126-414: Maria Stuart may refer to: Mary, Queen of Scots Maria Stuart (biography) , a biography of Mary, Queen of Scots Maria/Stuart , a play by Jason Grote Mary Stuart (Schiller play) , a verse play by Friedrich Schiller See also [ edit ] Mary, Queen of Scots (disambiguation) Mary Stuart (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
252-508: A balladin , taught her to dance. Her future sister-in-law, Elisabeth of Valois , became a close friend of whom Mary "retained nostalgic memories in later life". Mary's maternal grandmother, Antoinette de Bourbon , was another strong influence on her childhood and acted as one of her principal advisors. Portraits of Mary show that she had a small, oval-shaped head, a long, graceful neck, bright auburn hair, hazel-brown eyes, under heavy lowered eyelids and finely arched brows, smooth pale skin,
378-423: A civil war against Regent Moray and his successors. As an anointed queen, Mary refused to acknowledge the power of any court to try her. She refused to attend the inquiry at York personally but sent representatives. Elizabeth forbade her attendance anyway. As evidence against Mary, Moray presented the so-called casket letters —eight unsigned letters purportedly from Mary to Bothwell, two marriage contracts, and
504-509: A galliard with Mary at night. He was constantly in Mary's company from then on. Darnley was his wife's half-first cousin through two different marriages of their grandmother, Margaret Tudor , putting Mary and Darnley high in the line of succession for the English throne. Darnley was also a descendant of a daughter of James II of Scotland , and so also in line for the throne of Scotland. As
630-787: A joust , fifteen-year-old Francis and sixteen-year-old Mary became king and queen of France. Two of the Queen's uncles, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine , were now dominant in French politics, enjoying an ascendancy called by some historians la tyrannie Guisienne . In Scotland, the power of the Protestant Lords of the Congregation was rising at the expense of Mary's mother, who maintained effective control only through
756-466: A Protestant government in Scotland, without either condemning or releasing her fellow sovereign. In Fraser's opinion, it was one of the strangest "trials" in legal history, ending with no finding of guilt against either party, one of whom was allowed to return home to Scotland while the other remained in custody. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567)
882-498: A Scottish Parliament held at a nunnery near the town agreed to the French marriage treaty . With her marriage agreement in place, five-year-old Mary was sent to France to spend the next thirteen years at the French court. The French fleet sent by Henry II, commanded by Nicolas de Villegagnon , sailed with Mary from Dumbarton on 7 August 1548 and arrived a week or more later at Roscoff or Saint-Pol-de-Léon in Brittany . Mary
1008-663: A better claim than Mary. In late 1561 and early 1562, arrangements were made for the two queens to meet in England at York or Nottingham in August or September 1562. In July, Elizabeth sent Sir Henry Sidney to cancel Mary's visit because of the civil war in France . Mary then turned her attention to finding a new husband from the royalty of Europe. When her uncle, the Cardinal of Lorraine , began negotiations with Archduke Charles of Austria without her consent, she angrily objected and
1134-461: A complete set. There are incomplete printed transcriptions in English, Scots, French, and Latin from the 1570s. Other documents scrutinised included Bothwell's divorce from Jean Gordon. Moray had sent a messenger in September to Dunbar to get a copy of the proceedings from the town's registers. Mary's biographers, such as Antonia Fraser , Alison Weir , and John Guy , have concluded that either
1260-548: A daughter, ruefully exclaimed, "It cam wi' a lass and it will gang wi' a lass!" His House of Stuart had gained the throne of Scotland in the 14th century through "a lass"—via the marriage of Marjorie Bruce , daughter of Robert the Bruce , to Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland —and it would be lost from his family "wi' a lass". This legendary statement came true much later – not through Mary, but through her great-great-granddaughter Anne, Queen of Great Britain . Mary
1386-566: A devout Catholic, she was regarded with suspicion by many of her subjects, as well as by the Queen of England. Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions. Mary's illegitimate half-brother, the Earl of Moray , was a leader of the Protestants. The Protestant reformer John Knox preached against Mary, condemning her for hearing Mass , dancing, and dressing too elaborately. She summoned him to her presence to remonstrate with him but
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#17327767449281512-625: A duty to obey her. The early years of her personal rule were marked by pragmatism, tolerance, and moderation. She issued a proclamation accepting the religious settlement in Scotland as she had found it upon her return, retained advisers such as James Stewart, Earl of Moray (her illegitimate half-brother), and William Maitland of Lethington , and governed as the Catholic monarch of a Protestant kingdom. Mary married her half-cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley , in 1565, and in 1566 she bore him
1638-591: A female she had to prove herself. As she was a Protestant, many Roman Catholics would have liked to see the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, take the throne. They regarded Elizabeth as illegitimate, her parents' marriage not having been recognised by the Catholic Church. As a male descended from Henry VII, Darnley was also a contender for the English throne—these interrelationships made for complex intrigues, spying, strategising, and manoeuvering for power at
1764-410: A high forehead, and regular, firm features. She was considered a pretty child and later, as a woman, strikingly attractive. At some point in her infancy or childhood, she caught smallpox , but it did not mark her features. Mary was eloquent, and especially tall by 16th-century standards (she attained an adult height of 5 feet 11 inches or 1.80 m); while Henry II's son and heir, Francis, stuttered and
1890-457: A house belonging to the brother of Sir James Balfour at the former abbey of Kirk o' Field , just within the city wall. Mary visited him daily, so that it appeared a reconciliation was in progress. On the night of 9–10 February 1567, Mary visited her husband in the early evening and then attended the wedding celebrations of a member of her household, Bastian Pagez . In the early hours of the morning, an explosion devastated Kirk o' Field. Darnley
2016-485: A journey on horseback of at least four hours each way to visit the Earl of Bothwell at Hermitage Castle , where he lay ill from wounds sustained in a skirmish with John Elliot of Park . The ride was later used as evidence by Mary's enemies that the two were lovers, though no suspicions were voiced at the time and Mary had been accompanied by her councillors and guards. Immediately after her return to Jedburgh, she suffered
