The burden of power weighs upon the mature and experienced. What can we say about those who had to take on the heavy duty of ruling an entire country at a very tender age? In a word, the milk has not yet dried on his lips, but he is already on the royal throne.
Someone managed to strengthen the state, someone caused irreparable harm that several subsequent generations of wise rulers could not fix. Learn about six monarchs who were destined to ascend to the throne as a child, but whose actions and decisions had very adult consequences.
Mary Stuart, better known in history as Mary, Queen of Scots. She became queen as a newborn baby six days old. Naturally, she could not rule the country. The Scottish Parliament ruled for her.
Henry VIII raved about the unification of kingdoms and wanted to marry his son Edward to Mary. The Scots opposed this and hid the newborn queen in different castles.
When Maria was five years old, she was taken to France. There, at the age of sixteen, she married Francis II and briefly tried on the French crown. The husband passed away just a few years later, and Maria returned to Scotland. There she married twice more.
In 1567, the Queen of Scots abdicated the throne in a rebellion and fled to England. Maria Stewart spent almost two decades in prison. She was executed for conspiracy to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I.
