Mary, Queen of Scots | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/mary-queen-scots/RSS feed for Mary, Queen of ScotsenMon, 09 Feb 2026 20:40:15 +0000Rumors Suggested That Anne Boleyn Was a Witch With Six Fingers. Did This Elizabethan Artist Rework a Portrait of the Tudor Queen to Debunk the Gossip?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rumors-suggested-that-anne-boleyn-was-witch-with-six-fingers-did-this-elizabethan-artist-rework-a-portrait-of-the-tudor-queen-to-debunk-the-gossip-180988169/A new analysis of the Hever Rose portrait suggests that the painter deliberately modified an existing template to showcase Anne's hands—with no extra digits—holding a delicate roseMon, 09 Feb 2026 20:40:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rumors-suggested-that-anne-boleyn-was-witch-with-six-fingers-did-this-elizabethan-artist-rework-a-portrait-of-the-tudor-queen-to-debunk-the-gossip-180988169/Why Do These Tudor-Era Portraits of Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I Look So Strikingly Similar?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-do-these-tudor-era-portraits-of-anne-boleyn-and-elizabeth-i-look-so-strikingly-similar-180988051/The artist behind the works may have used Elizabeth's likeness as a template in other royal portraits to visually emphasize her resemblance to previous monarchs and reinforce her status as the legitimate Tudor heirMon, 26 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-do-these-tudor-era-portraits-of-anne-boleyn-and-elizabeth-i-look-so-strikingly-similar-180988051/Mary, Queen of Scots, Wrote This Letter Hours Before She Was Executed. Her Words Are Going on Display for the First Time in Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mary-queen-of-scots-wrote-this-letter-hours-before-she-was-executed-her-words-are-going-on-display-for-the-first-time-in-years-180987885/The deposed Scottish queen wrote the four-page missive to her brother-in-law just a few hours before her execution in 1587Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mary-queen-of-scots-wrote-this-letter-hours-before-she-was-executed-her-words-are-going-on-display-for-the-first-time-in-years-180987885/This Painting of a Doomed Duke Just Became the Priciest Elizabethan Portrait Ever Auctioned, Selling for $4.2 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-portrait-doomed-duke-just-became-the-priciest-elizabethan-portrait-ever-auctioned-selling-for-42-million-180987822/The 1562 likeness of Thomas Howard, Fourth Duke of Norfolk, was created by Hans Eworth, a Flemish artist whose Tudor-era portraiture is second only to Hans Holbein'sTue, 09 Dec 2025 20:31:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-portrait-doomed-duke-just-became-the-priciest-elizabethan-portrait-ever-auctioned-selling-for-42-million-180987822/This Tragic European Monarch Was Executed for Treason on Her Cousin's Ordershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-tragic-european-monarch-was-executed-for-treason-on-her-cousins-orders-180985967/Elizabeth I ordered the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic claimant to the English throne, on this day in 1587Sat, 08 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-tragic-european-monarch-was-executed-for-treason-on-her-cousins-orders-180985967/How Henry VIII's Armies Defeated a Much Larger Scottish Force, Humiliating His Nephew, the King of Scotlandhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-henry-viiis-armies-defeated-a-much-larger-scottish-force-humiliating-his-nephew-the-king-of-scotland-180985367/On this day in 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss left James V enfeebled and ill, clearing the way for his young daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, to claim the throne weeks laterSun, 24 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-henry-viiis-armies-defeated-a-much-larger-scottish-force-humiliating-his-nephew-the-king-of-scotland-180985367/The Brothers Who Asserted Their Right to Free Speech in Tudor Englandhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-brothers-who-asserted-their-right-to-free-speech-in-tudor-england-180984740/Peter and Paul Wentworth called on Elizabeth I to name an heir to the throne, wielding Parliament's free speech privileges to urge the queen to take actionWed, 24 Jul 2024 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-brothers-who-asserted-their-right-to-free-speech-in-tudor-england-180984740/The Real Story Behind 'Mary & George'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-mary-george-180984086/The new mini-series dramatizes the Villiers family’s scandalous rise to power at the court of England's James IFri, 05 Apr 2024 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-mary-george-180984086/How Medieval Women Expressed Their 'Forbidden' Emotionshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-medieval-women-expressed-their-forbidden-emotions-180983953/Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner livesMon, 18 Mar 2024 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-medieval-women-expressed-their-forbidden-emotions-180983953/Hidden for 400 Years, Censored Pages Reveal New Insights Into Elizabeth I's Reignhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hidden-for-400-years-censored-pages-reveal-new-insights-on-elizabeth-is-reign-180982554/Scholars used advanced imaging to read crossed-out, pasted-over passages in the first official account of the Tudor queen's time on the English throneTue, 18 Jul 2023 17:32:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hidden-for-400-years-censored-pages-reveal-new-insights-on-elizabeth-is-reign-180982554/