would catch the eyes of many powerful bachelors of the court and provide further wealth, status, and power to the family.

In 1531 at the age of sixteen, Marie officially debuted at the French court at the lavish wedding of Francis I, the King of France, and his second wife Eleanor of Austria, who was the queen widow of Portugal and the sister of Emperor Charles V. This would have been a momentous occasion for Marie; an invite to a royal wedding was not something to be taken lightly as numerous influential individuals from across the globe would be in attendance and catching the eye of a wealthy bachelor was the most desirable aspect of the wedding, other than associating with royalty. Debuting at the royal court must have both excited and frightened Marie as all eyes were on her and there were other noble families vying for royal attention.

The French court, much like the court of Henry VIII, was a prestigious yet dangerous place for a young lady to be because of the constant political and social games being played by men and women alike. One could be expelled from court merely from upsetting the monarch in an innocent game of cards or not adhering to the strict rules dictating fashion etiquette.

Men sought power and status through aligning themselves with powerful players, the crème de la crème being the King himself. Women achieved this solely through position and marriage as having a position in the Queen’s household or contracting an advantageous marriage with the richest man in the country. Nevertheless, Marie’s debut at the French court was effortlessly timed as she surely would have caught the eyes of many nobles, dignitaries, and ambassadors.

Rivalries between women were also very common within the French court; young ladies from noble families were in constant battle to achieve the best match on the marriage market and maintain an influential presence over the nobles of the court and even the Queen whose friendship would benefit them greatly. Not one to miss an opportunity, Marie seized her chance to establish herself within the royal court by befriending the King’s only surviving daughters, Madeleine and Margaret of Valois. Notably, Marie would later succeed Madeleine as Queen of Scotland following her sudden death at sixteen after only months of marriage—she would later receive the title of The Summer Queen.

Out of the three, Marie was the elder of the trio with Madeleine being five years younger, born in 1520, and Margaret being eight as she was born in 1523. The wedding of Francis and Eleanor was essentially the debut of Madeleine and Margaret also as, due to her sister’s poor health, they were raised away from court by their paternal aunt, Marguerite de Navarre. Marguerite de Navarre would raise the princesses’ sister-in-law Catherine de' Medici who would marry the future Henry II in 1533, the same year that Anne Boleyn, who served in Marguerite’s household during her early years, was crowned Queen (consort) of England.

The delicate health of Madeleine may have established a close bond between both the sisters and Marie as there were high mortality rates for royal children, even in their adolescence years. Examples of this include the deaths of Prince Arthur Tudor at fifteen, Juan, Prince of Asturias who was the only son of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile died at nineteen from either tuberculosis or smallpox, and finally Madeleine and Margaret’s eldest brother Francis III, Duke of Brittany who sadly died at eighteen presumably from tuberculosis.

. . .

Unsurprisingly, Marie flourished within Francis I’s court with her beauty, intelligence and, of course, her royal connections. This would lead to Marie’s first though short-lived marriage to Louis II d'Orléans, the Duke of Longueville and the Grand Chamberlain of France on 4th August 1534. Her new husband was a fine match for Marie; Louis was a French aristocrat with great influence within the French court who could offer Marie much in life. When the pair married, Marie was a few months short of her nineteenth birthday and Louis was twenty-four years old (as his exact birthdate is unknown). Despite Marie’s good fortune, a tragedy would soon strike and place her in a rare circumstance.

A mere three years into her marriage, Louis unfortunately passed away from an unknown illness at Rouen on 9th June 1537 leaving Marie a widow and her son without a father. By the time of his death, Marie had borne Louis a healthy son, François III d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, on 30th October 1535 who would succeed his father’s duchy and she was heavily pregnant with the couple’s second child when he passed. A posthumous (a child born after the death of a parent) son named Louis, named after his father, would later be born on 4th August 1537, the anniversary of his parents’ marriage, however he would sadly die four months later. Infant deaths were not uncommon within the nobility and even royalty but still, this would have deeply hurt Marie who was already grieving for the husband she lost at twenty-one years old. From what we know of their marriage, the couple enjoyed a blissful and successful marriage as Marie had borne him two sons within their short marriage, and we can assume the couple cared and even loved each other deeply. This can be seen through Marie’s lifelong decision to keep the last letter from Louis, whom she called her bon mari et ami (good husband and friend), in which mentioned his illness and explained why he was unable to return to her—this very letter can still be read today at The National Library of Scotland. If this was not a sign of young love, I do not know what is.