2142-407: A love sonnet or sonnets. All were said to have been found in a silver-gilt casket just less than one foot (30 cm) long and decorated with the monogram of King Francis II. Mary denied writing them and insisted they were forgeries, arguing that her handwriting was not difficult to imitate. They are widely believed to be crucial as to whether Mary shared the guilt for Darnley's murder. The head of
2268-588: A potential match between their son and Mary. Both Mary and Darnley were grandchildren of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII of England, and patrilineal descendants of the High Stewards of Scotland . Darnley shared a more recent Stewart lineage with the Hamilton family as a descendant of Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran , a daughter of James II of Scotland . They next met on Saturday 17 February 1565 at Wemyss Castle in Scotland. Mary fell in love with
2394-412: A preliminary to the marriage, Darnley was made a knight , Lord of Ardmanoch and Earl of Ross at Stirling Castle on 15 May 1565. An entourage of 15 men were made knights, including one of Mary's half brothers, Robert Stewart of Strathdon , Robert Drummond of Carnock , James Stewart of Doune Castle , and William Murray of Tullibardine . In England, a concerned Privy council debated the perils of
2520-564: A secret conspiracy with Protestant lords, including the nobles who had rebelled against Mary in the Chaseabout Raid. On 9 March, a group of the conspirators accompanied by Darnley stabbed Rizzio to death in front of the pregnant Mary at a dinner party in Holyrood Palace. Over the next two days, a disillusioned Darnley switched sides and Mary received Moray at Holyrood. On the night of 11–12 March, Darnley and Mary escaped from
2646-446: A serious illness that included frequent vomiting, loss of sight, loss of speech, convulsions and periods of unconsciousness. She was thought to be dying. Her recovery from 25 October onwards was credited to the skill of her French physicians. The cause of her illness is unknown. Potential diagnoses include physical exhaustion and mental stress, haemorrhage of a gastric ulcer, and porphyria . At Craigmillar Castle , near Edinburgh, at
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#17327767449282772-466: A son James . But their marriage soured after Darnley orchestrated the murder of Mary's Italian secretary and close friend David Rizzio . In February 1567, Darnley's residence was destroyed by an explosion, and he was found murdered in the nearby garden. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell , was generally believed to have orchestrated Darnley's death, but he was acquitted of the charge in April 1567 and in
2898-509: A token of friendship, Charles IX of France sent an ambassador, Nicolas d'Angennes , seigneur de Rambouillet , to invest Darnley in the Order of Saint Michael in February 1566. Mary, Darnley, and her private secretary David Rizzio , took part in a costly masque with seven other dancers in rich attire to welcome Rambouillet and celebrate Darnley's investiture. His costume for the ceremony in
3024-531: A turn towards Catholicism. The rebellion, known as the Chaseabout Raid , was soon defeated by the royal forces, and Moray was forced to escape to England, where he sought Elizabeth's asylum. Soon after Mary married Darnley, she became aware of his vain, arrogant, and unreliable qualities, which threatened the state's well-being. Darnley was unpopular with the other nobles and had a violent streak, aggravated by his drinking. Mary refused to grant Darnley
3150-652: A useful complication in the succession issue. First, it presented a public statement that the preferences of Parliament (the claim of Catherine Grey in the succession crisis) could not dictate her own policy. Secondly, favouring the Lennoxes could serve as some kind of appeasement of the English Roman Catholics, who, like the Spanish ambassador, might foresee Elizabeth naming Darnley as her successor ... Such speculation would also distract them from favouring
3276-498: Is bewitched", adding that the marriage could only be averted "by violence". The union infuriated Elizabeth, who felt the marriage should not have gone ahead without her permission, as Darnley was both her cousin and an English subject. Mary's marriage to a leading Catholic precipitated Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray, to join with other Protestant lords, including Lords Argyll and Glencairn , in open rebellion. Mary set out from Edinburgh on 26 August 1565 to confront them. On
3402-478: Is captured somewhat in a letter of March 1554 to Mary I of England from Temple Newsam, where he writes about making a map, the Utopia Nova , and his wish that "every haire in my heade for to be a wourthy souldiour". In Scotland, he was delighted with an English Water Spaniel , a gift from the courtier James Melville of Halhill . There was a political dilemma in England arising from the dynastic ambition of
3528-400: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland , was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland , Mary
3654-620: The Ainslie Tavern Bond , in which they agreed to support his aim to marry the queen. Between 21 and 23 April 1567, Mary visited her son at Stirling for the last time. On her way back to Edinburgh on 24 April, Mary was abducted, willingly or not, by Lord Bothwell and his men and taken to Dunbar Castle , where he may have raped her. On 6 May, Mary and Bothwell returned to Edinburgh. On 15 May, at either Holyrood Palace or Holyrood Abbey , they were married according to Protestant rites. Bothwell and his first wife, Jean Gordon , who
3780-476: The Archbishop of St Andrews , whom she referred to as "a pocky priest", spit in the child's mouth, as was then the custom. In the entertainment, devised by Frenchman Bastian Pagez , men danced dressed as satyrs and sporting tails; the English guests took offence, thinking the satyrs "done against them". The French ambassador described how Darnley was lodged in the castle but stayed in his rooms, and sensing he
3906-594: The Clan Blackadder , was one of the first non-participants to happen upon the scene and, for that reason, was treated as a suspect. He was convicted and executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered before each of his limbs was nailed to the gates of a different Scottish town. Bothwell was put on trial in Edinburgh and found not guilty. Suspicions that Mary colluded with conspirators in her husband's death or that she took no action to prevent his death led to
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4032-557: The Crown Matrimonial , which would have made him a co-sovereign of Scotland with the right to keep the Scottish throne for himself, if he outlived his wife. Mary refused his request and their marriage grew strained, although they conceived by October 1565. He was jealous of her friendship with her Catholic private secretary, David Rizzio , who was rumoured to be the father of her child. By March 1566, Darnley had entered into
4158-540: The Crown Matrimonial , which would have made him the successor to the throne if she died childless. By August 1565, less than a month after the marriage, William Cecil heard that Darnley's insolence had driven Lennox from the Scottish court. On 28 August 1565, a pair of diplomatic letters were sent from the Scottish court to the King of Denmark , one signed by Mary, the other by Darnley. This seems to have been an effort to confirm his royal status. Mary soon became pregnant. As
4284-486: The Earl of Arran , and that the countess had many friends in the north. Although the Lennox threat never died out, Elizabeth did not convict the family of treason in 1562 after their arrest, nor did she encourage efforts to annul the countess's claim to her throne. Perhaps Elizabeth feared that these investigations could also be directed at herself, or her inaction was intended to ensure the monarchy's survival by not reducing
4410-472: The Earldom of Lennox . He was the second but eldest surviving son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox , by his wife Lady Margaret Douglas , which supported his claim to the English succession. Darnley's maternal grandparents were Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus , and Queen Margaret Tudor , daughter of King Henry VII of England and widow of King James IV of Scotland . Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
4536-611: The Ettrick Forest in August 1566. Darnley alienated many who would otherwise have been his supporters through his erratic behavior. His insistence that he be awarded the Crown Matrimonial was still a source of marital frustration. Their son was baptised Charles James on 17 December 1566 in a Catholic ceremony held at Stirling Castle . His godparents were Charles IX of France , Elizabeth I of England and Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy . Mary refused to let
4662-622: The Rough Wooing . Mary married Francis in 1558, becoming queen consort of France from his accession in 1559 until his death in December 1560. Widowed, Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. The tense religious and political climate following the Scottish Reformation that Mary encountered on her return to Scotland was further agitated by prominent Scots such as John Knox , who openly questioned whether her subjects had
4788-531: The Solway Firth into England by fishing boat on 16 May. She landed at Workington in Cumberland in the north of England and stayed overnight at Workington Hall . On 18 May, local officials led by Richard Lowther took her into protective custody at Carlisle Castle . Mary apparently expected Elizabeth to help her regain her throne. Elizabeth was cautious, ordering an inquiry into the conduct of
4914-589: The banns of marriage were called in the parish of Canongate. A proclamation was made at the Cross of Edinburgh on 28 July 1565 that government would be in the joint names of the king and queen of Scots, thus making Darnley king and giving him equality with and precedence over Mary. This was confirmed in the circulation of a silver ryal in the names of Henry and Mary. On 29 July 1565, the marriage took place by Roman Catholic rites in Mary's private chapel at Holyrood , but Darnley (whose religious beliefs were unfixed – he
5040-488: The "long lad", as Queen Elizabeth called him since he was over six feet tall. They married at Holyrood Palace on 29 July 1565, even though both were Catholic and a papal dispensation for the marriage of first cousins had not been obtained. English statesmen William Cecil and the Earl of Leicester had worked to obtain Darnley's licence to travel to Scotland from his home in England. Although her advisors had brought
5166-528: The 'well founded' fear that Catholics would raise Darnley to the throne on Elizabeth's death. Francis Yaxley was a Catholic spy discovered in 1562 whose activities led to the arrest of the Lennox family. He had been a Clerk of the Signet and from 1549 was employed by William Cecil travelling in France. Yaxley was employed by the Countess of Lennox. He placed Mabel Fortescue and other ladies as servants in
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5292-426: The 30th, Moray entered Edinburgh but left soon afterwards, having failed to take the castle. Mary returned to Edinburgh the following month to raise more troops. In what became known as the Chaseabout Raid , Mary with her forces and Moray with the rebellious lords roamed around Scotland without ever engaging in direct combat. Mary's numbers were boosted by the release and restoration to favour of Lord Huntly's son and
5418-478: The Darnley marriage as yet unforeseen." In September 1564, the Scottish Parliament restored Matthew Stewart's rights and titles as Earl of Lennox, and listened to a lengthy speech from the Queen's secretary William Maitland , who offered; "[I]t may be affirmid Scotland in na manis age that presentlie levis wes in gritter tranquillitie." On 3 February 1565, Darnley left London; by 12 February, he
5544-667: The Lennox household at Settrington in November 1560. His interrogation at the Tower of London in February 1562 revealed that he had obtained intelligence about the English Court from the Spanish ambassador, and the ambassador had entrusted him and Hugh Allen with messages and tokens for the Lennoxes and Darnley. Yaxley admitted that his missions were intended to arrange the marriage of the Queen of Scots with Darnley, that Darnley's religion guaranteed him greater success in his suit than
5670-478: The Lennoxes: Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, was third in line to the Scottish throne, and his wife Margaret Douglas , Countess of Lennox, was a niece of Henry VIII, making her a potential successor to the English throne if Elizabeth should die. As Roman Catholics , they posed a threat to English Protestants . Although Elizabeth was bright, witty, and well-educated for her position, as
5796-511: The Protestant leaders from the reformation crisis of 1559–1560: the Earls of Argyll , Glencairn , and Moray. Only four of the councillors were Catholic: the Earls of Atholl , Erroll , Montrose , and Huntly , who was Lord Chancellor . Modern historian Jenny Wormald found this remarkable and suggested that Mary's failure to appoint a council sympathetic to Catholic and French interests
5922-490: The Protestant service. Both Protestants and Catholics were shocked that Mary should marry the man accused of murdering her husband. The marriage was tempestuous, and Mary became despondent. Twenty-six Scottish peers , known as the confederate lords, turned against Mary and Bothwell and raised their own army. Mary and Bothwell confronted the lords at Carberry Hill on 15 June, but there was no battle, as Mary's forces dwindled away through desertion during negotiations. Bothwell
