Mary, Queen of Scots the Scottish alliance with France. Beaton wanted to move Mary away from the coast to the safety of Stirling Castle. Regent Arran resisted the move, but backed down when Beaton's armed supporters gathered at Linlithgow. The Earl of Lennox escorted Mary and her mother to Stirling on 27 July 1543 with 3,500 armed men. Mary was crowned in the castle chapel on 9 September 1543, with "such solemnity as they do use in this country, which is not very costly" according to the report of Ralph Sadler and Henry Ray. Shortly before Mary's coronation, Scottish merchants headed for France were
Secret Bond Secret Bond The Secret Bond (also known as the Secret Band) was a document drawn up by Cardinal Beaton and signed by a number of Scottish peers on 24 July 1543. They agreed to resist alliance with England by the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Prince Edward. Following the death of James V of Scotland in December 1542, his daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, an infant of less than a week old, succeeded to the Scottish throne. A struggle for the regency between Cardinal Beaton and Earl of Arran was won by the latter. On 1 July 1543,