Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for December 5.
Today in 1560, Mary, Queen of Scots, became a widow for the first time when her husband, King Francis II of France, died, age 15. He died of an infection from his ear, and his brother Charles succeeded him as King, and their mother, Catherine de medici, became regent. The situation affected the status of Mary, who was the dowager Queen, but as there was no official role for her, and she wasn’t pregnant with a French heir, she went back to Scotland to rule a land she hadn’t lived in since she was a baby. Her mother had died in the meantime, too, so she really had no idea what kind of a lion’s den she was headed back to. Imagine how differently it would have turned out for Mary had Francis lived.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Links:
Episode 085: Tudor Times on Mary Queen of Scots
Throwback Episode 29: Mary Queen of Scots
The Week in Books: Mary Queen of Scots wasn’t Actually a Catholic Martyr
Music from the world of the Queen of Scots
Throwback Episode 26: Catholics in Elizabethan England
Throwback Episode 027: Francis Walsingham, Spymaster