The Face of Mary, Queen of Scots: History & Facial Re-Creations Revealed | Royalty Now

hello everyone and welcome back to royalty now where we recreate famous figures from the past and talk about their history Mary Queen of Scots is one of the most famous women in Scottish history today we'll guide you through her fascinating life and then at the end we'll bring you face to face with Mary by revealing our reconstructions of her death mask so let's go ahead and get started Mary Stewart was born on December 8 1542 at Lynn Lithgow Palace about 15 miles outside of Edinburgh Scotland Mary's mother Mary of geese was a noble woman from one of the most powerful families in France and her father James V was the King of Scotland for James royalty ran in the family his uncle was none other than King Henry VII of England with all of these royal family connections Mary was one of the most noble women in Europe with legitimate claims to multiple Thrones on the day Mary was born her father was away battling English forces only a few days before at Solway Moss as fate would have it he would never meet his new daughter six days after her birth King James V of Scotland died and with no other heirs the infant Mary became Queen of the Scots of course what this meant in actuality was that Scotland would be ruled by Regents until Mary was 18. but the regencies brought problems of Their Own first it was given to the Protestant Earl of Aaron but he was met with heavy backlash due to the fact that he was very pro-english soon after taking power Aaron had begun marriage negotiations with Henry VIII that would have not only promised Queen Mary to Henry's Heir Edward but also sent the young Queen to England to be raised as a Protestant under King Henry's supervision the marriage would also effectively end a franco-scottish Alliance that had been rekindled when James V web Mary of geese it didn't take a genius to realize the offer would benefit the English greatly and leave Scotland on their own the Scottish Parliament refused the offer and Henry of course had a tantrum about it he would order an immediate and brutal military campaign against Scotland with the intention of bullying them into the marriage Scots would later call this war the rough wooing this aggression would completely backfire against Henry instead uniting the Scottish population against England in those early years of Mary's life she was constantly under threat of capture and had to be moved from place to place never fully safe finally in 1548 King Henry II of France proposed to unite France and Scotland once again by marrying the young Queen to his three-year-old son the delfon Francis The Proposal was accepted and five-year-old Mary would be sent away to France leaving her mother and the only home she had ever known but it wasn't until Mary arrived in France that her young life really began her delicate looks were commonly remarked upon in the French Court they were entranced by her smooth complexion strangely light brown eyes and red gold hair she was growing tall and athletic she loved to ride Hawk play tennis and dance she was not only beautiful but smart and Charming as well it was in the metropolitan French court that she learned to speak five new languages as well as study poetry and debate nicknamed the most perfect one she quickly became a favorite with everyone at court including her husband Francis the king of France remarked from the very first time they met my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time in April of 1558 Mary and Francis were officially married at Notre Dame the marriage gave their future children the Thrones of both France and Scotland and acclaim to England through Mary's great-grandfather Henry VII but in a twist of fate the French King Henry II would die in a jousting accident just a year later leaving 15 year old Francis the throne on July 10 1559 Francis and Mary became the king and queen of France and Scotland France now had full control of Scotland and in an astonishing move almost asserting claim on the English Throne they emblazoned their own coat of arms with English symbols now if you're wondering why Mary would even think about doing this we first have to explain the chaos that had been happening in England since King Henry VIII's death in 1547. over the last 15 years the crown in England had gone through massive upheaval it had passed through Henry VII his son Edward Lady Jane gray Mary the first and now finally rested with Queen Elizabeth the first who was the last of King Henry's Tudor line and the daughter of the vilified Anne Boleyn with French forces in Scotland and Mary's open use of the English coat of arms there began to be discussions that Mary should in fact be the queen of England she was Catholic and had just as much if not a better claim to the throne than Elizabeth if Queen Elizabeth wanted to fight for her claim she would have to do it by force with Protestant Scottish Lords on her side Elizabeth sent an English Fleet and six thousand soldiers to the port of laith in Scotland and demanded that not only the French forces leave but that Mary and Francis stopped their use of the English coat of arms this