Upon her husband’s death, Marie’s circumstances had taken a tragic yet unexpected turn as she was now a very attractive candidate for another politically advantageous marriage, with nobles and foreign royalty taking an interest in the freshly widowed, evidently fertile young noblewoman with French royal blood running through her veins. Marie’s success in providing two male children, although only one survived, in such a short period of marriage acted as assurance to a future husband of the probability of future male heirs. For a noble or even a King, a male heir was the ultimate goal as to secure one’s own line and future security for their line and so Marie’s son secured her a high ranking amongst other attractive marriage candidates at court and soon the offers came pouring in. Two of the most agreeable prospects were from two rival Kings; Henry VIII of England and James V of Scotland.

Both Kings had their benefits and their faults. At the time of Marie’s widowhood in mid-1537, both Henry VIII and James V had both lost their dear wives. Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour, had passed away after only a year of marriage due to complications after delivering the King’s only legitimate son, Edward VI. On the other hand, James V’s wife and Marie’s dearest friend, Madeleine, had passed away within six months of marriage, the last two being spent in Scotland. She was sixteen years old when she passed away from a strange illness; one of Madeleine’s gentlewomen spoke of her illness and subsequent death, stating she ‘had no good days after her arrival there (in Scotland), but always sickly with a catarrh which descended into her stomach, which was the cause of her death.’

The benefits for Henry VIII and James V were both equal; marrying either of them would make her a Queen, something beyond her wildest dreams, and her future children would be the heirs to a kingdom. However, there were some downsides. In terms of Henry VIII, it is pretty obvious what potential dangers lay ahead for Marie if she chose to marry him. First, he had divorced one wife in favour of the second who was beheaded for incest and treason and the third had died after giving birth to a son. Not to mention, Henry’s impatience, temper and health issues were well-known throughout the world at this point—not making Henry look the best for a future wife. Whilst James V was drastically a better choice than Henry VIII—as he was less likely to divorce, imprison or execute you—he was not without his faults. James V was very much a womanizer who kept several mistresses who borne him numerous illegitimate children. That would not be an easy thing to deal with, as many queens found it difficult to deal with the public embarrassment and ridicule seeing your husband’s mistresses and bastard children brought. Scotland was much smaller than England, however it was much more financially stable under James V than England was under Henry VIII. And there was also the fact that Henry VIII already had a son from his third wife to inherit his crown, any subsequent sons would not inherit the crown unless the eldest died (much like how Henry was only King because his elder brother Arthur died as a teenager).

For Marie, the choice between these two Kings was evidently simple as both she, her family and Francis I all agreed to the marriage between Marie and her now-deceased best friend’s husband, James V—although with such a short marriage, I do doubt that Madeleine would have been insulted at her best friend marrying her widow. There are many cases where sisters or brothers married their dead sibling’s spouse, it was almost a tradition of the times. Marie’s response (and refusal) of Henry VIII’s hand in marriage was one of wit, intelligence, and incredible shrewdness as she stated ‘I may be a big woman, but I have a very little neck’—a sharp statement reflecting Marie’s view on the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn the following year, a momentous occasion that various notable persons across the globe disagreed with.

Interestingly, there is the belief that the Dauphin of France, Henry II, had fallen in love with Marie and wished to renounce his marriage to Catherine de Medici whom had failed to produce a child at this point so that he could marry her himself and make her his future queen. This theory has never been proven however, there is evidence suggesting Marie enjoyed a close relationship with the Dauphin in the same way she enjoyed with the royal princesses, Madeleine and Margaret. If this is true, it could explain why his father Francis I, whom had arranged Marie’s first marriage, was so eager to consider foreign bachelors for the young widow as to prevent any scandal within the royal court.

. . .

Preparations would swiftly have begun upon Marie’s acceptance of James V’s hand in marriage including Marie’s own preparation to leave her homeland, her friends and family, and most importantly, her infant son. As was the custom, brides involved in international marriages would be forced to leave their homeland to live with their spouse in their own country—a rare circumstance would see husbands leaving to live with their wives; this could have been the second son of a King moving to his bride’s homeland as she was the heir to the throne meaning he would become King of that country through his marriage. An example of this was when Henry VIII’s daughter, Elizabeth Tudor, was considering marrying Francis, Duke of Anjou who was the son of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, although this marriage proposal was arguably never truly considered by the Virgin Queen.

