In 1542, on this day Mary, Queen of Scotland, England and France, was born in Linlithgow Palace.

Queen Mary BornA canny and opportunistic politician, Queen Mary used her marriage to the French King to claim the throne of that country when he died in 1560, and assumed the Scottish throne by right of blood.

When her cousin Queen Elizabeth of England faltered slightly, Mary used a combination of military and political pressure to force her from power and added the English Crown to her possessions.