Table Of ContentUncover the incredible story of a _
| dynasty torn apart by civil war
HEROES AND \
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“TREASON * , KING “KILLERS © + EXILE « + RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE
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Welcome to
HISTORY
Book of the
STUARTS
The axeman lifted his weapon and paused, assessing the bare neck before him. In one swift
movement, he dealt the fatal blow, severing the head of his own king. As the life drained from
Charles I, so too did the bitter dregs of absolute monarchism in Britain. After centuries of kings
and queens, from the bloodthirsty to the benevolent, England became a republic, with Oliver
Cromwell at the helm. But history wasn't finished with the Stuarts.
In barely more than a century, the Stuarts shaped Britain irrevocably. Ruling during the Great
Fire of London, the devastating plague outbreak of 1665 and numerous religious plots and
schemes, the Stuarts overcame catastrophe and conspiracy to unite Scotland and England into a
European superpower. In the All About History Book of the Stuarts, discover how the Scottish
dynasty ascended the English throne, uncover why a king met his maker at the executioner's
block and find out why life was miserable under Cromwell. Elsewhere, read about the
Restoration, delve into the dynastic disputes that cost a king his crown and learn
about the royal schemes to reclaim a usurped throne.
Book of the
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HISTORY
CONTENTS
O8 Birth ofa
dynasty
From retainers to sovereigns, the
Stuarts ruled Scotland for centuries
before they gained a greater prize -
the throne of England
Mary,
Queen of Scots
oe s
16 Timeline
Discover the tale of heartbreak,
betrayal and loss that led to the
downfall of Scotland's most
tragic queen
18 A Queens’ feud
The deadly rivalry between Elizabeth
I and her scandalous cousin, Mary,
Queen of Scots
James I
—~
Se
26 Timeline
The first Stuart king of England,
James I was loved but renowned for
his poor decision-making skills
28 James & the
witches
After personal experience of black
magic - or so he thought - King
James waged a vigorous wat
against witchcraft
34 The Gunpowder
Plot
How one Catholic plot almost
brought down Parliament - and the
king with it
Charles I
42 Timeline
This controversial king's famous
disputes with England's Parliament
led to civil war and his own
brutal execution
44 Crown versus
Parliament
The most powerful man in the land,
King Charles I's dogged belief in the
divine right of kings would lead to
his bloody downfall
52 Our king,
the traitor
After years of ruinous war, the king
was made to pay the ultimate price
56 The Interregnum
Without a monarchy, England had
to build a new political system from
scratch - no mean feat for a brand
new republic
64 The question of
succession
Oliver Cromwell's health was failing.
The fate of the Commonwealth was
about to change once more
Charles II
66 Timeline
With plots, wars and conspiracies,
the reign of the Merry Monarch was
not all celebrations and festivities
68 The return of
the
Charles’ return ushered in a golden
era of licentiousness, inspired by the
European culture he experienced on
the continent
74 The Black Death
How the last outbreak of plague in
England turned the capital into a
ghost town
78 Charles and the
Great Fire
How the Merry Monarch brought
his city back from the brink of
destruction in 1666
DK AMON EONS,
108 The politics of
James II '° seuakt Britain
How Queen Anne attempted to
88 Timeline mediate the precarious political
England's last Catholic monarch, situation that dominated her reign
James II's reign was largely spent
battling with Parliament
90 The last
Cgons Fons 114 The Stuarts in
Demise & legacy
e
Protestant nation, James II struggled e e
to unite religions Forced to flee their homeland, the
= Stuarts set about building a new
96 The Glorious continental royal court
es
Revolution
Acting on invitation, the House of
Orange secured the throne from the 120 The myth of
ailing James II Bonnie Prince
Charlie
PS Did the man behind the legend of
Will l am It the Young Pretender measure up?
& Mary II
a 128 Chroniclers of a
100 Timeline century
Step inside the fascinating court Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn's
of England's first constitutional diaries paint a vivid picture of
monarchs 17th-century life
102 Mary's turmoil 132 Life in Stuart
Britain
Discover the tale of the reluctant
queen who was torn between her
duty to her father, to her husband
and to her country
While the nobility enjoyed their
opulent castles, the poor didn’t
have such a good time of it
Ss r us:
106 Timeline Starting with an execution and
The life of the last Stuart monarch ending with a revolution, the
and the first ruler of a newly Stuart era changed the face of
united Great Britain England forever
The Stuarts
Birth ofa
dynasty
From retainers to sovereigns, the Stuart family
ruled Scotland for centuries before they gained a
greater prize — the throne of England
he royal house of Stuart is one of the most
enduring and conflicting in British history.