The time between the acceptance of her marriage contract and her dispatch to Scotland would have been an incredibly difficult and emotional time for Marie. Everything and everyone that she knew revolved around France, all she had ever known was living in France and within the royal court so to leave all that behind her, most likely for the rest of her life, would have been difficult to handle. Marrying a King, specifically the widower of her childhood best friend, must have frightened Marie; whilst being a Queen was the highest achievement for a woman, it did come with its hardships. Enormous pressure would be thrust upon her from the very moment she was declared James’ wife as a male heir was necessary for the secure future of the Stuart dynasty.

Undoubtedly though, Marie’s toughest moment would be that when she left for Scotland, she would be leaving her infant son behind. Unfortunately, as her son had now inherited the duchy of Longueville, young François had no choice but to remain in France separated by an ocean from his mother. In June 1538, Marie would undergo the biggest journey of her life and leave for Scotland, leaving her nearly three-year-old son and her family behind. François would be entrusted to the care of his maternal grandmother, Antoinette of Bourbon, where he would correspond regularly with his mother, informing her in great detail about his height, health, and appearance. In one letter dated on 22nd March 1545, he enclosed a piece of string to demonstrate his extreme tallness, undoubtedly inherited from his mother, and a portrait for the mother who he had not seen in years. Tragically, Marie would not see her son again until he was on his deathbed in 1550/1551 where Marie had returned to France to oversee the marriage of her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, to the Dauphin of France; Francis. There is no date of death for François III d'Orléans, however it is known that his final moments would have been spent with his mother and potentially his half-sister, although this is not a proven fact.

Unlike Marie’s first marriage, her second marriage to James V of Scotland was not a blissful one nor one of passion. As mentioned prior, James was known for his womanizing ways and he was known to have many mistresses who bore him illegitimate children, no doubt causing further pressure and embarrassment to Marie who struggled to provide Scotland with its future King. Marie de Guise would marry James V of Scotland in St Andrews Cathedral on 18th June 1538 where Margaret Tudor, James’ mother and sister to Henry VIII, was in attendance would later praised Marie for ‘bear[ing] herself very honourably to me, with very good entertaining’. It must have been reassuring for Marie to be well liked by her mother-in-law as she was now in a foreign country, with strange customs and traditions as well as no one she knew from her own country to support and guide her. Margaret would have understood Marie’s worries as she herself had left England to marry James IV who was also a man who strayed from the marriage bed, perhaps she even saw herself in Marie and tried to aid her the best she could.

When the couple married in June 1538, James V had fathered multiple children by various mistresses, some of which he acknowledged. This included James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose, born circa.1529 to Elizabeth Shaw, James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray, born circa.1531 and Robert Stuart were both born to Margaret Erskine, Adam Stewart, Prior of Perth was born to Elizabeth Stewart, James Stewart to Christine Barclay, John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham born circa.1531 to Elizabeth Carmichael, Lady Jane Stewart born circa.1533 to Elizabeth Bethune, and Euphame Elphinstone had borne James two sons, one who died in childhood and Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland. There is a very strong possibility that more illegitimate children were born during James’ marriage to Marie, though he did not acknowledge them, as his affairs continued throughout their marriage, much to Marie’s dismay, I’m sure.

Despite her husband’s infidelities, Marie ignored them as best she could to focus on her duty as Queen; producing a male heir for Scotland. After two years of marriage, Marie was finally crowned Queen of Scotland on 22nd February 1540 at Holyrood Abbey, most likely due to James waiting for her to become pregnant before officially crowning her—something he had in common with his maternal grandfather Henry VII who only crowned his Queen after she had borne him a healthy male heir—and she was indeed carrying the couple’s first child at this time. On 22nd May 1540, Marie successfully delivered a healthy son; James, Duke of Rothesay who only lived for a year before dying on 21st April 1541 just before his first birthday. Their firstborn’s death would have struck hard into James and Marie’s hearts but there was no time for sorrow as their second son, Arthur or Robert as his name was never truly confirmed, had been born nine days prior. In a true case of tragedy, their second son would die eight days later on the 20th April 1541, just one day before their eldest would also pass away. There are no words to describe the hurt and devastation the deaths of their two sons would have caused for James and Marie, as losing one child is heartbreaking but to lose two within a day of each other is truly soul destroying.