6048-472: The Queen of Scots via her ambassador, over the heads of Elizabeth and the Guise . The mission of Lennox's agent, one Nesbit, appears to have been a desperate one; not only was Lennox willing to hand over Darnley and his brother Charles as hostages for his restoration, but he supplied pedigrees of Darnley, indicating his right to the inheritance of England and Scotland and the houses of Hamilton and Douglas. Aubigny
6174-553: The Royal College of Surgeons' one was a good match. A historical facial reconstruction was then produced. Darnley's sexuality has been subject to debate. While at the Court of Elizabeth I, he was described as "a great cock chick", and Thomas Randolph (Elizabeth I's ambassador to Scotland) in a later despatch wrote that Darnley and Rizzio "would lie sometimes in one bed together". A sexual relationship between Darnley and Rizzio
6300-556: The Scots took Mary to Dunkeld for safety. In May 1546, Beaton was murdered by Protestant lairds , and on 10 September 1547, nine months after the death of Henry VIII, the Scots suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Pinkie . Mary's guardians, fearful for her safety, sent her to Inchmahome Priory for no more than three weeks and turned to the French for help. King Henry II of France proposed to unite France and Scotland by marrying
6426-545: The Scottish and English thrones. In 1545, his father, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox , was found guilty of treason in Scotland for siding with the English in the War of the Rough Wooing , in opposing Mary of Guise and Regent Arran . The family's Scottish estates were forfeited and his father went into exile in England for 22 years, returning to Scotland in 1564. The Countess of Lennox Margaret Douglas , his mother, had left Scotland in 1528. The Scottish scholar John Elder
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#17327767449286552-478: The Tower until she was freed shortly after her son's murder. The marriage between Mary and the son of Scotland's premier Catholic nobleman alarmed the Protestant nobility, precipitating the Queen's half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray , along with the earls of Argyll , Glencairn , and Rothes to take up arms against the Queen. Protestant noblemen were worried that the marriage would mean Scotland would take
6678-423: The chapel of Holyroodhouse, of satin guarded with black velvet and satin, sewn with aglets of gold, was given to a French herald as a perquisite. David Rizzio was stabbed 56 times on 9 March 1566 by Darnley and his confederates, Protestant Scottish nobles, in the presence of the queen, who was six months pregnant. According to English diplomats Thomas Randolph and the Earl of Bedford , the murder of Rizzio (who
6804-500: The commission of inquiry, the Duke of Norfolk , described them as horrible letters and diverse fond ballads. He sent copies to Elizabeth, saying that if they were genuine, they might prove Mary's guilt. The authenticity of the casket letters has been the source of much controversy among historians. It is impossible now to prove either way. The originals, written in French, were possibly destroyed in 1584 by Mary's son. The surviving copies, in French or translated into English, do not form
6930-521: The confederate lords and the question of whether Mary was guilty of Darnley's murder. In mid-July 1568, English authorities moved Mary to Bolton Castle , because it was farther from the Scottish border but not too close to London. Mary's clothes, sent from Lochleven Castle, arrived on 20 July. A commission of inquiry, or conference, as it was known, was held in York and later Westminster between October 1568 and January 1569. In Scotland, her supporters fought
7056-589: The couple failed to have children, the temporary union would dissolve. Cardinal Beaton rose to power again and began to push a pro-Catholic pro-French agenda, angering Henry, who wanted to break the Scottish alliance with France . Beaton wanted to move Mary away from the coast to the safety of Stirling Castle . Regent Arran resisted the move but backed down when Beaton's armed supporters gathered at Linlithgow . The Earl of Lennox escorted Mary and her mother to Stirling on 27 July 1543 with 3,500 armed men. Mary
7182-424: The couple together, Elizabeth felt threatened by the marriage because as descendants of her aunt, both Mary and Darnley were claimants to the English throne. Their children, if any, would inherit an even stronger, combined claim. Mary's insistence on the marriage seems to have stemmed from passion rather than calculation; the English ambassador Nicholas Throckmorton stated "the saying is that surely she [Queen Mary]
7308-408: The course of the commission, although he denied it when Elizabeth alluded to his marriage plans, saying "he meant never to marry with a person, where he could not be sure of his pillow". The majority of the commissioners accepted the casket letters as genuine after a study of their contents and a comparison of the penmanship with examples of Mary's handwriting. Elizabeth, as she had wished, concluded
7434-461: The deed in hand or do it, they should defend." Darnley feared for his safety, and after the baptism of his son at Stirling and shortly before Christmas, he went to Glasgow to stay on his father's estates. At the start of the journey, he was afflicted by a fever–possibly smallpox, syphilis or the result of poison. He remained ill for some weeks. In late January 1567, Mary prompted her husband to return to Edinburgh. He recuperated from his illness in
7560-532: The destruction of Scotland's leading Catholic magnate, Lord Huntly, in 1562, after he led a rebellion against her in the Highlands . Mary sent William Maitland of Lethington as an ambassador to the English court to put the case for Mary as the heir presumptive to the English throne. Elizabeth refused to name a potential heir, fearing that would invite conspiracy to displace her with the nominated successor. However, she assured Maitland that she knew no one with
7686-424: The documents were complete forgeries, or incriminating passages were inserted into genuine letters, or the letters were written to Bothwell by a different person or written by Mary to a different person. Guy points out that the letters are disjointed and that the French language and grammar employed in the sonnets are too poor for a writer with Mary's education but certain phrases in the letters, including verses in
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#17327767449287812-458: The end of November 1566, Mary and leading nobles held a meeting to discuss the "problem of Darnley". Divorce was discussed, but a bond was probably sworn between the lords present to remove Darnley by other means: "It was thought expedient and most profitable for the common wealth ... that such a young fool and proud tyrant should not reign or bear rule over them; ... that he should be put off by one way or another; and whosoever should take
