Mary Stuart continued..

Mary Queen of Scots c.1565 by unknown artist
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html

The portrait above is by far my favourite of mary stuart. This portrait was painted during her brief adult rule over Scotland. The portrait features her in a very in a black dress, heavily embroidered with gold thread and a high white collar. The costume of this portrait suggests to me power and wealth. Again Mary's appearance is extraordinarily pale, it does make me wonder if Mary did this to make her seem closer to god, as white as we know is a sign of purity and during her reign there was religious turmoil of which Mary was at the heart of.
In this portrait, he cheeks and lips have a flush of red and her forehead appears much higher than previous paintings. What I find most intriguing about Marys appearance in this portrait is her facial features, they're very shadowed and prominent highlighting to me the symmetry of her face, something in modern society we consider to be a sign of natural beauty. Her nose and eye socket appear very chiseled and the contrat between the white complexion of her skin and the grey shadowing give a very beautiful but almost skeletal impression.

By the end of 1566 Mary had befriended James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and sought to dissolve her marriage to Darnley.

In 1567 Darnley was murdered, the details of his death still remain a mystery today but it is thought mary was aware of this considering her hasty marriage to Hepburn the same year. 

Marys marriage to Hepburn was unpopular to say the least. Following the marriage placards mocking the union were posted throughout Edinburgh. these placards scandalised the union by portraying the queen as a prostitute and temptress. One of such examples can be seen below. 

'The Mermaid & The Hare' by unknown artist 1567
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html

The Mermaid and the Hare was one such placard denouncing the supposed adulator between Mary and Bothwell. These rem ours were only encouraged by their wedding just three months following Darnley's suspicious death. The mermaid was thought to symbolise a prostitute and the hare was Bothwell's insignia. 

Nobles banded togethor to face Mary and her new husband. Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven castle and forced to surrender. On 24th July 1567 she forced to abdicate the throne.

With the help of some allies Mary man aged to escape Lochleven. they engaged in battle but were beaten by an army led by protestant lords. At twas at this point Mary decided to leave scotland and seek the help of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. 

(Information sourced from http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk)