Mary Queen of Scots: and the Murder of Lord Darnley Free

FREE MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS: AND THE MURDER OF LORD DARNLEY PDF

Moments later, the house from which he fled exploded with the force of two barrels of gunpowder. That event in Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley began the fall of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the beginning of the end for the Scottish monarchy. Those responsible for killing the King Consort of Scotland remain a mystery to this day. Public domain. Groomed for the crown since childhood by his devious mother, the reviled Lord Darnley was no stranger to intrigue. Suspicion, violence, and a ruthless power struggle marked his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots. Throughout history, secrets and rumors cast long shadows on the death of Lord Darnley. Just Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley before the gunpowder exploded, the two men escaped out a window of Provost House. A group of men discovered Lord Darnley and William Taylor slipping away. Quickly, they captured and strangled them to death. Then they left their bodies in the neighboring orchard. The gunpowder ignited, blowing the house apart with a second valet still inside. Some sources say she was away at a wedding that evening. Polite history describes Lord Darnley as recovering from smallpox in the winter ofand to protect the eight-month-old James, Darnley was staying in separate quarters. In actuality, he probably had a seamier ailment. Most historians think he contracted syphilis that winter because of his rampant promiscuity. But she was also under immediate suspicion. Many believed she was close to the prime suspect James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. It was Bothwell, some thought, who supplied the gunpowder for the assassination. Then, to confirm the conspiracy for many, she and the 4th Earl of Bothwell married later that year. First, he was handsome and unusually tall for that time, over six feet. Second, he was politically valuable from the moment of his birth. Lord Darnley on the left and Mary, Queen of Scots on the right. The potential Margaret Douglas saw in her son was his claim to both the Scottish and English throne. He was also Catholic. Besides, Elizabeth was unlikely to have any children of her own. Historians describe him as vain, selfish, and manipulative. Tensions arose in Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley marriage soon after the wedding because he wanted Mary to be submissive to him. Seeing his behavior, Mary only granted the title of King Consort to Darnley. In essence, he was only the husband of a ruling queen. As a result, he would lose his title as soon as an heir came of age or if Mary died before she could produce an offspring. It placed Darnley in a unique position of having his power and position threatened by his child. Darnley hated Rizzio for his close friendship with Mary. Also, rumors suggested that Rizzio was the father of the child that Mary was carrying inside her. The lords stabbed Rizzio over fifty times. Darnley hoped the shock of witnessing the murder would cause Mary, then six-months pregnant, to miscarry. There was the coup and his assassination of David Rizzio. Plus, his promiscuity, foul-temper, and ongoing plots to seize power earned him great disdain. Within it was eight unsigned letters, love sonnets, and two marriage contracts, collectively called the Casket Letters. They have been the subject of inquiry and speculation through the centuries. However, Mary maintained the Casket Letters were forgeries. They were possibly a mash-up of her own words combined with fakes. A commission that investigated the murder agreed with Mary, Queen of Scots, ruling the letters proved nothing. They found her innocent of conspiracy. Inthe Royal Society of Edinburgh held a panel that used modern techniques to investigate the murder. It comprised a historian, a pathologist, and a fire and explosion expert. Together they put forth a more credible theory; both Mary and Darnley were targets of the explosion. Rather than a plot by a vengeful wife, it was a conspiracy by Queen Elizabeth to eliminate a threat to her throne. Kennedy If the murder was a scheme by Queen Elizabeth or her associates, it only worked in Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley. But the murder did end up destroying the Scottish monarchy. When she returned to Edinburgh in Aprilthe 4th Earl of Bothwell and his men stopped her on the road. There was danger ahead. Insisting it was for her protection, Bothwell escorted Mary to his home at Dunbar palace. Either Mary fell in love with James Hepburn, Lord Bothwell, or he raped her to force her to marry him. Either way, they returned to Edinburgh together and wed. But the 4th Earl of Bothwell was unpopular with the Confederate Lords, having clashed with them during their