Mary's Life in France
Her mother asked the King of France if he would help her. He said he would, if his son could marry Mary. His son, Francis was only four and Mary was six. Just think - if that happened today, it would be the same as a Primary 1 girl being engaged to marry a boy in the nursery class in France!
The King sent ships to take Mary to France. Their route was chosen so that they wouldn't meet any English ships. Her Mother stayed behind to govern Scotland. Mary sailed to France with lots of grown ups to help look after her and four friends who were also called Mary.
Click here to read a song called: "The Queen's Maries"
They all left for France on 7th April 1558.
When she arrived in France, Mary stayed at a castle in France near Saint Germaine at a place called Carrieres. Here, she met Francis, the King's son, who was only four. She liked him a lot and treated him as a little brother. They became engaged on 11th April 1558.
Mary's life in France was a very easy one. She was taken care of by lots of servants, and she lived in beautiful castles. The French word for castle is 'chateau'. She lived in far greater luxury than in Scotland. Scottish castles and palaces (like Linlithgow) were smaller and colder than the French ones. More details