Mary, Queen of Scots, First Great Seal of Scotland - c.1542 - Historical Wax Seal Stamp

Mary, Queen of Scots First Great Seal, Scottish Royal Arms - c.1542 - Historical Wax Seal Stamp

Wax seal stamp based on the heraldic face of the First Great Seal of Mary, Queen of Scots, featuring the Royal Arms of Scotland supported by two unicorns.

Mary became Queen of Scots in December 1542 when she was only six days old, following the death of her father, James V. Her long minority was governed through regents while she was eventually sent to France, where she was raised at the French court before marrying Francis, Dauphin of France, in 1558.

At the centre of this seal is the ancient Royal Arms of Scotland: a lion rampant enclosed within the distinctive double tressure flory-counter-flory. This emblem had represented the Scottish monarchy for centuries and remained the principal royal arms throughout Mary's reign.

The shield is supported by two unicorns, an especially important feature in the development of Scottish royal heraldry. Unicorn imagery had appeared in Scotland before Mary's reign, including on the coinage and heraldry of earlier Stewart monarchs, but Mary was the first Scottish sovereign to use two unicorns as supporters on the Great Seal. Her Privy Seal, by contrast, continued to employ lions as supporters.

The unicorn would subsequently become one of the defining heraldic animals of Scotland. Traditionally represented crowned and chained, it came to embody the authority and identity of the Scottish Crown and remains part of the Royal Arms used in Scotland today.

The First Great Seal also incorporated distinctive crowned thistles behind the supporters, providing another explicitly Scottish element to the composition. A surviving example of the armorial counter-seal is recorded from 1550.

The seal therefore represents an important moment in Scottish heraldic history, combining the medieval lion of Scotland with the paired unicorn supporters that became permanently associated with the Scottish monarchy.

Seal Legend:

MARIA DEI GRATIA REGINA SCOTORUM

Expanded Latin:

Maria Dei Gratia Regina Scotorum

Translation:

“Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of Scots.”

Surviving material from Mary's early reign confirms that her 1542 seal asserted her title as Queen of Scotland, while contemporary royal documents use the same Latin royal style. The exact punctuation and abbreviation of the legend can vary between surviving impressions and catalogue transcriptions.

Design: First Great Seal of Mary, Queen of Scots
Monarch: Mary Stewart / Mary, Queen of Scots
Dynasty: House of Stewart
Date: c.1550
Reign: 1542–1567
Symbol: Lion Rampant of Scotland with unicorn supporters
Period: 16th-century Scotland
Stamp Size: 50 mm
Material: Solid brass
Type: Wax seal stamp / sealing stamp

Each stamp is made of solid brass, supplied with a handle, and presented in a velvet pouch.

Suitable for letters, envelopes, historical collections, Scottish history displays, heraldry collections, genealogy projects, traditional stationery and decorative sealing.

“En ma fin est mon commencement.”

“In my end is my beginning.” — Mary, Queen of Scots