December 8: Mary Queen of Scots

December 8 1542 was the birthdate of Mary Queen of Scots. Here are 10 things you might not know about her.

1. Mary was born in Linlithgow Palace, the only child of James V of Scotland and his French wife, Mary of Guise. Her father died when she was six days old, and as his only surviving child, she became queen with her mother as regent.
2. At five, she was betrothed to Henry VIII's son, Edward, but her Catholic guardians were opposed to the match and broke the agreement. In response, Henry ordered a series of raids into Scotland, which became known as 'The Rough Wooing'. All to no avail as Mary's guardians decided it would be a better idea to form an alliance with France, so Mary was betrothed to the heir to the French throne, Francis, and sent to be brought up in the French court. Francis became king in 1559, briefly uniting the French and Scottish crowns, but died of an ear infection a year later, leaving Mary widowed at 18.
3. Mary Stuart liked the colour White and insisted on wearing white for her wedding to Francis II, even though white was regarded as the colour of mourning in 16th century France.
4. Mary's ladies in waiting were all also called Mary. They were Mary Fleming, Mary Seton, Marie Pieris, who had been maid-of-honour to Marie of Guise, Mary Beaton, and Mary Livingston, daughter of Mary Stuart's guardian, Lord Livingston.
5. In 1565, Mary married her cousin the Earl of Darnley, but the relationship soon broke down. Darnley became arrogant, asking that Mary make him co-sovereign of Scotland instead of just her consort, so he could be king if she died. She refused, and the marriage became strained. Darnley was jealous, too, and got together a group of nobles to kill Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio. Not long after, Darnley himself died, and it was suspected he'd been murdered.
6. Despite their rocky marriage, Mary and Darnley had a son, James, who would succeed her and become James VI of Scotland.
7. Mary was the first woman to play golf in Scotland. She caused a scandal by playing a round of golf at St Andrews within days of her husband Darnley's murder. Three months after Darnley's death, Mary was married again, to the Earl of Bothwell, who was a suspect in Darnley's murder. This made Mary unpopular with her subjects. She was forced to abdicate and imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, so James, still only a baby, became king.
8. During her imprisonment, Mary had a miscarriage. She lost twins who were probably the issue of the Earl of Bothwell. She tried to escape twice. The first time she disguised herself as a washerwoman, but was rumbled when the boatman saw her elegant white hands – not a washerwoman's hands.
9. The second escape attempt was successful and Mary fled to England, hoping to meet and get help from her cousin Elizabeth I. The two never met. Mary's presence made Elizabeth nervous, because Mary had a claim to the English throne, so Elizabeth had Mary thrown in prison instead. Over the next 19 years, Mary was the focus of several Catholic plots to assassinate Elizabeth. As Mary was not directly involved in these plots Elizabeth was reluctant to act against her. However, Mary did correspond with Anthony Babington, one of the plotters. Her letters were intercepted and she was convicted of treason.
10. Mary was executed at Fotheringhay Castle, on 8 February 1587 at the age of 44. She wore her customary Black cloak with a white veil over her head. She dropped the cloak to reveal a crimson Red dress. Her last words were: "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit". It took three strokes of the axe to sever her head, and when the executioner held up her head for the crowd to see, he dropped it, because her auburn hair was actually a wig. Her real hair was Grey and short. Then her body was seen to move, but it turned out to be her faithful little Dog, who'd stayed with her to the end, hidden in her skirts. It didn't want to leave her and had to be pried from her corpse.

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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