Interesting facts about Marie Stuart

[Dandywell]

I really don't know why I say that, but it's great to have a Stuart board! I've always been interested in Mary Queen of Scots and her story. This is exceptionally odd! Anyone read Oueen's Own Fool?

[Lanie]

I did, yes, and it's pretty good.  I've got a biography on Mary as well.  I'm very interested in her as according to family lore I'm related somehow.  Haha.

[AGRBear]

Mary, Queen of Scots.  Another "hobby" of mine.

I've walked the "Royal Mile" so many times that my feet start to hurt just thinking about it.

Course,  if my husband  didn't play golf,  I may not have talked him into visiting Scotland so many times  .

I have some great photographs.

I'll be back.

AGRBear

[AGRBear]

Portrait One
Mary, Queen of Scots



AGRBear

[Martyn]

Portrait One
Mary, Queen of Scots



AGRBear

Not flattering to Mary at all.  Do you have the wonderful Clouet of Mary when she was Dauphine of France?  At least that does some justice to her 'celebrated' beauty.

[Dandywell]

This it?

[AGRBear]

Yes,  I do have the picture.

Here is another.



AGRBear

[olga]

Wasn't Mary supposed to have porphyria?

[helenazar]

Wasn't Mary supposed to have porphyria?

I thought that "royal" porphyria actually started with George III?

[helenazar]

Did anyone see that "Mary Queen of Scots" film with Lynn Redgrave and Glenda Jackson?

[Dennis]

Yes, I've seen it a couple of times!  I always liked the opening theme music.  Of course, Glenda Jackson was superb as Elizabeth, just as on Elizabeth R.  I think she is one of the greatest English actors of our time.

The scene was fiction, but I thought it was great to have Elizabeth and Mary meet out in the forest for a private conversation.

And, I do believe that Mary was plotting against Elizabeth and Elizabeth did what she had to do in self-defense.

[helenazar]

 Of course, Glenda Jackson was superb as Elizabeth, just as on Elizabeth R.  I think she is one of the greatest English actors of our time.

The scene was fiction, but I thought it was great to have Elizabeth and Mary meet out in the forest for a private conversation.

And, I do believe that Mary was plotting against Elizabeth and Elizabeth did what she had to do in self-defense.

 

I loved Glenda Jackson in Elizabeth R! That's a really great mini-series. I have to admit that I am one of those "purists" who get annoyed when Hollywood takes liberties with history (for this reason I hated "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett ). So I was not a happy camper with the "Mary and Elizabeth meeting in the woods", but on the whole it was not a bad film.

I think in real life, Elizabeth purposely avoided meeting her cousin in person because she may have had a feeling that eventually she would "have to do what she must" and it would be easier for her to deal with it if she never actually met her. It's interesting that depending on who is telling the story, Mary either was involved in a treasonous conspiracy against Elizabeth while Elizabeth was the victim and had to protect herself. Or, in another version, Mary was the victim, set up by Elizabeth so that she could get her out of the way. I tend to believe the former too, but you just never know...

[helenazar]

P.S. Dennis, this is going to sound strange but I have a question about Elizabeth R - did Glenda Jackson wear a nose prosthesis in it? Her nose looked completely different in Mary Queen of Scotts!  

[Dennis]

I never noticed her nose in either production.  Sorry!
I originally saw Elizabeth R on a black and white TV, so some things were not as noticeable.  

I've seen it on the site several times, would you please define porphyria.  I don't know what kind of sickness it is.  Is it "madness?"

I tend to believe that Elizabeth was the one in danger because of all of the other intriques and such that went on with Mary.  Rizzio, Bothwell, etc.

[helenazar]

I never noticed her nose in either production.  Sorry!
I originally saw Elizabeth R on a black and white TV, so some things were not as noticeable.  

I've seen it on the site several times, would you please define porphyria.  I don't know what kind of sickness it is.  Is it "madness?"

I tend to believe that Elizabeth was the one in danger because of all of the other intriques and such that went on with Mary.  Rizzio, Bothwell, etc.

Dennis, porphyria is a metabolic disorder which can cause very bad stomach pains and eventually can lead to "madness". The theory is that George III suffered from it. I don't remember ever reading that Mary had it.

I have Elizabeth R on tape and saw it several times, so this is probably why I noticed the nose  . I am pretty sure that she had a prosthesis in the miniseries to make her look more like Elizabeth.

Mary was not a politically smart woman and this is why she allowed herself to get involved in all kinds of intrigues, and this is why in the end she paid with her life. All throughout her life she made all kinds of mistakes that could have been avoided, because she often did not use reason but emotions instead. Although this may make her seem more endearing looking back, we have to remember that she was a ruler and she could not afford to do this, because she risked not just herself but also the well-being of her people and country.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was extremely politically savvy. She milked her gender as much as she could and actually turned around what was thought of as a big disadvantage - her being a woman, into a big advantage in political negotiations. Mary seems to have made a big mess out of her life and her reign, due to actions based on very bad judgment on her part, or lack of. In that sense I have a lot more respect for Elizabeth than Mary. Elizabeth was a born leader, whereas Mary would have been a lot better off as far away from ruling as possible.