To really understand the politics surrounding Mary's life, we have to look back at the life of Henry VIII.

King Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had formerly been married to Henry’s brother, Arthur. When Arthur died, it was deemed necessary for a papal dispensation to be issued, allowing Henry to marry Catherine, as she was his dead brother’s wife, and the Catholic Church prohibited such a marriage. Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been consummated, so no dispensation was needed. However, both the Spain and England wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the marriage, so permission from the pope was requested and granted. Later, when all of Henry’s male offspring were born dead or sickly, the King was quick to claim that God was punishing him for marrying his brother’s wife, in effect, his sister. He sought an annulment from the Pope, but when none was forthcoming, he broke with the Roman Catholic Church, and his new Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cromwell, had their marriage annulled. Soon after, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making the king head of the English church.
Henry soon married Anne Boleyn in hopes of producing a male heir. To Anne's misfortune, she had Elizabeth, and no male children. A plot was hatched, and Anne was beheaded for treason, so Henry could marry yet again, to the Lady Jane Seymour. This union produced Prince Edward.

When Henry died, he decreed in his will the following order of succession: Edward, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth. Edward died a sickly young man, Mary died a sick, childless older woman after nearly destroying her country in a feverish and bloody attempt to turn it back to Catholicism (hence her nickname Bloody Mary), and last, little Elizabeth, who would have made her father proud had he known the skill with which she reigned, and the rich Empire she built of his country. Because there was no separation of Church and State, which we enjoy today, religious bodies held much political clout.

Into these tumultuous times, Mary Stuart was born in Scotland, the only child of James V, king of Scotland and Marie de Guise of France.

To the Protestants, Elizabeth held the legal right to the throne of England. To the Catholics, however, Henry's divorce to Anne Boleyn was illegal, making Elizabeth illegitimate, and Mary, Henry's niece through his sister, the legal heir. To solidify his family's claim to the throne, Henry had attempted to wed Mary to his son Edward shortly after she was born. Scotland had plans for an alliance with France, however, so despite the war that ensued to convince the King of Scotland otherwise (the Rough Wooing), they shipped Mary off to France for her safety. Consequently, Mary was raised in the French culture, with only her child companions (the Four Marys, her life-long ladies in waiting) and her governess to remind her of her Scottish heritage. Meanwhile, James V died, leaving Marie de Guise to rule as regent.

Mary became the Queen of France when King Henri died in 1559 and the Dauphin assumed the throne. The following year her husband, the King of France died leaving Mary a widow at the age of 19. Upon her mother's death, she decided to assume her place as Queen of Scotland and returned there in 1561.

Because she knew little of Scottish ways, Mary embarked upon several Progresses throughout Scotland, to bond with her people who were somewhat distrusting of their new young, French-raised, Catholic female monarch. Mary took with her all aspects of her court: foreign ambassadors, noble Scottish men and women, her ladies in waiting, emissaries, infantry, and all manner of domestic help.

The year 1562 is a year in her life that, while she traveled, she was happy, before the well-known scheming nature of ambitious Scottish Lords and her own husband Lord Darnley, served to make her life a challenge. Contrary to her Cousin Elizabeth's politically slippery childhood, Mary never knew such intrigues and statecrafts; her legacy is that she ruled with her heart, not necessarily her head, which makes her one of the most romantic figures in history