Mary Queen of Golf Origin Story

We’re here to talk about Mary, Queen of Scots. She has been credited as the first female golfer. She lived a dramatically traumatic life, with her father, King James V of Scotland, dying prematurely 6 days after her birth. Her first husband, heir to the throne of France, died as a young teen, making her a super young, yet beautiful widow. She returned to Scotland upon the death of her mother and took her rightful position as queen. Round two didn’t go so great for her either… All eyes were on now pregnant Mary when her new husband, Lord Darnley, died in mysterious circumstances in Edinburgh. The house Darnley was lodging in was blown up-- YET, his body was found in the garden after the explosion with signs of strangulation… Turns out Mary had been crushin’ on a new dude, and the rumors were flying. Nobody approved. Was she preggo by the new guy she had been sneaking around with or the dead dude? We’ll never know. And who murdered Darnley?!! Without modern forensics nothing could be proved. New dude flees the country and Mary is imprisoned in Leven Castle. Only to give birth to still-born twins. Mary peaced out to England, where she became a political pawn for Queen Elizabeth I. Mary was imprisoned for 19 years in various English castles and eventually was charged for treason. She was beheaded. As the executioner held her freshly severed head out to the crowd, it dropped and rolled, leaving the executioner left holding only her wig. Could this be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs inspo for Heads Will Roll? One can only hope! Poor Mary. Very few individuals are born into such privileged positions only to have their entire worlds completely explode around them.

So when did Miss Mary have time to play golf amidst all of this craziness? Mary played with husband #1 in France. It was one of her favorite activities, and helped spread the popularity of the game. She continued knockin’ around balls with her lover after the death of her second husband. In fact, she was shunned by the church for playing golf only a few days after his murder instead of properly mourning him. Hey man, we’re all allowed to mourn the way we want! No judgment.

The story of Mary, Queen of Scots is probably one of the most interesting things about golf. Hence why we named these Fairway Fashion Frames after her wild story. Warning: These green cateye golf sunglasses will make heads roll.