earlier coup attempt. This time the lords seized control of Edinburgh, capturing Mary and Bothwell. Mary fled to England. However, Queen Elizabeth arrested and imprisoned Mary for the next 19 years. Mary, Queen of Scots, was the last monarch of Scotland and abdicated her throne to her one-year-old child from her imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle. She remained in English custody until when the conference at Westminster found her guilty of treason and executed her. Magnusson, Magnus. Scotland: the Story of a Nation. New York: Grove Press, Ridgway, Claire. McGrigor, Mary. Accessed May 21, Knapton, Sarah. Telegraph Media Group, August 15, The Murder of Lord Darnley. On This Day in Tudor History, Guy, J. London, UK: Harper Perennial, Weir, Alison. A full time college student with a passion for history. I enjoy the many mysteries of our planet and spend way too much time glued in front of the television or reading a good history book! This website uses cookies to improve Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More. Major Crimes in History. Share Your Thoughts. Related Posts. Who Killed Bob Crane? The Boston Strangler. The Kidnapping of Charley Ross. Disappearance of the Beaumont Children. Joshua A full time college student with a passion for history. Did Mary Queen of Scots kill her husband Lord Darnley?

On the evening of 9 March Mary, Queen of Scots was at supper in her private apartments in the palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh. So she was surprised by the intrusion of her husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, from whom she was already estranged after less than a year of marriage. The atmosphere in the small dining room became tense. But much worse was to follow. A group of armed men, led by Lord Ruthven and the Earl of Morton, entered the chamber and demanded that her Italian secretary, David Riccio, come forth. They had conspired with Darnley to make the unpopular Riccio a scapegoat for their own discontent. She was in terror for her own life. Mary had been queen for 23 years, succeeding at the age of six days in December on the death of her father, James V. She was his only surviving legitimate child, by his second wife, Mary of Guise. Mary had, however, spent only 10 years in Scotland. At the age of five she was sent to France in preparation for her marriage to the dauphin, Francis, heir to the French throne. There, in the opulent court, memories of her native land faded. She was educated to become a French queen consort, not a queen regnant of Scotland. In her absence, a tide of religious revolt swept Scotland and her mother, the regent, lost control of government. The following year, her father-in-law, Henry II, died in a jousting accident. Mary was now the French queen, though not for long. Her husband was a sickly youth and by the end of he was dead. There was no place for his widow in France. It was time to go home. She faced down kidnap attempts, rebellion and the denunciations of Protestant preachers by pursuing a policy of conciliation and patronage. She also worked with parliament and her council while keeping a cultured Renaissance court. But the focus of her attention was further afield. Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley pursued with determination her claim to be acknowledged as the heir of Queen Elizabeth of England. It was a strong claim and it made the question of a second marriage for the Queen of Scots a matter of great interest to Elizabeth, who was resolutely unmarried herself. He also had a claim to the English and Scottish thrones. Dynastically, it was a compelling union. Politically, it caused consternation in England and Scotland, where Moray, fearful that his influence was waning, rebelled. On a personal level, the match was an abject failure. The year-old king was immature and indulged. His handsome face and courtly manners hid a vicious heart. He was also a heavy drinker and already suffering from syphilis, though it is unlikely that Mary would have married him if she had known this. His petulance was infuriating and his arrogant demands for greater power went unheeded. She persuaded Darnley to abandon his cronies and flee with her to Dunbar Castle, where she could contact loyal nobles. Darnley, however, was to meet a different, if equally violent, end. Mary was overjoyed by the birth of her son, Prince James, on 19 Juneorganising a magnificent christening for him at Stirling Castle. The triumphant monarch believed that a male heir strengthened her position. It did not occur to her that the child might be viewed as a replacement by her enemies. However, it appeared that he and Mary might be reconciled when she brought him back from Glasgow, after a serious bout of illness, to convalesce in Edinburgh. Then, on the night of 9—10 Februarythe house where he was lodging was blown apart by a huge explosion. The bodies of Darnley and a