The daughter of King James V of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots was a sports enthusiast. She played golf – and tennis – and apparently soccer.  That would make Mary de Guise the world’s first soccer mom! Recently, a small leather ball was found behind the oak paneling of a room that was once the bedchamber of the Scottish Queen. Since this was Mary’s bedchamber, it is believed that all objects found there would likely have belonged to the Queen herself.

Researchers have determined the ball to be the world’s oldest soccer ball. Today’s golf balls are made of several layers of different materials to improve performance. Apparently the Scots were well aware of that technology almost five hundred years ago. This ball has a cricket ball at its center, contained inside a pig’s bladder to allow for inflation, and encapsulated in a stitched leather covering to give it a smoother bounce and roll.

Mary had a short but eventful life. She was only 6 days old when her father died in 1542 and she acceded to the throne of Scotland. She was widowed at 18; married 3 times, after the Scottish parliament annulled her engagement to Prince Edward of England; and executed for treason at age 44. In her short life, Mary was Queen of four nations: Scotland, France, England and Ireland.