Mary's mother, Marie de Guise, ruled as Regent in Scotland for her while her daughter grew up in the luxurious and pampered French court, married, and eventually became Queen of France. When Francis II died, Mary returned to Scotland to take up her rule as Queen of Scotland. Tension with England and Elizabeth ran high, as Mary had never ceded her Catholic claim to the English throne upon Elizabeth's succession. She faced her own internal struggles, as the young Catholic queen sought to rule a nation of people who's culture, customs, and even religion, differed from her own.

Mary married the foolish and foppish English Lord Darnley, much to Elizabeth's displeasure. The marriage soon turned sour, and the Scottish Lords, who had never approved or liked Darnley, had him assassinated. Mary was widowed a second time, but not for long. She was kidnapped by the Scottish Lord Bothwell, and soon after the two were married. This angered and scandalized the other Scottish nobles, who rebelled against the rule of the young Queen. The two armies met, and Mary was defeated and captured, while Bothwell escaped and was later taken prisoner in Denmark. Mary escaped as well, and after another failed attempt to raise an army against the Scottish lords, she fled to England, where she was taken prisoner again, this time by Elizabeth.

James the VI, Mary's son by Darnley, was crowned king of Scotland and Mary's half-brother ruled as regent for the infant King, while Mary remained a prisoner in England for nearly 20 years, till a failed plot for Mary to overthrow Elizabeth came to light and she was condemned to death.

Elizabethan era Scotland was a wild, rugged place full of plotting and religious tension. Protestantism took hold here strongly, due in no small part to the efforts of Scottish reformer John Knox, though the northern highlands of Scotland remained both largely Catholic and mainly isolated, with many of its inhabitants not even speaking English. The main cities in Scotland are Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Some popular Scottish names include:

Girls - Edine, Fiona, Iona, Lara, Margaret, Moibeal, Muira, Torra

Boys - Aengus, Ailean, Andrew, Balfour, Boyd, Ceard, Craig, Duncan, Fergus, Gavin, Gilroy, Ian, Norris

Additional Information:

Website: Celtic Dress of the 16th Century
Book: Mary Queen of Scots, Susan Watkins
Book: Bryght Lanternis : Language and Literature of Mediaeval and Renaissance Scotland, J Derrick McClure