Mary Stuart, later known to history as Mary, Queen of Scots, was born on December 8, 1542, at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. The death of her father, King James V, occurred just six days later, plunging the kingdom into a unique situation where the infant Mary became the queen at merely one week old. This unprecedented circumstance in royal succession required immediate constitutional arrangements to secure her throne in a politically tumultuous era characterized by power struggles and foreign influence. With the country under threat from external powers such as England, which had its own ambitions in Scotland, her guardianship became a pressing matter for the nobles. As a result, Mary was placed under the care of a regent, initially the Earl of Arran, who would govern Scotland in her name until she could assume direct control over her realm. The political landscape was further complicated by the Protestant Reformation, which was taking root in Scotland, forcing the monarchy to navigate between Catholic and Protestant factions, setting the stage for future conflicts.