Mary Beaton
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Mary Beaton was an attendant of Mary I of Scotland. She was born in 1543, died in 1598 at the age of 55. Like the Queen, she was of Scottish descent. Mary Beaton was described as pretty and plump, with fair hair and dark eyes. Several works also describe her personality as being one of a shy daydreamer who often sought solitude.
Her mother was one of Marie de Guises's ladies-in-waiting. In 1548, at age 5, Mary Beaton was chosen by Marie de Guise to accompany her daughter Mary to France. She, along with three other girls who also accompanied the Queen, were to become known as the 'Four Marys'.
[edit] Family
The Beaton clans of Fife were a very powerful clan in 16th century Scotland. The family was a large one, with many branches to the family tree, even though some of these seem tenuous, due to different spellings (for example Betoun, Beton or Bethune). The family of this particular Mary came from the area known as Creich. While not of noble blood, the Beatons apparently enjoyed the favor of royalty, as many of the clan were in high positions; one family member served as a Lord High Treasurer to James IV. Mary's father and grandfather were both keepers of the Falkland Palace in Scotland and masters of the royal household. Her father also had several sisters, some of whom were prominent figures within society. One sister, Elizabeth, was a mistress of James V, and is thought to have had at least one child by him (Jean, Countess of Argyll). The eldest sister, Janet, was said to be a lover of the Earl of Bothwell. Some sources have implied that she was involved in a plan with him in the murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
[edit] Life
Mary Beaton, attracted the attentions of an older man, Lord Thomas Randolph. At the time of the courtship, in 1564, Randolph was 45 and Mary was 21. Randolph was Queen Elizabeth's English Ambassador to the Scottish court, and wanted Mary Beaton to spy on her mistress for him. She turned him down. Mary Beaton eventually married Alexander Ogilvy of Boyne in April of 1566, having one son, James, born in 1568. Little else is known of her life.