move would prove to be a master Stroke by Elizabeth France had no money to fund a large-scale war and even if they did a potential loss to England could result in Mary losing her claim to Scotland France's Representatives would instead negotiate a deal with England they would leave Scotland immediately and Mary would promise to stop using the English coat of arms but weeks later when Mary and Francis were asked to ratify the treaty they refused to sign it almost always on the same page it seemed that the pair were set to become a powerful and supportive team in the European landscape together their children would one day rule France Scotland and maybe even England but just as the dream of her life was beginning to form Francis began to feel sick suddenly on December 5th 1560 King Francis II died Mary effectively overnight was no longer useful she had lived in France since she was five years old and had dreamed of living there for the rest of her life to make things worse her mother Mary of geese had also died compounding her grief for the next nine months she could do nothing but grieve for her husband for the children that they could have had and for the life in a country she had grown to love but she realized she still had something Scotland in August of 1561 Mary left the sunny Countryside of France and after 13 years away returned home to Scotland when she arrived she was greeted by a divided country torn between Catholic and Protestant Lords with her own brother leading the Protestant faction as a devout Catholic herself many believe that Mary would arrive and immediately enforce her religion but instead she allowed them to tentatively keep their power many historians believe that her ignoring the religious problems in Scotland show that she had her sights set on a bigger goal the English crowd fellow history lovers 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had been killed by her psychotic father and her own sister had imprisoned her for a year no matter how sweetly Mary asked to be named air Elizabeth felt that she could not trust her some historians think that there may also have been an element of jealousy Elizabeth probably resented her tall beautiful and Charming cousin who unlike her had always had the confidence to be Queen in fact the only person Elizabeth felt she could trust was her best friend and probable lover Robert Dudley in a shocking move Elizabeth offered up Robert Dudley for the Queen of Scots to marry she felt that Mary could be controlled via Dudley and all of her problems would be solved if Mary accepted Elizabeth promised that she would name her Heir Apparent fortunately Dudley perhaps wounded by Elizabeth trying to give him away was the party that refused to the deal and Mary began to look elsewhere for a husband find one just a few years later in a man named Henry Stewart Lord darnley some say the marriage was entirely political Lord darnley also had Acclaim to the crown of England but others say that Mary was in love with him and they would wed on July 28 1565. but it wasn't long before Lord darnley began to overstep himself with Mary and she began to see him for who he really was not simply happy being consort darnley demanded that his wife give him the right to the Scottish Throne if he should outlive her Mary was extremely hurt by this proposition and of course she refused him which outraged darnley the incident put a strain on their relationship and it soon began to fully unravel darnley began to drink and spend most of his nights drinking with other noblemen but even within their strained marriage there was some hope Mary was pregnant with her first child unhappy with her personal life Mary became good friends with her private secretary David rizzio an excellent singer and a good musician she adored his company and Mary and her ladies in Waiting began to dine with him and entertain him often unfortunately this didn't escape the notice of the Scottish Elite and ugly rumors began to spread that Mary May in fact be pregnant with rizio's child instead of darnley's on March 9 1566 Mary was once again having dinner with rizio when suddenly a group of Scottish noblemen led by her own husband burst into the room and accused them of adultery rizio and Mary would vehemently deny the accusation but the men would not take no for an answer in front of the six-month pregnant Mary the man attacked and murdered rizio in Cold Blood mortified and fearing not only for herself but her unborn child as well Mary began to plead with darnley of her innocence whatever she said she convinced darnley to get her out of there as quickly as possible the two would escape from Hollywood house where the murder had occurred and would hide away for days before Mary finally felt it was safe more than a week later but Mary would never be able to get the image of David rizzio out of her mind her weak jealous fool of a husband had viciously murdered her friend she would never forgive him she would never love him again in the summer of 1556 Mary would give birth to their son James right after he was baptized Mary held a meeting to discuss what to do about the problem of darnley divorce was the obvious