Elisabeth of Austria (1554 - 1592), was born an Archduchess of Austria, and later became Queen of France. She was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. She was married to Charles IX of France for three and a half years, until his death. Elisabeth enjoyed a privileged and secluded childhood in Vienna, where she and her many siblings were raised as devout Catholics. With her flawless white skin, long blonde hair and perfect physique, she was considered one of the greatest beauties of the era. Demure, pious and warm-hearted, she was also naive and intensely innocent because of her sheltered upbringing. At the age of sixteen, she was married to King Charles IX of France to help cement an alliance between the Habsburg emperors and the French Crown. Her wedding was celebrated with immense pomp and extravagance in Paris, despite the dire state of French finances. Her wedding gown was of silver and her tiara was studded with pearls, emeralds, diamonds and rubies.

During the 14th century reign of Robert II of Scotland, it had been confirmed that the Scottish Crown would only be inherited by males in the line of Robert's children—all sons—who were listed in that parliamentary Act. Females and female lines could inherit only after extinction of male lines. Mary ascended to the throne because, with the death of James V, there were no remaining direct male descendants of Robert II of unquestionably legitimate origins (John Stewart, Duke of Albany, a direct descendant of Robert II, would probably have succeeded James V had he not died in 1536). Mary Stuart was the first member of the royal House of Stuart to use the Gallicised spelling Stuart, rather than the earlier Stewart. (Mary adopted the French spelling Stuart during her time in France, and she and her descendants continued to use it.) Princess Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, West Lothian, on December 7 or December 8, 1542 to King James V of Scotland and his French wife, Marie of Guise. In Falkland Palace, Fife, her father heard of the birth and prophesied, "The devil go with it! It came with a lass, it will pass with a lass!" James truly believed that Mary's birth marked the end of the Stuarts' reign over Scotland. Instead, through Mary's son, it was the beginning of their reign over both the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England.