Chambers Street, Edinburgh

In August 1561 Mary, Queen of Scots returned to Edinburgh from France as a Catholic queen in a newly reformed Protestant Scotland. Initially greeted with crowds curious to catch a glimpse of their new queen, Mary Stewart was regarded with suspicion and faced a volatile political situation from the fervent Protestant ascendancy.

450 years on, Mary has made a triumphant return to the Scottish capital in the form of an exclusive major exhibition currently on show at the National Museum of Scotland. Entitled Mary, Queen of Scots, the exhibition chronicles one of the most well-known and captivating royals of all time. It brings together jewels, furniture, tapestry, portraits and documents, providing an insightful view of a fascinating woman and the tumultuous era in which she lived.

Last week I attended a talk highlighting the exhibition’s star pieces by George Dalgliesh – Keeper of Scottish History and Archaeology at the National Museum for over 20 years. He explained that the 200+ items on display aim to present a slightly different view of Mary’s life, focusing on her personal rule in Scotland. He added that Mary still excites controversy to this day, with debates ensuing as to whether the Scottish queen was a Catholic martyr or a scheming adulteress.

Blairs Memorial Portrait of Mary

On entrance to the exhibition the giant Blairs Memorial portrait of Mary towers over you, providing a commanding view of Mary on her way to the executioners block. Commissioned by Elizabeth Curle, a companion to Mary in the final years of her life, the portrait was painted 10-15 years after Mary’s death and was used as a piece of Catholic propaganda to promote Mary’s martyrdom. The portrait also includes visual vignettes of Mary’s grieving ladies in waiting and a scene from the execution.

The exhibition is set out chronologically, with the pinnacle point her reign as Queen of Scotland. Amongst the 16th century artifacts, which include a handwritten letter from Mary to her mother Mary of Guise, an innovative 21st century video shows a 3D image of what Mary would have looked like during her reign. Costume sketches and models by Jasper Conran for a recent production of Donizetti’s tragic opera Maria Stuarda show her renowned regal fashion sense and striking figure that continues to inspire artists today. Even John Knox, the leading light of protestant reformation is said to have described her features as “pleasing”.

Among the most fascinating of the items on display are the documents in the concluding section of the exhibition which include a set of cipher codes, the death warrant issued by Mary’s second cousin Elizabeth I, and a letter from Mary’s son James VI pleading Elizabeth for mercy. The original death warrant disappeared during the legal accusations following the execution, however the surviving copy on display was made for court records and includes the signature of Elizabeth I. The warrant instructs Elizabeth’s commissioners to:

“…repaire to our Castle of Fotheringhaye where the said Queene of Scottes is in custodie of our right trustie servant and Counsellor Sir Amyas Poulet Knight, and then taking her into your charge to cause by your commandment execution to be done upon her person.”

 

 

The Penicuik Jewels

Today very little survives that belonged to Mary for a number of reasons. Following her death her belongings were burned to try and stop the creation of a cult of relics around a martyred Queen. Mary’s half-brother, James Stewart Earl of Moray, is also said to have sold his sister’s jewels following her abdication to pay for troops. A surviving relic on display are the Penicuik Jewels. Originally from a rosary, the jewels are now strung as a necklace and include a locket set with Scottish river pearls. Dalgleish thinks the jewels were probably commissioned by Mary to be given away, as they are not regal enough to be fit for a queen. Giving jewels as gifts was a common practice during the 16th Century as a way of binding a person to your cause.

To this day Mary continues to hold a place in Edinburgh’s heart, as buses make their way through the city’s streets with her face displayed on their sides. The exhibition provides a wondrous insight into the life of a controversial Queen whose legacy still lives on, almost 450 years after her death.

‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ runs until Sunday 17th November 2013. You can read more about the exhibition by clicking here.

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“Yestre’en the Queen had fower Maries

The nicht she’ll hae but three

There was Mary Seton and Mary Beaton,

And Mary Car-Michael and me.”

It is believed that the ballad is fictional, and the four Marys come from the four ladies-in-waiting chosen by James V’s Queen, Mary of Guise, to be companions to Mary, Queen of Scots who succeeded her father at the age of just 6 days old. However, none of these woman were called Mary Hamilton; they were in fact Mary Beaton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston, and Mary Seton.

Mary Hamilton awaiting execution

Yet, there was a real Mary Hamilton, whose story and downfall is rather similar to that of the Mary Hamilton in the ballad.

Mary Hamilton was a Scottish lady-in-waiting to the Russian Empress Catherine I. She was a member of a Scottish Hamilton family who emigrated to Russia sometime in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It is believed that she was the daughter of a William Hamilton. Mary became a lady-in-waiting to Catherine I in 1713, and she attracted a lot of attention around the royal Russian court due to her beauty and love life, and it wasn’t long before she became the mistress of Peter the Great. But the Tsar wasn’t her only lover, she was also having an affair with Ivan Mikhailovich Orlov, an aide-de-camp to Tsar Peter. However, Orlov had another mistress, and when Mary found out, she tried to win him back by giving Orlov gifts which she had stolen from Catherine.

Over the years Mary became pregnant on at least three occasions, and had two abortions – one in 1715, apparently by consuming constipation medicine. However, she did have a secret birth two years later in 1717, but afterwards killed the baby by drowning it. That same year her lover Orlov was questioned over some missing documents, and during the interrogation he confessed to having had an affair with Mary, and claimed that she had an abortion.

A rumor was spread that the Empress, Catherine, had a slightly unorthodox skin care method: it was alleged that she would eat wax to make her skin pale. And Mary Hamilton was accused of starting this rumor by Avdotya Chernysheva; Ivan Orlov’s other lover. This, unsurprisingly, annoyed Catherine, and she demanded that Mary’s room was to be searched. Unfortunately for Mary, her room was where she kept several of the items she stole from the Empress, and when they were discovered Mary and Orlov were both arrested and imprisoned in the Fortress of Saint Petersburg. Whilst in prison Mary not only confessed to the theft, but she also admitted that she murdered her new born child, however, even under torture, she refused to testify against Orlov, despite the fact he had been quick to point fingers at her.

In the November of 1718, Mary Hamilton was sentenced to death for abortion, infanticide, and theft and slander of Empress Catherine. Catherine asked Peter to overrule the death sentence, but he refused. The Tsar did, however, promise Mary that the executioner would not touch her at all, meaning that she would be beheaded with a sword instead of an axe. Mary was executed on the 14th of March, 1719, dressed all in white.

Unfortunately for Mary Hamilton, her execution was not the last indignity that she would suffer. After the decapitation the Emperor went over and picked up Mary’s head and gave the gathered crowd a lecture about its anatomy before kissing it and then throwing it down. The Russian Academy of Science were given her head and they preserved it for at least the next 50 years.

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