On this day in 1542, Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland at the tender age of just 6 days old, following the death of her father James V. She spent most of her childhood in France and in 1558, she married the Dauphin of France, Francis. He became King in 1559, and Mary briefly became queen consort of France, until his death in December 1560. Mary returned to Scotland and four years later she married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The marriage was not happy and in February 1567, his residence was destroyed by an explosion and Darnley was found murdered in the garden. In May that same year, Mary married for the third time, this time to Lord Bothwell. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle where she was forced to abdicate in favour of James, her one-year-old son by Darnley. She fled south seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics. Perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in various castles across England. After eighteen and a half years in custody, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, and was subsequently executed. #hevercastle #mary #maryqueenofscots #marystuart #tudor #queenofscotland