The Stuart–de Guise Family Tree

Mary Stuart was a product of the joining of two of the most powerful ruling families of France and Scotland, the de Guises and the Stuarts. She was only a week old when she was named Queen of Scotland after the death of her father, King James V. At age 16, she was married to the Dauphin of France, 15-year-old Francis II. She also held the title of Queen of France when Francis assumed the throne after the death of his father, King Henry II. A widow at age 18, Mary later married her first cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Together they had a son, James VI, who at 13 months old was named King of Scotland when Mary was forced to abdicate the throne. As King James I, James VI would later begin the reign of the British House of Stuarts.

The chart over the page illustrates the blending of the Stuart–de Guise families. The crown symbol indicates those who ruled. Double lines represent marriages; single lines indicate parentage. Dates of births and deaths (when available) are noted.

MARY STUART: Queen of Scotland and once Queen of France, she sought to dethrone Elizabeth I and become Queen of England. Instead, she was imprisoned for treason and beheaded on 8 February, 1587.

 

Mary Stuart’s parents

JAMES STUART V: King of Scotland and the father of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the son of King James Stuart IV and Margaret Tudor (the eldest sister of King Henry VIII of England and grandmother to Mary, Queen of Scots). James V died six days after Mary’s birth in 1542, disappointed to the end that Mary had not been born the male heir he desired.

MARY DE GUISE DE LORRAINE: Mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, she was the fifth of ten surviving children of Claud, Duke de Guise and his wife, Antoinette de Bourbon; she died on 11 June, 1560.

 

Mary Stuart’s husbands

FRANCIS DE VALOIS II: Son of King Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici of France, Francis and Mary were married on 24 April, 1558. Two years later, on 5 December, 1560, he died after suffering from an ear infection.

HENRY STUART, LORD DARNLEY: First cousin and second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was also the grandson of Margaret Tudor; Margaret’s daughter, Lady Margaret Douglas, was his mother. Darnley and Mary were married on 29 July, 1565, and had one child together, James VI. Darnley died mysteriously in an explosion on 10 February, 1567.

JAMES HEPBURN, EARL OF BOTHWELL: A noble from Scotland, he was Mary’s third husband and suspected murderer of her second husband, Lord Darnley. He was imprisoned in Denmark where he died insane in 1578.

 

Mary Stuart’s heir

JAMES STUART: Son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, James VI was named King of Scotland from infancy and would also be the first of the Stuart royal family to rule England.