Interesting facts about Marie Stuart

[Dennis]

Thanks, Helen, for giving me that information.

Now, I really must get some sleep!

[Martyn]

I think that it is sort of accepted that Mary may have suffered form porphyria and that it was she who transmitted the gene, possibly inherited from her father, down to the Hanoverians and onwards.
I can really recommend Antonia Fraser's scholarly biog of Mary; although written some time ago, it does discuss the theory that she may have had porphyria and the reasons for this thinking.
As for the film with Glenda Jackson and Vanessa Redgrave, one rather gets the feeling that the two women may have a very real sense of the rivalry that existed between the two queens; I would love to know the off-set gossip.  I think that Glenda Jackson did wear a nose prosthetic in the the TV series Elizabeth R, can't remember  whether she did in the film.  Her real nose is a bit short and stubby, whereas Elizabeth's was quite aquiline.
It is interesting to wonder how Mary would have treated Elizabeth if the roles were reversed; I have to agree with Dennis in that Mary was definitely a threat to the stability of Elizabeth's throne and that her death was deemed to be politically expedient.

[helenazar]

I think that it is sort of accepted that Mary may have suffered form porphyria and that it was she who transmitted the gene, possibly inherited from her father, down to the Hanoverians and onwards.

I have a book written specifically on this subject called the Purple Secret, but I am yet to read it  . If Mary had this condition, did any of the descendants between her and the Hanoverians ehxibit any symptoms as well? I don't remember this being mentioned, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there of course. I should read the book to find out. I've only recently become interested in this subject so I don't know that much about it yet...

I knew Glenda had a fake nose in E R! She didn't in the movie though.  

I agree about Mary's political threat to Elizabeth, and I don't think Elizabeth ever felt 100 % secure on her throne until Mary was gone....  

[Silja]

Mary was indeed a careless and negligent ruler, so my respect, too, is for Elizabeth.

[Martyn]

Helen I've heard that book 'the Purple Secret' is very good.  I keep meaning to get it.  I'm not sure about the immediate descendants of Mary and whether they suffered from porphyria; I've got a feeling that it descended through James I and his daughter Elizabeth of Bohemia, through to her daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover  and thus down to its most famous victim George III.
Another notable victim is believed to be Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, Vicky's eldest daughter and there were even rumours about Pcss Margaret, Ctss of Snowdon being afflicted with this.(I'm relating this all from memory so please consult the book when you can and correct me where possible...)

[helenazar]

... there were even rumours about Pcss Margaret, Ctss of Snowdon being afflicted with this.(I'm relating this all from memory so please consult the book when you can and correct me where possible...)

Martin, I know from a reliable source that Margaret didn't have it, I inquired about that because this is what I heard too. I will take a look at the book later on to check what it says about the others.

[bluetoria]

I have sometimes thought that perhaps Alix had porphyria...the palpitations, the nervousnesness, the mood swings....perhaps....

[BobAtchison]

Did Mary have many jewels and did any survive?

[Alexandra]

Alison Weir's _Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley_, along with Alison Plowden's _Two Queens in One Isle_ are worth reading as well.
And on the topic of historical persons who seem to collect ardent supporters or equally ardent detractors ... Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn, is another. As is true of MQOS, the fascination with her never ends. She has inspired an opera, any amount of novels [some more rubbishy than others], films, stage plays, and portraiture quite steadily since her own time - all this when no contemporary pictures of her survive!

Happy 2005 to you all, by the way ... .

[helenazar]

Any person surrounded by some sort of controversy inspires a lot of interest and attention...

I have sometimes thought that perhaps Alix had porphyria...the palpitations, the nervousnesness, the mood swings....perhaps....

I am glancing through the book now, and from what I am able to make out, the author claims that Vicky (of Prussia), her daughter Charlotte and grandaughter Feodora all had porphyria.  The author also speculates, much like you, about Alix's symptoms and whetther she had it too...
The book also says that Erika Hagelberg, one of the scientists on Peter Gill's team (the team who did the Yekaterinberg bones identification) had offered to do porphyria analysis on Alexandra's sample. The book was published in 1998, so theoretically they could have done it by now. I haven't heard anything about that.

[bluetoria]

I don't think it's mentioned anywhere, but I have pondered this a great deal. Alix's symptoms fit almost exactly to many of Vicky's...and it would explain a great deal about her assumed hypochondria. I have also wondered about QB and thyroxine deficiency..,which would be equally telling in Alix's tiredness etc....

[Dandywell]

It looks like there are a few threads waiting to be made in this forum, as everyone is currently posting everything on this one. Just a suggestion.

[bluetoria]

Yes, sorry, you're right! Will do!

[helenazar]

It looks like there are a few threads waiting to be made in this forum, as everyone is currently posting everything on this one. Just a suggestion.

Point well taken, look for a porphyria thread  

[AGRBear]

On the wall of the birth room of James VI [James I] is the year of his birth.

The following photographs is the property of AGRBear and copyrighted.

Enjoy.



AGRBear