7938-455: The exiled heretics, and seized the kingdom." However, on 20 March, Darnley posted a declaration denying all knowledge of or complicity in the Rizzio murder. Mary no longer trusted her husband, and he was disgraced by the kingdom. On 27 March, the Earl of Morton and Lord Ruthven , who were both present at Rizzio's murder and had fled to England, wrote to Cecil claiming that Darnley had initiated
8064-508: The first monarch of the reigning House of Tudor , and the English Catholics considered Mary to be the rightful heir to the throne, rather than Elizabeth who was Protestant. Furthermore, the son they both had would be a clear claimant to the throne. In retaliation for Henry's marriage, Elizabeth ordered the imprisonment of her first cousin and Darnley's mother, Lady Margaret, in the Tower of London . Margaret remained imprisoned in
8190-539: The following month he married Mary. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle . On 24 July 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James VI. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled southward seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Elizabeth I of England . As a great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England , Mary had once claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and
8316-506: The following year at Fotheringhay Castle . Mary's life and execution established her in popular culture as a romanticised historical character. Mary was born on 8 December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace , Scotland, to King James V and his French second wife, Mary of Guise . She was said to have been born prematurely and was the only legitimate child of James to survive him. She was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England through her paternal grandmother, Margaret Tudor . Margaret
8442-488: The inquiry with a verdict that nothing was proven against either the Confederate lords or Mary. For overriding political reasons, Elizabeth wished neither to convict nor to acquit Mary of murder. There was never any intention to proceed judicially; the conference was intended as a political exercise. In the end, Moray returned to Scotland as regent and Mary remained in custody in England. Elizabeth succeeded in maintaining
8568-408: The inquisition of her right and title to be our next cousin and heir". The proposal came to nothing, not least because the intended bridegroom was unwilling. In contrast, a French poet at Mary's court, Pierre de Boscosel de Chastelard , was apparently besotted with Mary. In early 1563, he was discovered during a security search hidden underneath her bed, apparently planning to surprise her when she
8694-478: The intended marriage on 4 June. One of their resolutions was to relax the displeasure shown to Lady Catherine Grey , another rival to Mary Stuart for the English throne. Mary sent John Hay, Commendator of Balmerino, to speak to Elizabeth; Elizabeth demanded Darnley's return and gave John Hay plainly to understand her small satisfaction. On 22 July, Darnley was made Duke of Albany in Holyrood Abbey , and
8820-480: The killing. The letters were purportedly found by James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton , in Edinburgh, in a silver box engraved with an "F" (for Francis II), along with other documents, including the Mary-Bothwell marriage certificate. Before Morton's execution in 1581, he admitted knowing the murder plot, and that Bothwell and Archibald Douglas were "chief actors" in Darnley's murder. Mary fled to England but
8946-449: The loss of her supporters and the loss of the Scottish crown. Bothwell escaped to Shetland and Norway. Her enemies captured Mary at the battle of Carberry Hill . In 1568, Mary's involvement in the murder was discussed in England in conferences at York and Westminster, which ended with no definitive findings. The Casket letters were produced as evidence against her, alleged to have been written by Mary; they seemed to indicate her support for
9072-430: The marriage between Mary and Darnley. The marriage union between Mary and Darnley provoked the wrath of Elizabeth because the Queen considered that Darnley, who, despite being Scottish, was born and raised in England and, therefore, was her subject, had married without her permission. The marriage also posed a serious threat to Elizabeth: both Darnley and Mary had claims to the English throne as descendants of Henry VII ,
9198-478: The more alarming claim of the Queen of Scots ... Thirdly, and most significantly, the elevation of the Lennoxes presented an obstacle between the Queen of Scots and the English throne. Thus was Darnley's uniquely 'British' inheritance put to use at last ... The subsequent release of Darnley into Scotland and the restoration of his father at the Scottish Court were part of this policy: the political disaster of
9324-406: The murder plot and recruited them, because of his "heich quarrel" and "deadly hatred" of Rizzio. Mary and Darnley's son James (the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England) was born on 19 June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle. Following the birth of James, the succession was more secure, but Darnley and Mary's marriage continued to struggle, despite a hunting trip together to Cramalt Tower in
9450-571: The negotiations foundered. Her own attempt to negotiate a marriage to Don Carlos , the mentally unstable heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain , was rebuffed by Philip. Elizabeth attempted to neutralise Mary by suggesting that she marry English Protestant Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester . Dudley was Sir Henry Sidney's brother-in-law and the English queen's own favourite , whom Elizabeth trusted and thought she could control. She sent an ambassador, Thomas Randolph , to tell Mary that if she married an English nobleman, Elizabeth would "proceed to
9576-487: The night of 9/10 February 1567, while Mary was away, two explosions rocked the foundation of Kirk o' Field. These explosions were later attributed to two barrels of gunpowder that had been placed in the small room under Darnley's sleeping quarters. Darnley's body and the body of his valet, William Taylor, were found outside, surrounded by a cloak, a dagger, a chair, and a coat. Darnley was dressed only in his nightshirt, suggesting he had hurriedly fled from his bedchamber. Darnley
9702-420: The nobility and seemingly with royal approval. Mary had been looking at options for removing Darnley and had discussed ideas at Craigmillar Castle in November 1566, though her ideas were for divorce. The problem was the risk of making her son illegitimate. Soon after Darnley's death, Bothwell and Mary left Edinburgh together. There are two points of view about the circumstances: in the first, Bothwell kidnapped
9828-406: The number of potential heirs. The Lennox family was released in February 1563. Within a few months, Darnley and his mother were conspicuous by their presence at Court and the favour they received there, although Elizabeth would not accommodate the earl at Court. Sarah Macauley notes three outcomes of the court's decision in the Lennox trial: "Their elevation at Court was, as it turned out in 1563,
