Despite Henry’s death in 1547, the Rough Wooing continued through Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, in the name of England’s new King, Edward VI. Under Seymour’s leadership, the English continued their destruction and occupation of much of southern Scotland, particularly after the Battle of Pinkie (1547), which saw the capture and deaths of around 8,000 Scots, compared to only a few hundred English men. By this point, Scotland were in desperate need of help and so turned back to their old allies, France, and renewed the Auld Alliance with the Treaty of Haddington.
By January 1548, the Treaty of Haddington was signed; Mary would be removed to France, raised there, with the intention to marry the Dauphin and Scotland would receive French support. This treaty was very agreeable in comparison to Greenwich and the ensuing violence. Unlike Henry and Somerset, Henri II made no violent encroachment on Scottish land and there was no threat of the kidnap of a monarch. Instead, France offered to defend Scotland in exchange for the young Queen, who herself would be protected. This had been a major concern during the Rough Wooing, clear from the fact that Mary was constantly moved around to avoid English invasion, to Dunkeld in 1544 and then to Inchmahome in September. Upon being removed to France in July 1548, the Scottish had achieved two things for their monarch. The first, her safety, thus securing their own, and secondly a dynastic marriage, with agreeable terms which could secure the Stewart line.
The Rough Wooing continued until 1551, but with little use. Mary, the ultimate way to gain the Scottish crown, had been far removed from reach and instead England was now battling Scotland and France with no clear desired outcome. The Treaty of Norham was signed in 1551, calling for peace, returning of hostages and any lands returned to the pre-war owners. For Scotland and France, the outcome was a success – Mary was safe and secured, Scotland was no longer at war, and France had just gained a good footing into Scottish power. This intervention of France would be much disputed later on and was a source of irritation for many later in Mary’s reign, with the sentiment being that France had just a little too much influence over the crown. For England, very little if anything had been gained from this period. It was just one of many Anglo-Scottish disputes, although it would be the last major conflict before James VI united the two nations in 1603.
