Conscious of the benefits of an alliance with France, the Scots betrothed the young queen to Francis, the four-year-old heir to the French crown, and sent Mary to be raised at the court of Henry II.

Mary Stuart was born on 8 December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. She was the only heir to the Scottish King, James V, and his French wife, Mary of Guise. She was also the great-niece of ...

On this day in 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss left James V enfeebled and ill, clearing the way for his young daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots ... rise to power at the court of England's James ...