Mary's return to Scotland from France in 1561. After the death of her first husband, King Francis II of France, the 18-year-old Mary was compelled to leave her adopted homeland and sail back to a Scotland she barely knew, which had recently embraced Protestantism. She is dressed in black and white mourning attire and a sheer white veil, a reference to her widowhood and a poignant symbol of her fate. The figures accompanying her, along with the rough sea and the sense of looking out at the distant horizon, all serve to emphasise the personal sacrifice and political uncertainty of her journey.