She Was Born
Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Miracle and Mystery of Life
Where stone walls rise towards heaven, there was once a magnificent palace. Now it is an empty shell, but its beautiful architecture once sheltered royal families. Halfway between Edinburgh and Stirling, it was perfect for resting, entertaining, and doing politics — and having babies.
On a recent trip to Linlithgow, I told a local I was going to see the castle. She corrected me: “It’s a palace,” she said. “It’s where Mary, Queen of Scots was born.”
Indeed there are several signs in Linlithgow saying this in some variation: “Mary, Queen of Scots was born here.”
She was born.
Within a week of her birth in 1542 she became Queen of Scotland. You see, her father, James V, lost a battle with England, got a fever, and died. While the country was ruled through regents, Mary was sent to France at age five to grow up out of danger. It was arranged for her to marry a French prince when she was 15 and he was 14, and then he became king and soon died.
She was born.
When I see a sign that someone was born at a historic site, I rarely think of the human side of things. Mary’s mother, Mary of Guise, was responsible for protecting the infant queen. Mary’s two older brothers died in infancy before she was born, and now their mother was a widow. What was it like for Mary’s mother to look into her baby girl’s face and try to imagine the future?
How would she one day explain to her toddler that she was born to govern a nation?
She was born.
Life is a miracle and a mystery. Mary had auburn hair and was exceptionally tall, five feet and 11 inches. When her French husband died, she returned to Scotland at age 18 and began to rule. Some liked her, but many did not — she was Catholic at the time of the Scottish Reformation, she was a woman, and she had grown up in France. Not to mention her possible claim to the English throne (it’s complicated).
She was born.
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Life takes directions you could never imagine. She married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and she gave birth to a son, James VI. Her husband was murdered less than a year later. She wed again very soon, in a marriage that divided the already fractured country.
She was born.
Sometimes life brings choices that are not really choices at all. Under enormous pressure, Mary abdicated in favor of her one-year-old son, James VI, who would rule through a regent. She escaped to England, seeking help from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth. Instead, she spent nearly 19 years in captivity. Eventually, she was accused of being part of a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. They beheaded her in 1587, at age 44.
She was born.
What if she had not been born? Then James VI would not have been born either, and he would not have been James VI, King of Scotland and James I, King of England, commissioning the “King James Version” of the Bible, one of his many acts over decades of rule.
If she had not been born, she would not have had a family to love, teachers to learn from, decisions to make, friends to enjoy, and a life that — despite its tragedy — leaves a legacy of resilience and strength.
She was born.
It is a miracle and a mystery to be given life, to have breath and a heartbeat.
When her mother held Princess Mary for the first time she could not have imagined what lay ahead, only that she needed to protect this tiny treasure, no matter what it took.
Like Mary, we too are born into circumstances that we did not choose, to people with stories of their own. The future is uncertain and stays that way. No one knows where our story will lead.
She was born.
Today Linlithgow is a thriving small town easy to reach by train from Edinburgh. While I was there last week, I bought a ticket and went into the shell of the palace where Mary was born. For a change, I imagined the human side of things, as best I could. I climbed the circular stairs to the top of the palace and looked out at the pretty Linlithgow Loch below. I wondered if Mary’s mother looked out at that same water in those days when mourning and new birth were mashed together.
Did she find a moment of peace there?
Did she look at her tiny daughter and wonder what kind of life awaited her?
She was born.
Originally published at https://alexandrahedrick.substack.com on September 13, 2026.