9954-489: The opportunity of the regency to propose marriage between Mary and his own son and heir, Edward , hoping for a union of Scotland and England. On 1 July 1543, when Mary was six months old, the Treaty of Greenwich was signed, which promised that, at the age of ten, Mary would marry Edward and move to England, where Henry could oversee her upbringing. The treaty provided that the two countries would remain legally separate and, if
10080-611: The palace. They took temporary refuge in Dunbar Castle before returning to Edinburgh on 18 March. The former rebels Lords Moray, Argyll and Glencairn were restored to the council. Mary's son by Darnley, James , was born on 19 June 1566 in Edinburgh Castle . However, the murder of Rizzio led to the breakdown of her marriage. In October 1566, while staying at Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders , Mary made
10206-479: The part of the Scots to produce the letters and their destruction in 1584, whatever their content, constitute proof that they contained real evidence against Mary. In contrast, Weir thinks it demonstrates that the lords required time to fabricate them. At least some of Mary's contemporaries who saw the letters had no doubt that they were genuine. Among them was the Duke of Norfolk, who secretly conspired to marry Mary in
10332-477: The queen, took her to Dunbar Castle , and raped her. In the second, Mary was a willing participant in the kidnapping, and the story of rape was a fabrication, so her honour and reputation were not ruined by her marriage to a man widely suspected of murder. Mary later miscarried twins by Bothwell while a prisoner at Lochleven Castle . A soldier under the pay of Bothwell, Captain William Blackadder of
10458-605: The return of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell , from exile in France. Unable to muster sufficient support, Moray left Scotland in October for asylum in England. Mary broadened her privy council, bringing in both Catholics ( Bishop of Ross John Lesley and Provost of Edinburgh Simon Preston of Craigmillar ) and Protestants (the new Lord Huntly, Bishop of Galloway Alexander Gordon , John Maxwell of Terregles and Sir James Balfour ). Before long, Darnley grew arrogant. Not content with his position as king consort, he demanded
10584-421: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Maria Stuart . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Stuart&oldid=1150184263 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10710-441: The senior surviving legitimate descendant of Henry VII through her grandmother, Margaret Tudor . Henry II of France proclaimed his eldest son and daughter-in-law king and queen of England. In France, the royal arms of England were quartered with those of Francis and Mary. Mary's claim to the English throne was a perennial sticking point between her and Elizabeth. When Henry II died on 10 July 1559, from injuries sustained in
10836-538: The style of Ronsard , and some characteristics of style are compatible with known writings by Mary. The casket letters did not appear publicly until the Conference of 1568, although the Scottish privy council had seen them by December 1567. Mary had been forced to abdicate and held captive for the better part of a year in Scotland; the letters were never made public to support her imprisonment and forced abdication. Historian Jenny Wormald believes this reluctance on
10962-540: The use of French troops. In early 1560, the Protestant lords invited English troops into Scotland in an attempt to secure Protestantism. A Huguenot uprising in France, the Tumult of Amboise , made it impossible for the French to send further support. Instead, the Guise brothers sent ambassadors to negotiate a settlement. On 11 June 1560, their sister, Mary's mother, died, and so the question of future Franco-Scots relations
11088-605: The various courts. When Henry II of France died in July 1559, Lennox's brother John, 5th Sieur d'Aubigny , was elevated in the French court as a relative of the new French queen, Mary, already Queen of Scots. Aubigny arranged for Darnley to be dispatched to the French court to congratulate Mary and Francis II of France on Francis's accession and seek restoration for Lennox. Mary did not restore Lennox to his Scottish earldom. Still, she did give 1,000 crowns to Darnley and invited him to her coronation. Lennox planned to appeal directly to
11214-558: The vault was opened by mobs, and sometime later (between 1776 and 1778), the vault was raided, and the skull of Lord Darnley was stolen. In 1928, a paper was published by Karl Pearson , detailing his vast research into the skull of Lord Darnley. In his paper, Pearson discussed the possibility of Darnley's skull residing in the Royal College of Surgeons ’ museum. In 2016, at the request of the University of Edinburgh , research
11340-409: The world is thinking. Men say that, instead of seizing the murderers, you are looking through your fingers while they escape; that you will not seek revenge on those who have done you so much pleasure, as though the deed would never have taken place had not the doers of it been assured of impunity. For myself, I beg you to believe that I would not harbour such a thought. By the end of February, Bothwell
11466-542: The young queen to his three-year-old son, the Dauphin Francis . On the promise of French military help and a French dukedom for himself, Arran agreed to the marriage. In February 1548, Mary was moved, again for her safety, to Dumbarton Castle . The English left a trail of devastation behind them once more and seized the strategic town of Haddington . In June, the much-awaited French help arrived at Leith to besiege and ultimately take Haddington . On 7 July 1548,
11592-436: Was Henry VIII 's older sister so Mary was Henry VIII's great-niece. On 14 December, six days after her birth, she became Queen of Scotland when her father died, perhaps from the effects of a nervous collapse following the Battle of Solway Moss or from drinking contaminated water while on campaign. A popular tale, first recorded by John Knox , states that James, upon hearing on his deathbed that his wife had given birth to
11718-513: Was King of Scotland as the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots , from 29 July 1565 until his murder in 1567. Lord Darnley had one child with Mary, the future James VI of Scotland and I of England . Through his parents, he had claims to both the Scottish and English thrones . Less than a year after the birth of his son, Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field in 1567. Many contemporary narratives describing his life and death refer to him as simply Lord Darnley , his title as heir apparent to
11844-420: Was crowned in the castle chapel on 9 September 1543, with "such solemnity as they do use in this country, which is not very costly", according to the report of Ralph Sadler and Henry Ray . Shortly before Mary's coronation, Henry arrested Scottish merchants headed for France and impounded their goods. The arrests caused anger in Scotland, and Arran joined Beaton and became a Catholic. The Treaty of Greenwich
