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These are the seals of Mary Stewart when she was queen of France (for those few months). If her young husband, François II, had lived maybe she would have been the great dame of Chenonceau. Instead, she left here when her husband died and went back to Scotland where she took up Catholic arms to save Britain from her Protestant cousin, the Virgin Queen Elizabeth (you may know two states in the US named after her..). In any case, you know who won that battle. Mary Queen of Scotts was beheaded in 1587. The Spanish Armada sank in 1588. François had been succeeded by an equally feeble brother who in turn died quickly. France's great hope lay in the last son of Catherine de Médicis. His name was Henry, making him the third in France. Henry III did some major arse-kicking (excuse my French), and he did on both the Protestants AND the Catholics. He was headed for settling the whole question, when, in 1589, he was assassinated by a fanatical catholic monk. The were three good years for Elizabeth. Scotland, Spain, and France in disarray -- so now let Britannia Rule!!!