A third and final pregnancy for Marie would become in early 1542 during a troubling time for Scotland and England alike. For many years, Scotland and England enjoyed peace or at least talks for peace due to the marriage of Margaret Tudor to James IV, symbolising an alliance between them. With Margaret’s death on 18 October 1541 at the age of fifty-one, James V no longer had any incentive to keep the peace with England and he declared war on England. Scotland had long believed that they had a right to the throne of England, leading to numerous wars and lives lost throughout the centuries. Henry VII sought to end the constant conflict with the marriage of his daughter but his son (and Margaret’s younger brother) Henry VIII wished to heavily influence and control the kingdom of Scotland; it has been wrongly perceived as a desire to become King of the Scots which he never outrightly stated in his lifetime.

Numerous battles had occurred since Margaret’s death, with the Scots and Brits equally dominating over the other. During the last few months of Marie’s pregnancy, James V was increasingly concerned over both the safety of his wife and the security of his throne should he fall on the battlefield. James V’s ambassadors had attempted to arrange a meeting between Henry VIII and James to agree peace until Marie had delivered the royal child—naturally, one for war and conflict, Henry had rejected this and mobilised his army for an attack against Scotland. On the day of their child’s birth on 8th December 1542, James was at Falkland Palace as he had written to Marie in early November that he had been suffering for days with a strange illness following the heavy defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. On 8th December, Marie would deliver the couple’s third and final child; a girl named Mary Stuart or Mary Queen of Scots as she would later be known. This little girl’s birth would change the world forever as we know it as six days later, James V would die from his illness and Mary would be the new Queen of Scotland. Historians have attributed his death to both a nerve collapse due to the defeat and possibly a bout of cholera or dysentery.

. . .

Naturally, a six-day old baby was by no means capable of ruling a country in the midst of war so Marie was named Queen Regent, meaning she looked after the kingdom in her daughter’s stead until she was of a proper age. James’ death would symbolise much for his wife and daughter; for his wife, it symbolised the end of her duties of a wife as she would never marry again although she would have received many offers had she been interested and for his daughter, it symbolised the beginning of a life of struggle, male dominance and a fight to survive as she was a queen in her own right in a world where men believed women had no right to rule—unless it was with a man by their side.

From the moment her daughter was made heir, Marie would do her utmost to ensure her daughter would not only survive but thrive in this patriarchal world. As Queen of Scotland, Mary would need to be educated to the highest degree; she would need to learn the dangerous games of politics and who to trust within her private circle; and she would also need a husband, a powerful husband, to protect her kingdom from foes (such as England) and secure the Stuart dynasty once more (a.k.a. produce a son so civil war does not happen). This and more was playing throughout Marie’s mind as she thought about what to do about her infant daughter’s future, there was no one she could truly trust in Scotland to help protect her daughter without an ulterior motive. The only people she could trust was her own family back in France with powerful connections and influence that could prevent her daughter from becoming a pawn in someone else’s game—although sadly, she very much would become one nonetheless.

Her family intervened on Marie’s behalf to secure the little queen’s future; a family member had persuaded an advisor to Henry VIII to secure his son Edward’s hand in marriage to Mary which would provide a safe, lasting alliance between Scotland and England once more, but Marie had someone else in mind. It was quite clear to her that the one place her daughter would be safe was in France, far away from spies of the Tudor King or those who wanted to control her. Within the safe walls of a Chateau, she thought, her daughter would be safe—at least she would not grow up in a convent as she had all years ago. For her, it was settled: Mary had to marry into France, and who better than the Dauphin of France himself?

This meant, however, that she would be once again letting go of her child—only this time, she knew she could see her again either in France or Scotland, if her daughter wished to visit her kingdom in the future.

Whilst marriage negotiations soon begun between Scotland and France, Marie busied herself with ridding her court and privy council of egotistical and untrustworthy men who had no business anywhere near the crown. She worked with advisors to create unity throughout the kingdom and the ever warring clans; this was always a problem for the Scottish government as every clan had a claim to the throne or wanted more power than their enemies.

