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Mary of Gueldres - 'A sovereign both prudent and energetic'
Mary of Gueldres, the only daughter and heiress of Arnold, Duke of Gueldres, was born in 1433 and was brought up and educated at the court of her kinsman, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.
She was chosen as a suitable royal bride by a party of specially appointed Scottish commissioners, who approved as much of her amiable qualities as of her ancestry and her queenly character. She set sail from Flanders in a resplendent galley, escorted by 13 other ships, with a retinue of nobles and 300 men at arms, landing at Leith on 18 June 1449.
A fortnight later, on 3 July, she married James II, King of Scots, at Holyrood and was crowned queen on the same day. The marriage proved fruitful and she had 5 sons and 3 daughters, although 1 son and 1 daughter died in infancy.
Her surviving children were:
1. James, afterwards king as James III.
2. Alexander, created Earl of March in 1455 and Duke of Albany in 1458.
3. David, Earl of Moray, who died when about 3 years old.
4. John, Earl of Mar. He was warded by his brother on a charge of treason and died a bachelor in prison in 1479.
5. Mary, who married 1stly, Thomas, Lord Boyd. She married 2ndly (Papal dispensation 25 April 1474), James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton.
6. Margaret, who is stated possibly to have married William, 3rd Lord Crichton. By him she had a daughter, Margaret, Lady Rothes, but whether this was in wedlock or not remains uncertain.
Upon the death of her husband at the Siege of Roxburgh on 3 August 1460, when he was six weeks short of his 30th birthday and she was about 27, she immediately took command of the situation, becoming unofficial regent for her nine-year-old son, James III. Taking her young son with her, she immediately set out for Roxburgh, where the siege was going badly since the death of her husband. She rallied the forces ranged against the castle and succeeded in capturing it in a couple of days. Then, having had her son hastily crowned at the nearest suitable place, which happened to be Kelso Abbey, on 10 August, they made a royal progress back to Edinburgh in some style.
For the remaining three years of her life Mary continued to dominate the political scene and look after the interests of her eldest son, aided by her chief minister, James Kennedy, Bishop of St. Andrews. In July 1460 she had sheltered Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI of England) and her son, Prince Edward, in Lincluden Abbey, after their party´s defeat at Northampton; as part of the deal, a treaty was signed promising Edward in marriage to Mary´s daughter, Princess Mary of Scotland. She also gave temporary refuge to Margaret and Henry after their defeat at Towton in March 1461, exacting, as the price of her help and friendship, the surrender of Berwick back into Scottish hands.
A devout Catholic, Mary founded Trinity College Church in 1460 in memory of her husband. The church, was in Edinburgh´s Old Town, however it was demolished in 1848 to make way for Waverley station. Mary was buried in the church, although her coffin was moved to Holyrood Abbey in 1848.
Thanks to Wikipedia
Alison Weir: Lancaster and York: The War of the Roses, London (1995) ISBN 978-0-09-954017-5