They propelled Scotland, a country on the
outskirts of western life and politics, onto
the European centre stage, where a dramatic
turn of events saw them take the throne of
England after the Tudor dynasty faded away.
A common and sometimes confusing trait with
the Stuarts, and many other royal families,
is the repetition in their naming
conventions. James and Mary
are the most popular names,
with monarchs often only
differentiated by their place in
the reigning order.
Hailing from 1th-century
Brittany, the Norman ancestors
of the Stuart line came to
Britain under King Henry I of
England. Alan fitz Flaad served
as a knight under the king and
gained castles, wealth and power. His
son, Walter Fitzalan, was invited to Scotland
under David I to serve as his High Steward. The
name of Stuart, sometimes spelt Stewart to denote
the Scottish line of the family, would be derived
from this job title, with the name meaning ‘hall
ward in old English, possibly dated from before the
7th century.
Being a member of an Anglo-Norman household,
Walter would have brought his expertise in
European warfare to the Scottish court, including
motte and bailey castles and the heavily armoured
Hailing from
lith-century
Brittany, the Norman
ancestors of the Stuart
line came to Britain
under King Henry I
of England
shock cavalry that the Normans favoured. This
new military clout enabled Walter and his family
to exert royal control over the more rebellious
northeast and southeast regions of the country.
This position soon became hereditary and Walter's
great-grandson would take their title as the family
name. Thus the Stuarts were born.
Over the next few centuries the family grew in
power and wealth, but their fortunes would
improve further in 1315 when the 6th
High Steward, Walter, became part of
the Scottish royal family when he
married Marjorie Bruce, daughter
of Robert the Bruce. The house
would claim the throne when
David II died childless, and
Walter and Marjorie’s son
Robert would become Robert II
of Scotland.
Threats to the crown for the
early Stuart monarchs would largely
come from within with a near constant
struggle with rebellious nobles being the
norm. The first James of the Stuart line would lose
his life in this way.
Having been sent away for his own safety,
the infant James was captured by the English
and held captive for much of his early life.
Returning to Scotland and exacting his revenge
on the nobles who refused to pay his ransom,
James purged the court of corrupt nobles, but a
conspiracy was mounting against him. Robert II,
James’ grandfather, had many children, and some
- Mary, Queen of Scots divides up
Bs her jewels among her servants
: , rd ©. _ the day before her execution = |
Ly ay ed
i i - We ~ ; 5
“
: - "e oof i "a 4,
ig Cee Fe 21 Oe bah?
‘|. The Battle of Flodden saw James “ ©
i
et
toes
* IV become the last king on the
« British Isles to die in battle
The unicorn and Lion
The rivalry between Scotland and England has been centuries in the making
Almost since the countries’ inceptions, Scotland and England have been rivals. Nowadays this feud is mostly
played out on rugby or football pitches, but its roots reach back for millennia. The intense warfare and tensions
started when Edward | invaded Scotland in 1296, claiming overlordship over all the British Isles. From then on
Edward's successors would look to exert his claim over the country, and Robert the Bruce's (the king who won
the Wars of Scottish Independence) successors would look to frustrate their efforts. It was not until James VI
united the crowns that any long-lasting and meaningful peace would exist between the countries.
Another thorn in Anglo-Scottish relations was the Auld Alliance, a friendship and military pact between
Scotland and France that had existed since Edward I's invasion. Having England as a mutual enemy, the two
countries agreed to lend military aid to each other, but in later centuries, as England and Scotland came
together with similar goals, the alliance was strained. James IV broke the Treaty of Perpetual Peace to honour
the Auld Alliance, and once the countries united in 1707 France became the enemy of both.
The rivalry would also, by some coincidence, spill over into England and Scotland's national animals. The
lion had been used as a heraldic symbol in England since Henry | and was used officially since Richard the
Lionheart's reign. The unicorn, Scotland's national animal, came from Celtic mythology as a symbol of purity
and innocence but also displays power and masculinity. Its inclusion in chivalric tales and its association with
Jesus Christ could explain why it was chosen as Scotland's national animal.
Lions and unicorns are considered enemies in mythology, so it was somehow fitting that they were chosen,
although it does not seem to have been deliberate. Once James VI/I took the throne he used both animals,
representing the sun and moon, to show the new found unity between the two old enemies.
The Royal Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom has the lion
and unicorn, the symbols for England and Scotland, standing
side by side — a symbol of unity