option but everyone knew that that would be difficult to get especially because she was Catholic but before anything could be officially agreed on Lord darnley became ill with a fever and would remain sick for the next few months now because of their estranged marriage darnley had moved out of the palace to a mansion nearby called Kirko field during his sickness Mary would sometimes visit him there and after a few weeks she began to visit him daily rumors began to spread that maybe the thought of losing him had rekindled Mary's love for her husband then on the night of February 9 1567. an explosion suddenly rang out just inside the city wall when Witnesses arrived they saw the house that darnley had been staying in was on fire and completely blown apart with no walls or ceilings Still Standing after the blast not long after darnley and his servant were found dead in the garden but when they examined the bodies there were curiously no Burns and no damage not even a mark from the massive explosion that had just destroyed the building and it became obvious to everyone there Laura darnley had been murdered according to the Queen's servant Nicholas Uber when he entered the Queen's bed chamber the next morning he saw that the queen was speaking privately to a man and recognized him as James Hepburn the Earl of Bothwell rumors began to swirl and it seemed clear to some that either the two were having an affair or that Mary had asked Bothwell to murder her husband James Hepburn was accused of assassinating Lord Dorothy and was put on trial soon after but the case against Bothwell would be difficult to prove with no eyewitnesses and nearly all evidence burnt to a crisp in the fire there was nothing that pointed directly to Bothwell and ultimately he was acquitted of darnley's assassination but this story still had one final twist foreign on April 23rd Mary was returning from visiting her son James when she was kidnapped by none other than the Earl of Bothwell historians argue about whether Mary was in on this kidnapping or not but it's hard to imagine she wasn't because less than a month after her capture Mary and Bothwell were married at Hollywood house the same place that darnley had murdered rizio a year before while she was said to have thought the marriage would be popular both Protestants and Catholics began to turn on her shocked that she would marry the man that many people still believe got away with the murder of her husband even Queen Elizabeth would send her a letter confronting her about the marriage How could a worse Choice be made for your honor than to marry such a subject Who besides other and notorious lacks public Fame has charged with the murder of your late husband although she defended the marriage it was obvious now that Mary had made a huge mistake and the damage to her reputation had been permanently done 26 Scottish Lords would unite and turn on Mary including her own half-brother James Stewart the rebelling Lords would raise an army and although Mary would try to raise an army herself she knew that the battle was lost on June 15 1567 Mary would surrender to the Scottish Lords and was taken prisoner to add insult to injury her husband Bothwell was allowed to flee the country leaving Mary behind completely alone when they arrived in Edinburgh she was met with crowds shouting at their Queen calling her a murderer and an adulterer less than 10 days later she was forced to abdicate the throne that she had held since she was six days old how had it come to this she was only 25 years old just a few years ago she had been happily married as the queen consort of France adored by every subject now she was watching her own life unravel before her eyes she would remain imprisoned not able to see her son and not knowing her fate for the next nine months but finally the following spring men who are still loyal to her helped her Escape even with this Freedom she had nowhere to go nowhere but England to the woman she had once seen as a rival pleading for help Queen Elizabeth had always been paranoid of conspiracy which famously led her to never marry due to fear that a man would take that power from her surely now she would not let her cousin a woman be taken from her own throne it was Mary's only chance unfortunately for Mary she didn't receive the welcome she thought she would although Elizabeth's first instinct was to help Mary she was soon talked out of it by Her counsel many Catholics in England still saw Mary as the rightful heir to the throne and to make things worse Pope Pius V had recently spoken out against Elizabeth which led to Major Catholic riots in the North her Protestant position had to remain strong Mary like she always had been was just too much of a threat to Elizabeth she was allowed to remain in England but not as a guest as a prisoner Elizabeth did give her the courtesy of not putting her in a cage instead allowing Mary to live in a castle with her staff and her ladies who dressed and fed her but she would always be watched and remain under the strict supervision of men loyal to Elizabeth soon the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years but Mary still held out hope that