ABSTRACT
After the battle of Solway Moss, James V had taken to his bed in despair. His queen, Mary of Guise, had taken to her bed too-for a very different reason. She had given birth to a daughter. When James had heard that the baby was a girl, his despair had increased. How could a woman keep out the English and rule the turbulent Scots? This daughter would, he believed, be the end of his line. ‘It came with a lass,’ he said, referring to the marriage of Walter the Stewart with Marjorie, daughter of Robert the Bruce, ‘and it will go with a lass.’ He was punning on the words ‘a lass’ and ‘alas’. A little later, still in his bed, he rolled over onto his back, saw all his nobles around him, gave a little smile of laughter and yielded up his spirit to God. The baby daughter, for whose future James had feared so greatly, became Mary Queen of Scots. People have very different opinions of her. To some she is a sad, romantic and fascinating figure, more sinned against than sinning. Others see her as foolish, deceitful, headstrong and, probably, criminal. James was right when he feared she would not be able to govern the Scots, but he was wrong when he thought she would be the last of the Stewarts. Her son became king of England as well as Scotland, and descendants of the Stewarts have sat on the British throne ever since.
