had read about in Amadis . Here also Diane would supervise Mary’s formal studies while gently introducing her to the art of maintaining her own personality as a woman in the aggressively male world of Henri’s court. It was essential that men were seen to be in complete control and that all initiatives were theirs alone. Thus, all major topics had to be approached from a tangent, avoiding direct confrontation by praising a man for an idea which he had not yet dreamt of, or for his firmness when he was clearly vacillating. Promises of sex to be given or withheld were the weakest of weapons in the royal court, as the exiled Lady Fleming had discovered. Diane’s power lay not in her bed but in her brain, and she stressed to the youngprincess that it was more with her intellect than anything else that Mary could take power when she came to rule as a queen consort. Mary could maintain her own court and exercise a measure of control over her husband, avoiding an existence as a mere breeder of princes and princesses. As a queen regnant she would no longer need to rely on manipulating men to do her bidding but could command them directly. Since the idea of being a queen regnant would have meant contemplating a return to Scotland which was very far from her teenage mind, Mary, sadly, received this excellent advice with an eager smile and deaf ears.
Catherine, not unnaturally, wanted more and more to bring the care of the royal children under her sole control and Henri, quite naturally, resented the cost of maintaining Mary’s court at his own expense. The Scots had similar reservations over paying for the upkeep of an absent queen whose annual expenses were in the region of £12,000 Scots, almost half the entire royal revenue. Even these sums did not include Mary’s expenditure on horses, ponies and stabling.
The Scots were eventually persuaded to continue these payments by Marie de Guise, and on 1 January 1554 the twelve-year-old Mary wrote to tell her mother that she now had her own household and had invited her uncle Charles, the Cardinal of Lorraine, to dinner. He became a crucial influence in her education and was also her spiritual mentor. She would hear him celebrate Mass in his private chapel accompanied by the exquisite sacred music of Jacques Arcadelt. However, Mary received no practical advice on politics from her uncles. They regarded her simply as a key which would one day open the sluice gates of influence for the Guise family, a carte d’entrée to royal power.
The Guise faction, especially François, Duc de Guise, was already united with Catherine in their dislike of the constable, Montmorency, Diane’s ally and a favourite of Henri’s. Now that Mary had her own court they could start to use her to bring their feuding into the open. The Cardinal of Lorraine was always ather elbow with advice and, through her, the Guise family set about strengthening their already powerful position. Mary blithely hoped to ride both horses and assured her mother that all her uncles were as solicitous for her comfort, as was Diane de Poitiers. Having managed to have his niece declared to be of age, ‘at eleven years and a day’, the cardinal put into motion his scheme to extend Guise power in Scotland. It was very simple: since Mary was a sovereign queen, there was now no need for Châtelherault to share the regency with Marie de Guise, who could become the sole regent on her daughter’s behalf. As Henri, wisely, did not trust Châtelherault at all, he encouraged the scheme, and in April 1554 Marie became sole regent. On the cardinal’s advice Mary sent her mother several sheets of paper, blank except for her signature, ‘ MARIE ’. This was the signature she used for the rest of her life, always in block capitals and always in French.
In France, Mary was now able to choose her own guardians, and, to no one’s surprise, she opted for her Guise uncles along with the king, thus putting the Guise family next in importance
Catherine, not unnaturally, wanted more and more to bring the care of the royal children under her sole control and Henri, quite naturally, resented the cost of maintaining Mary’s court at his own expense. The Scots had similar reservations over paying for the upkeep of an absent queen whose annual expenses were in the region of £12,000 Scots, almost half the entire royal revenue. Even these sums did not include Mary’s expenditure on horses, ponies and stabling.
The Scots were eventually persuaded to continue these payments by Marie de Guise, and on 1 January 1554 the twelve-year-old Mary wrote to tell her mother that she now had her own household and had invited her uncle Charles, the Cardinal of Lorraine, to dinner. He became a crucial influence in her education and was also her spiritual mentor. She would hear him celebrate Mass in his private chapel accompanied by the exquisite sacred music of Jacques Arcadelt. However, Mary received no practical advice on politics from her uncles. They regarded her simply as a key which would one day open the sluice gates of influence for the Guise family, a carte d’entrée to royal power.
The Guise faction, especially François, Duc de Guise, was already united with Catherine in their dislike of the constable, Montmorency, Diane’s ally and a favourite of Henri’s. Now that Mary had her own court they could start to use her to bring their feuding into the open. The Cardinal of Lorraine was always ather elbow with advice and, through her, the Guise family set about strengthening their already powerful position. Mary blithely hoped to ride both horses and assured her mother that all her uncles were as solicitous for her comfort, as was Diane de Poitiers. Having managed to have his niece declared to be of age, ‘at eleven years and a day’, the cardinal put into motion his scheme to extend Guise power in Scotland. It was very simple: since Mary was a sovereign queen, there was now no need for Châtelherault to share the regency with Marie de Guise, who could become the sole regent on her daughter’s behalf. As Henri, wisely, did not trust Châtelherault at all, he encouraged the scheme, and in April 1554 Marie became sole regent. On the cardinal’s advice Mary sent her mother several sheets of paper, blank except for her signature, ‘ MARIE ’. This was the signature she used for the rest of her life, always in block capitals and always in French.
In France, Mary was now able to choose her own guardians, and, to no one’s surprise, she opted for her Guise uncles along with the king, thus putting the Guise family next in importance
Similar Books