one day they would let her go unfortunately for Mary plots to overthrow Queen Elizabeth just kept cropping up each one intending to place Mary on the throne in her place these rebellions were supported not just by the people but also by the Spanish government and the Pope there was no peaceful way for Elizabeth to release Mary by 1584 Mary had been imprisoned for 17 years her hope for Freedom had long left her but she still had one last card to play with Queen Elizabeth growing older each year and still no heir to the English Throne she pleaded to Elizabeth one last time for a favor make her son James who she had not seen since he was a baby heir to the throne and give her back her freedom in return Mary promised to give up anything and everything her claim to the English crown her Catholic religion she would denounce the pope even betray her Beloved Country of France it was the desperate plea of a broken woman all she wanted to do was live the rest of her life in peace but like every time before Queen Elizabeth would refuse as a final insult to Mary Queen Elizabeth would later agree to name James as her heir James had agreed to fight his mother's captivity as part of the deal but now there was nothing about Mary's freedom in the agreement betrayed by her only son Mary was outraged if Mary was going to live the rest of her life as Elizabeth's prisoner because of Elizabeth's paranoia Mary would give her something to be paranoid about Mary began to secretly write letters to her supporters written in elaborate ciphers that would make the letter seem like gibberish to anyone but the intended reader by 1586 she began to exchange letters with a man named Anthony babington who said that he had six assassins ready to kill Queen Elizabeth Mary would reply and she in babington would exchange letters furthering the conversation little did Mary know the letters she had been sending were being intercepted by English agents and after some time her Cipher was decoded in Mary's final letter to Anthony she finished the letter with these words let the great plot commence signed Mary the implications were clear Mary had signed off on a plot against Elizabeth's life [Music] in August 1586 Mary was arrested for treason and was put on trial that October at the trial Mary defended herself bravely denying the charges but also stating that Queen Elizabeth was not her Queen and that English laws could not apply to her in the end she was declared guilty with the punishment of death but Elizabeth was struggling to bring herself to sign the death warrant Mary was a queen after all just like her she even asked Mary's custodian if he could somehow shorten her life but he refused it would take Elizabeth three months but finally she signed the execution warrant seven days later on February 8 1587 Mary arrived at the Great Hall where her sentence would be carried out [Music] she knelt down on a cushion and prepared for the end when the Executioner knelt down and asked for her forgiveness Mary replied I forgive you with all of my heart for now I hope you shall make an end of all my troubles Mary Queen of Scots had been imprisoned in England for 19 years she was finally free it was said that soon after her execution before her casket would have been sealed at burial that four Death Masks were cast from Mary's face one is called the Lennox love mask kept safe by the Duke of Hamilton at his estate for over 250 years this mask shows the queen looking young and Serene with hardly any trace of the harsh imprisonment showing on her face another mask called the Jedburg mask was also made and at some point in its history makeup and a wig were added and the other two masks that were reported have since been lost to history now there's some doubt around their authenticity since records for each are spotty with some saying they look too young to be the 44 year old queen or that these masks look like two different women but when we compare the death masks to each other and then to her portraits the proportions of her face are consistent across each I think they are all the same person to me the Death Masks show a more realistic appearance more in line with the descriptions of her Charisma and Beauty than we see in the painted versions I've used the Linux love version for my Recreations so let's see Mary brought to life from the Lennox love death mask now [Music] foreign [Music] foreign masks do you think they're merry we also have a modern version of Mary created in an older video linked here and in the description so check that out and we'll see you all for the next video [Music]

Channel: Royalty Now Studios

Views: 1,167,347

Keywords: real face of, what historical figures would look like, true face of, true faces of, real faces of historical figures, true faces of historical figures, what historical figures would look like today, royalty now, roylaty now, mary queen of scots, real face of mary queen of scots, mary queen of scots real face, what historical figures looked like, mary queen of scots royalty now, english history, scottish history, death mask

Id: Yq2B13uLL6E

Length: 27min 10sec (1630 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 10 2023