Editing Mary of Guise (section)

==Death==
After an English assault on Leith was repulsed with heavy losses, some of the leaders of the Lords of the Congregation came to Edinburgh Castle on 12 May 1560 and had dinner with Mary and the keeper of the castle, [[John Erskine, Earl of Mar (died 1572)|Lord Erskine]]. They discussed a plan that had been previously discussed, in which Mary would have travelled to France and met Elizabeth in England, and her brother would have been made [[viceroy]] in Scotland. The Lords again complained about Frenchmen being appointed to Scottish government posts. Negotiations to end the siege of Leith and demolish new fortifications at [[Dunbar Castle]] continued. The talks ended when permission was refused for the French commanders in Leith to come to the castle to discuss the proposals with Mary.<ref>Gladys Dickinson, Gladys, ''Two Missions of de la Brosse'' (Edinburgh: SHS, 1942), pp.&nbsp;151–157.</ref>

While continuing to fortify Edinburgh Castle,<ref>''CSP Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 389.</ref> Mary became seriously ill, and over the course of the next eight days her mind began to wander; on some days she could not even speak. On 8 June she made her will. She died of [[Edema|dropsy]] on 11 June 1560.<ref>Gladys Dickinson, ''Two Missions of de la Brosse'' (Edinburgh: SHS: 1942), pp. 171–177.</ref>

She lay in state in the castle for a time, wrapped in [[Shroud|cerecloth]] and covered with a white sheet, on a bed hung with black satin, attended by her ladies-in-waiting.<ref>Joseph Bain, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1547–1563'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 429: See also NRS E33/5 Household accounts.</ref> Her body was then wrapped in lead and rested in a coffin on a bier in [[St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh|St Margaret's Chapel]] in Edinburgh Castle for several months.<ref name="Rosalind K. Marshall 2007 p. 123">Marshall, Rosalind K., ''Scottish Queens: 1034–1714'' (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2007), p. 123.</ref> The chapel was hung with black cloth with a white taffeta cross above the body.<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 24.</ref> On 18 March 1561, it was secretly carried from the castle at midnight and shipped to France. Mary, Queen of Scots attended her funeral at [[Fécamp]] in July 1561. Mary of Guise was interred at the church of [[Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, Reims]], where Mary's sister Renée was [[abbess]]. A marble tomb was erected with a bronze statue of Mary, in royal robes, holding a sceptre and the rod of justice in one hand.<ref name="Rosalind K. Marshall 2007 p. 123"/> The tomb was destroyed during the French revolution.<ref>David Laing, ''Works of John Knox'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1846), p.&nbsp;592, citing Tytler, P.F., ''History of Scotland'', and Pere Anselme, ''Histoire Genealogique'', vol. 3, "en bronze en habit royaux, tenant le sceptre et la main de justice".</ref> Of Mary's five children, only her daughter [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary]] survived her.

In modern times, there has been speculation that Mary was assassinated (by [[poison]]ing), either by order of Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] or possibly by others protecting the Queen's interests without any direct order from the Queen. However, no evidence supports such allegations, and there was an [[autopsy]] the day after she died.<ref>Gladys Dickinson, ''Two Missions of de la Brosse'' (Edinburgh: SHS, 1942), 176–179.</ref> Mary's death was evidently from natural causes, since she herself complained she had become lame from the swelling of her legs in April and diagnosed herself as having dropsy. The swelling was confirmed by her enemy, John Knox, who wrote that in May, "began hir bellie and lothsome leggis to swell."<ref>Knox, John, ''History of the Reformation'', vol. 2, 68.</ref> Even in the political climate of the 16th century, in which some royal deaths were suspected to have been murders, none of Mary's contemporaries saw signs of "foul play" in her death.<ref>''CSP Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 389; ''CSP Foreign, Elizabeth'', vol. 2 (London, 1865), 604, 29 April 1560.</ref>

The Regent's death made way for the [[Treaty of Edinburgh]], in which France and England agreed they would each withdraw their troops from Scotland. Although the French commissioners were unwilling to make a treaty with the insurgent Lords of the Congregation, they offered the Scots certain concessions from King Francis and Queen Mary, including the right to summon a parliament according to use and custom. The effect of the treaty was to leave power in the hands of the pro-English Protestants.