Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise was Queen of Scots from 1538 to 1542 as the second wife of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as Regent of Scotland in her daughters name from 1554 to 1560. A native of Lorraine, she was a member of the powerful House of Guise, which played a prominent role in 16thcentury French politics. Her main goal was a close alliance between the powerful French Catholic nation and small Scotland, which she wanted to be Catholic and independent of England. She failed and at her death the Protestants took control of Scotland, with her own grandson achieving the Union of the Crowns a few decades later.

Mary was born at BarleDuc, Lorraine, the eldest daughter of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, head of the House of Guise, and his wife Antoinette de Bourbon, herself the daughter of Francis, Count of Vendome, and Marie de Luxembourg. Among hersiblings were Francis, Duke of Guise Claude, Duke of Aumale Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine and Louis I, Cardinal of Guise. Mary was tall and her mother mentioned in a letter that she suffered from bad colds. However there is a story of Mary of Guise being born in a commoners home while en route to her supposed birthplace. Her name has also been stylized as Mary of Guise, Marie de Guise, and Mary di Guise.

Source: Wikipedia