The Dauphin of Scotland.
Henry II of France
In 1558, when the dauphin married Mary, Queen of Scots, Henry II considered his son to be the dauphin of Scotland. This was not as far fetched as it sounds because Mary gifted Scotland to France. Official documents were headed ‘King and Queen Dauphins of Scotland, England and Ireland’.
Although Mary genetically had a legitimate claim to the English throne, she could never have legally inherited it. Enshrined in English law, it could only go to those born in England.
Henry appointed himself Protector of Scotland and sent French troops totalling 8,000 men to Leith. He sent instructions to Mary’s mother, Marie of Lorraine, the French queen of Scotland, outlining his polices for the governance of Scotland emphasising French interests.
In 1558, ‘The Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France was as strong as the day it was forged in 1295. For hundreds of years, the personal body guard of the kings of France were Scots. Many Scottish dukes also owned French duchies. Scots fought with Joan of Arc to rid France of the English. A reciprocal agreement that Scots were French citizens and French were Scottish citizens was welcomed by both countries.
France, which had already successfully annexed Languedoc, Burgundy, Chartres. Lyon, Anjou, Picardy, Lorraine and Brittany, under Henry II now set its sights on Scotland.
As King Consort, had Francois II not died young, he might well have fulfilled his father’s dream of seeing him crowned king of Scotland.
Marie of Lorraine was hugely influential on the Scottish Court. Her ladies copied her French fashions, she redesigned castles to resemble the French Renaissance chateaux of the Loire Valley and promoted French interests. Her goal was to forge a close alliance between Catholic France and Scotland, which she wanted to be Catholic.
Marie was a member of the ambitious, social climbing, powerful and staunchly Roman Catholic Guise family which dominated French affairs. She was maid of honour to Queen Eleanor. Her father and his brother Antony, duke of Lorraine, grew up at the royal court of Louis XII in Chateau Amboise with the future Francois I. Her brothers were brought up at Court with the future Henry II.
Château Royal d'Amboise, France
Her brother Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, a leading statesman for the Catholic Church, was very nearly elected pope. He was appointed Archbishop of Reims when he officiated at the coronation of Henry II. Her brother François, the duke of Guise, was appointed Head of the royal household. Together, the Guise brothers were responsible for the brutal and bloody French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).
The Dowager Queen Marie made her main home Stirling Castle from where she ruled Scotland following the advice of her brothers, Charles and Francis. When her daughter Mary was crowned Queen of Scots it was decided she would marry the dauphin and be brought up at the French Court of Henry II and Catherine de Medici in Amboise. Henry grew up with her brothers but also knew Marie from her days as maid of honour to his stepmother, Queen Eleanor. The six year old Mary, Queen of Scots left for France in 1548 to be raised by her future in-laws.
Stirling Castle, Sotland
In 1550, when Marie spent a year in France, she left the French Ambassador in charge of Scotland. In 1554 when she was appointed Regent, he placed the crown on her head and gave her the sword and sceptre. Marie continued her pro-French policy by appointing Frenchmen to key positions.
In 1559, the Dauphin unexpectedly became Francois II when Henry II died after a tragic accident. A weak king, he handed control of France over to his wife’s uncles, the Guise brothers. Their sister was Dowager Queen of Scotland. Their neice was now Queen of France.
However, many Scots had had enough of being ruled by France and had certainly had enough of the pope. A group of religious reformers, anti-French, anti Catholic, raised twelve thousand troops to oust the French from Scotland. Marie faced them at Perth but had to retreat to Edinburgh. She received military aid from France but collapsed from heart failure. She died in Edinburgh Castle in 1560. Denied a burial with Catholic rites, her remains were secretly shipped to France. Her daughter Mary attended her funeral.
Edinburgh Castle
Scotland ended its auld alliance with France.
When her husband Francois II died, Mary returned to Scotland. The first words she heard as she stepped ashore were ‘Death to papists!’ She didn’t like Scotland and Scotland certainly did not like her. Following an uprising, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her son.
Mary Queen of Scots and France was executed in the Great Hall at Fotheringhay Castle. Her last words were French. Allons donc (let’s go then).
And so it was that, the dauphin, like Idi Amin, never was king of Scotland.
(Extracts from Pamela Shield’s next book Out of the Shadows: The Ladies of Chateau Amboise to be published in 2022)
Post by Pamela, photography by Mark.