11970-444: Was a pressing one. Under the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh , signed by Mary's representatives on 6 July 1560, France and England undertook to withdraw troops from Scotland. France recognised Elizabeth's right to rule England, but the seventeen-year-old Mary, still in France and grieving for her mother, refused to ratify the treaty. Francis II died on 5 December 1560 of a middle-ear infection that led to an abscess in his brain. Mary
12096-470: Was accompanied by her own court including two illegitimate half-brothers, and the "four Marys" (four girls her own age, all named Mary), who were the daughters of some of the noblest families in Scotland: Beaton , Seton , Fleming , and Livingston . Janet, Lady Fleming , who was Mary Fleming's mother and James V's half-sister, was appointed governess. When Lady Fleming left France in 1551, she
12222-411: Was alone and declare his love for her. Mary was horrified and banished him from Scotland. He ignored the edict. Two days later, he forced his way into her chamber as she was about to disrobe. She reacted with fury and fear. When Moray rushed into the room after hearing her cries for help, she shouted, "Thrust your dagger into the villain!" Moray refused, as Chastelard was already under restraint. Chastelard
12348-519: Was also later accused of supporting Mary's title to the throne of England and hinting that even his nephew had a stronger claim than Elizabeth. Lennox set Nesbit to watch Mary, Darnley, and Darnley's tutor, John Elder. In 1559 Nicholas Throckmorton , the English ambassador in Paris, warned Elizabeth that Elder was "as dangerous for the matters of England as any he knew." Lord Paget in March 1560, wrote of
12474-593: Was among his tutors. Elder advocated Anglo-Scottish union through the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots , and Prince Edward . His advice to Henry VIII in 1543, was termed the Advice of a Redshank . Another schoolmaster to the young heir was Arthur Lallart, who would later be interrogated in London for having gone to Scotland in 1562. Henry was considered strong, athletic, skilled in horsemanship and weaponry, and passionate about hunting and hawking. His youthful character
12600-439: Was an indication of her focus on the English throne, over the internal problems of Scotland. Even the one significant later addition to the council, Lord Ruthven in December 1563, was another Protestant whom Mary personally disliked. In this, she was acknowledging her lack of effective military power in the face of the Protestant lords, while also following a policy that strengthened her links with England. She joined with Moray in
12726-519: Was born at Temple Newsam , Leeds , in the West Riding of Yorkshire , England, in 1546. Henry was initially believed to be born on 5 December 1545, but more recent research suggests he was born in 1546, as his mother had given birth in late February 1545. In a letter from March 1566, his age was given as nineteen. As a great-great-great-grandson of James II of Scotland and great-grandson of Henry VII of England , Darnley had potential claims to both
12852-407: Was christened at the nearby Church of St Michael shortly after she was born. Rumours spread that she was weak and frail, but an English diplomat, Ralph Sadler , saw the infant at Linlithgow Palace in March 1543, unwrapped by her nurse Jean Sinclair , and wrote, "it is as goodly a child as I have seen of her age, and as like to live." As Mary was an infant when she inherited the throne, Scotland
12978-509: Was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics , including participants in a rebellion known as the Rising of the North . Perceiving Mary as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in various castles and manor houses in the interior of England. After eighteen-and-a-half years in captivity, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth in 1586 and was beheaded
13104-505: Was described as having deformed pocks upon his face and body. He stayed with his family in Glasgow until Mary brought him to recuperate at Old Provost's lodging at Kirk o' Field, a two-storey house within the church quadrangle, a short walk from Holyrood, to incorporate him into the court again. Darnley stayed at Kirk o' Field while Mary attended the wedding of Bastian Pagez , one of her closest servants, at Holyrood. Around 2:00 a.m. on
13230-479: Was driven into exile. He was imprisoned in Denmark, became insane, and died in 1578. On 2 May 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle with the aid of George Douglas, brother of Sir William Douglas , the castle's owner. Managing to raise an army of 6,000 men, she met Moray's smaller forces at the Battle of Langside on 13 May. Defeated, she fled south. After spending the night at Dundrennan Abbey , she crossed
13356-409: Was found dead in the garden, apparently smothered. There were no visible marks of strangulation or violence on the body. Bothwell , Moray , Secretary Maitland , the Earl of Morton and Mary herself were among those who came under suspicion. Elizabeth wrote to Mary of the rumours: I should ill fulfil the office of a faithful cousin or an affectionate friend if I did not ... tell you what all
13482-506: Was generally believed to be guilty of Darnley's assassination. Lennox, Darnley's father, demanded that Bothwell be tried before the Estates of Parliament , to which Mary agreed, but Lennox's request for a delay to gather evidence was denied. In the absence of Lennox and with no evidence presented, Bothwell was acquitted after a seven-hour trial on 12 April. A week later, Bothwell managed to convince more than two dozen lords and bishops to sign
13608-422: Was given safe passage from the field. The lords took Mary to Edinburgh, where crowds of spectators denounced her as an adulteress and murderer. The following night, she was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle on an island in the middle of Loch Leven . Between 20 and 23 July, Mary miscarried twins. On 24 July, she was forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James . Moray was made regent, while Bothwell
13734-452: Was grief-stricken. Her mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici , became regent for the late king's ten-year-old brother Charles IX , who inherited the French throne. Mary returned to Scotland nine months later, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Having lived in France since the age of five, Mary had little direct experience of the dangerous and complex political situation in Scotland. As
13860-538: Was in Edinburgh . On 17 February, he presented himself to Mary at Wemyss Castle in Fife . James Melville of Halhill reported that "Her Majesty took well with him, and said that he was the lustiest and best proportioned long man that she had seen." After a brief visit to his father at Dunkeld , Darnley returned with Mary and the court to Holyrood on 24 February. The next day, he heard John Knox preach, and he danced
