Mary de Guise became second wife of James V in 1538, and was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1554 she became Regent of Scotland, pursuing a policy of closeness between Scotland and her native France, where her daughter Mary was then living, betrothed to the Dauphin. When civil war broke out, Mary took refuge in Edinburgh Castle, and died there in 1560

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Mary de Guise (1515-1560)

Mary was the daughter of the Duke of Guise in Lorraine, and married first the Duke of Longueville in 1534 aged 19, but he died three years later. Mary then hastily married James V of Scotland the next year, alarmed by Henry VIII's eye falling on her as a possible fourth wife. In 1542 they had a daughter, Mary, but her husband died only a few days later, broken by the defeat of his army by the English at Solway Moss.

When the Earl of Arran resigned as Regent in 1554, Mary took over and acted for her 12-year-old daughter, and four years later arranged for her to be married to the Dauphin, Francis II, heir to the French throne. Up to this point she had tolerated the Protestant movement in Scotland and enjoyed their support, but French pressure caused her to clamp down on them, resulting in a revolt in Perth in 1559.