In 1548, Marie de Guise and Henry II, along with his wife Catherine de Medici, agreed that, as Mary was to become Queen of France, it would be better (and safer) for her to live in France to begin her education and become accustomed with the Kingdom. Relieved as pressure from the English had been mounting, Marie entrusted the care and safety of her five-year old daughter to her French relatives who would take her to the Château d'Amboise in France where she would reside.

Little Mary was, much to Marie’s relief, not embarking on this journey alone. She was accompanied on her journey by two of her illegitimate half-brothers; John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham and Lord Robert. It was reported that two of her brothers, Lord James, Prior of St Andrews, and James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose had refused to accompany their younger sister to France but no reason was given. It might be perhaps that Marie, who must have corresponded or even shared the company of her husband’s bastard children, preferred John Stewart and Lord Robert over their other brothers. Their other brother, and possibly Mary’s favourite half-brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was also not amongst Mary’s attendants but this might not have been his fault as he was influential at the Scottish court and Marie de Guise, for all intents and purposes, trusted him enough to stay with her. Despite not accompanying his baby sister, he did later attend her wedding in France ten years later. Mary was also accompanied by her famous ‘four Marys’ who were all girls her age called Mary from prominent noble families; Beaton, Seton, Fleming and Livingston. Her appointed governess was the half-sister of James V, making her Mary’s half-aunt who stayed with Mary until she left France in 1551 and was succeeded by a French governess; Françoise de Paroy.

Mary flourished within France, much to Marie’s happiness as she spoke and wrote often of her joy of her daughter’s accomplishments. When both Mary and her bridegroom, Francis II, both reached a marital age, with Mary now fifteen and Francis now fourteen, it was time for Marie to finally be reunited with both her daughter and her son, whom she had not seen since he was an infant. There was much to celebrate… except her daughter would make a shocking and regrettable mistake mere weeks before the wedding. On 4th April 1558, pressure and a power struggle from Henry II led to Mary signing a secret agreement with him that bequeathed the Kingdom of Scotland and her claim to England—as mentioned previously, her Tudor blood meant she could rule England if Edward VI died without an heir—to France, to Henry II more like, if she died without issue. This decision would haunt Mary for the rest of her life and act as the beginning of her downfall as Queen. Nevertheless, nearly two weeks later, Mary and Francis were married at Notre Dame de Paris, officially making Mary the future queen consort of France and Francis had now become king consort of Scotland—a powerful marriage in the making that had many holding high hopes for the couple.

The trip to France might have started with a celebration but it most certainly ended in a tragedy with the death of Marie’s son towards the end of her visit. It is possible that, during the years she spent in France, Mary might have met or corresponded with her half-brother, but there is no evidence to prove this theory. Leaving for Scotland heartbroken, Marie returned to Scotland and to her duties as Queen Regent, and there was much to do upon her return. Her number one concern was the growing power and influence of the Lords of the Congregation who sought control over the Scottish government and, naturally, over their Queen—whom they wanted rid of. Enlisting the help of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, he became the leader of the Lords of the Congregation and better organised the group, making them less of a threat.

Unfortunately, by this point, Marie’s health was taking a turn for the worst. By early 1560, she had become noticeably ill as she was suffering from dropsy, an older term of edema which was swelling due to fluid retention in the body’s tissues. Even with the best physicians attending to her, Marie would sadly pass away at Edinburgh Castle on 11th June 1560 at forty-four. Although she was a former Queen of Scotland, she had chosen to be buried on French soil to honour her heritage. And so, her body was placed in a lead coffin and transported to France where she was given a funeral at Notre Dame de Paris and laid to rest in the Convent of St Pierre, Rheims.

Until next time!

-        Have a ‘Tudor-fic’ week!

Resources:

1. Henry Ellis, Original Letters Illustrative of English History, series 1 vol. 2 (London, 1824), p. 109.

2. Not Just Another Mary! The Life of Mary of Guise — Linlithgow Museum

3. 22 February - Marie de Guise, who avoided marrying Henry VIII! - The Tudor Society

4. Mary of Guise, Queen Regent of Scotland – Mary Queen of Scots