13986-522: Was kept in captivity there until she was implicated in the Babington plot against Elizabeth, after which she was convicted of treason and executed. Darnley was buried in the Royal Vault at Holyrood Abbey in 1567 alongside the bodies of several royals: King James II , Arthur, Duke of Rothesay , Madeleine of Valois , James, Duke of Rothesay , Arthur, Duke of Albany and King James V . In 1668,
14112-466: Was murdered either way. Suspicion quickly fell on James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell , and his supporters, notably Archibald Douglas, Parson of Douglas , whose shoes were found at the scene, and on Mary herself. Bothwell had long been suspected of having designs on the throne, and his close relationship with the queen gave rise to rumours they were sexually intimate. This was viewed as a motive for Bothwell to have Darnley murdered, with help from some of
14238-415: Was out of favour, the ambassador refused to meet with him. Darnley was murdered eight months after James's birth. On the night of 9/10 February 1567, his body and that of his valet were discovered in the orchard of Kirk o' Field , in Edinburgh, where they had been staying. During the weeks leading up to his death, Darnley was recovering from a bout of smallpox (or, it has been speculated, syphilis ). He
14364-459: Was raised as a Catholic, but was later influenced by Protestantism) refused to accompany Mary to the nuptial Mass after the wedding. Because they were both first cousins, a papal dispensation was needed for the marriage, which was initially celebrated without the dispensation because the Holy See delayed issuing it. It was not until 25 September that Rome issued the dispensation, thus validating
14490-550: Was rejected by the Parliament of Scotland in December. The rejection of the marriage treaty and the renewal of the alliance between France and Scotland prompted Henry's " Rough Wooing ", a military campaign designed to impose the marriage of Mary to his son. English forces mounted a series of raids on Scottish and French territory. In May 1544, the English Earl of Hertford (later Duke of Somerset ) raided Edinburgh, and
14616-642: Was ruled by regents until she became an adult. From the outset, there were two claims to the regency: one from the Catholic Cardinal Beaton , and the other from the Protestant Earl of Arran , who was next in line to the throne. Beaton's claim was based on a version of the king's will that his opponents dismissed as a forgery. Arran, with the support of his friends and relations, became the regent until 1554 when Mary's mother managed to remove and succeed him. Henry VIII of England took
14742-480: Was rumoured to be the father of Mary's unborn child) was part of Darnley's bid to force Mary to cede the Crown Matrimonial. Darnley also bargained with his allies to advance his claim to the Crown Matrimonial in the Parliament of Scotland in return for restoring their lands and titles. When the Spanish Ambassador in Paris heard this news, the headlines were that Darnley "had murdered his wife, admitted
14868-511: Was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents , first by the heir to the throne, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran , and then by her mother, Mary of Guise . In 1548, she was betrothed to Francis , the Dauphin of France , and was sent to be brought up in France , where she would be safe from invading English forces during
14994-399: Was smothered. There were no visible marks of strangulation or violence on the body. A post-mortem revealed internal injuries thought to have been caused by the explosion. John Knox claimed that the surgeons who examined the body were lying and that Darnley had been strangled, but all the sources agreed there were no marks on the body and there was no reason for the surgeons to lie as Darnley
15120-501: Was succeeded by a French governess, Françoise de Paroy . Vivacious, beautiful, and clever (according to contemporary accounts), Mary had a promising childhood. At the French court, she was a favourite with many people, except Henry II's wife Catherine de' Medici . Mary learned to play lute and virginals , was competent in prose, poetry, horsemanship, falconry, and needlework, and was taught French, Italian, Latin , Spanish, and Greek , in addition to her native Scots . Jehan Paulle,
15246-537: Was succeeded by her only surviving sibling, Elizabeth I . Under the Third Succession Act , passed in 1543 by the Parliament of England , Elizabeth was recognised as her sister's heir, and Henry VIII's last will and testament had excluded the Stuarts from succeeding to the English throne. Yet, in the eyes of many Catholics, Elizabeth was illegitimate and Mary Stuart was the rightful queen of England, as
15372-408: Was the sister of Lord Huntly, had divorced twelve days previously. Originally, Mary believed that many nobles supported her marriage, but relations quickly soured between the newly elevated Bothwell (created Duke of Orkney ) and his former peers and the marriage proved to be deeply unpopular. Catholics considered the marriage unlawful since they did not recognise Bothwell's divorce or the validity of
15498-570: Was tried for treason and beheaded. Maitland claimed that Chastelard's ardour was feigned and that he was part of a Huguenot plot to discredit Mary by tarnishing her reputation. Mary had briefly met her English-born half-cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley , in February 1561 when she was in mourning for Francis. Darnley's parents, the Earl and Countess of Lennox , were Scottish aristocrats as well as English landowners. They sent him to France ostensibly to extend their condolences, while hoping for
15624-490: Was undertaken to identify whether a skull once held in the university's collection (until destroyed in the Blitz ) could be Darnley's stolen remains. The Royal College of Surgeons' skull and detailed pictures and measurements from 1928 of the destroyed Edinburgh skull were examined and compared to portraits of Darnley by Emma Price at the University of Dundee . The conclusion was that the Edinburgh skull could not be Darnley's, but
15750-458: Was unsuccessful. She later charged him with treason, but he was acquitted and released. To the surprise and dismay of the Catholic party, Mary tolerated the newly established Protestant ascendancy, and kept her half-brother Moray as her chief advisor. Her privy council of 16 men, appointed on 6 September 1561, retained those who already held the offices of state. The council was dominated by
15876-544: Was unusually short. Henry commented: "from the very first day they met, my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time". On 4 April 1558, Mary signed a secret agreement bequeathing Scotland and her claim to England to the French crown if she died without issue. Twenty days later, she married the Dauphin at Notre Dame de Paris , and he became king consort of Scotland. In November 1558, Henry VIII 's elder daughter, Mary I of England ,
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