Mary Stuart

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:03 pm

Can anyone point me in the direction of family trees of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I of England. There was a discussion at work about the Tudors series and there was conflicting opinions as to the family relationship between the two monarchs, as there seems to be on the internet. It all seems very confusing!

keewik · Post by **keewik** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:20 pm

Putting it in simple terms, Henry the 8th. was the parent of Elizabeth, and his sister, Margaret was the grandparent of Mary Queen of Scots.

Henry's sister, Margaret Tudor had married James 4th of Scotland and bore him a son, James 5th. of Scotland who was Mary's father.

Interestingly, after James 5th. was killed at Flodden, Margaret remarried and had a daughter, who eventually bore a son, Henry, Lord Darnley. So Margaret was grandmother to both Mary Queen of Scots, and to Lord Darnley, and he and Mary were half-cousins.

Hope that's not too muddled. I've been doing a schools workshop on Mary for a couple of years and did a lot of research beforehand. I'm not sure what you must be finding that conflicts, as the above information has always been my understanding of it, even before I had to research.

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:47 pm

Thanks, that was very succinct, if only some of the sites I looked at where as clear. Wikipedia had them as cousins and some people in my office thought they were half sisters. The politics of the middle ages, it makes you wonder what would have happened if this person had lived a little bit longer or that person had married that person as intended where the world would be now.

MJayne · Post by **MJayne** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:05 pm

Strangely enough, we had a very similar conversation at work today. Elizabeth I did have a half sister, but it was Mary Tudor and not Mary Queen of Scots.

Mary Tudor was the daughter of Henry XIII and Katherine of Aragorn (his first wife) and Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn (his second wife).

I loved The Tudors series but they do play a bit fast and loose with the actual history of the dynasty. You should watch David Starkey's series on the six wives of Henry.

Jayne
Jayne

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:21 pm

I loved The Tudors series but they do play a bit fast and loose with the actual history of the dynasty.

I really wanted to like the one episode I saw - the costumes were sumptious, (and I really like a bit of period costume - give me men in tights any day!!

) the settings were lovely to look at, but I just could not get drawn into it, or feel at all involved with any of the characters. I guess I like a little more gritty realism in my historial dramas - muck, filth, warts & all. What I ask of historical drama is to aid my understanding of the period in question with all its atmosphere and its shortcomings.

The Tudors, in my humble opinion, just seemed an elaborate excuse for a period costume romp, which I'm quite happy to watch,

but I prefer my romps to be as such, not to be pretending they are serious historical drama.

Best wishes
Lesley

Post by **AnneM** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:33 pm

Hi All

This has never been my favourite period in history but recently have been reading quite a lot about it because of husband's 'famous' ancestor from the period and have got quite into it.

Antonia Fraser's biography of Mary Queen of Scots is very readable and I've just finished a biography of Bess of Hardwick by Mary Lovell, which is fascinating and gives another side to the story.

For historical fiction from that era I don't think you can beat C.J. Sansom with Dissolution, Dark Fire, Sovereignty and Revelation.

I have to say the Tudors didn't cut it for me.

My boss also lent me a copy of P.F. Chisholm's "A Famine of Horses" which is 'detective' story set in among the border reivers in the C17.

Anne

morgano · Post by **morgano** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:11 am

"My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots" by John Guy is a truly excellent book, well worth looking up. It was James IV who perished at Flodden (1513), not James V. The present Queen is descended from Mary, via Mary's son James VI/I, but not from any Tudor after Henry VII, who was Mary's great-grandfather.

keewik · Post by **keewik** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:33 pm

morgano wrote: It was James IV who perished at Flodden (1513), not James V.

Aargh! That was a slip, honestly. I do know it was James IV, cos Mary's father was V. Hope I didn't confuse anybody.