servant were found in Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley adjoining garden. But they were Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley victims of the blast. They had been asphyxiated, apparently while trying to escape. It is impossible to determine how much Mary knew about the assassination of Darnley. She may have been genuinely dismayed by the manner of his demise but she could hardly have been surprised. Her husband was universally disliked, except by his grief-stricken parents. In previous crises she had shown resilience. Now she appeared unsure. Bothwell had hitherto been a reliable supporter of the queen. Though a Protestant, he was anti-English and had been effective in governing the Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley. The truth is much less appealing. He was short and muscular, a foul-mouthed chancer who was naturally violent, though he was well educated in France, had beautiful italic handwriting and was attractive to women. Undoubtedly ambitious, he was more opportunist than strategist. Mary was a widow and it would be better for Scotland if she married. And it would be even better for Bothwell if he married her himself. Bothwell was already married to Lady Jean Gordon. But when he took the petition to the queen, she refused him. If Mary considered the matter closed, she was sadly mistaken. Bothwell was not going to take no for an answer. She inadvertently played into his hands by leaving Edinburgh, where she was safe, to go and visit her son in Stirling. Mary left Stirling on 23 April in distress. She would never see James again. Outside Edinburgh, she and her small party were surrounded by Bothwell and armed retainers and forced to go to Dunbar. And to be sure of her acquiescence, he raped her. Mary was in no position to resist this kidnap. Separated from her servants, she could not escape. Abduction and rape of heiresses was common in northern England and Scotland at the time, a certain way to Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley advantageous marriages. Exhausted, assaulted and alone, she agreed to marry Bothwell. In fact, the queen did not marry Bothwell till 15 May, in a Protestant ceremony at Holyrood. She was still dressed in mourning for Darnley. But she might, indeed, have been in mourning for her own future. Her hold on the throne was slipping away. If she stayed with Bothwell her opponents would put her son on the throne. He fled to Denmark, where he was eventually imprisoned in appalling conditions and died insane in Deserted and defeated, Mary surrendered, believing that she had negotiated honourable terms. Instead, the soldiers called her a whore and a murderess and demanded she be burned. She was led back to Edinburgh through jeering crowds in a state of collapse. The next day Mary was taken as a prisoner to Lochleven Castle, an island fortress on a lake. There she abdicated on 24 July, having been threatened with death if she refused. Her brother, Moray, who was abroad throughout these crucial months, returned in August to be offered the regency. He visited his sister, who had recently miscarried twins, lecturing her on her failings. Then he left her as a prisoner. But Argyll was taken ill during the fighting and the queen, watching from a nearby hillside, realised the battle was lost. For 19 years Mary acted as a magnet for rebels Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley wished to put her on the English throne. When Elizabeth vetoed the idea, the Catholic northern earls of Westmoreland and Northumberland rose in revolt in the autumn of The rebellion was ruthlessly suppressed, with over summary executions, and Mary was moved further south to ensure she could not be rescued. Norfolk, a naive tool of malcontents, was executed in Thereafter, Mary became a focus for continuing Catholic plots against Elizabeth, becoming ever more committed to these attempts to assassinate her cousin with the passage of time. He had been brought up to think of her as a wicked woman, though his true feelings about her are unclear. But Mary remains a tragic and compelling figure, a charming and ill-fated woman brought down, not by love, but by forces beyond her control. He was a convenient scapegoat for disaffected nobles hoping to deter the queen from confiscating their property and was murdered in her presence — an outrage she never forgot. Aged 19 at his marriage, Darnley was handsome Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley also immature and spoiled. He was out of his depth in Scotland and his relationship with Mary deteriorated. The prey of factions, he was assassinated in As leader of the Protestant lords, he was a major player after she returned to Scotland but his opposition to the Darnley marriage led him to rebel. An enemy of Bothwell, he was abroad during the momentous summer of but returned as regent when Mary abdicated. Bothwell was educated in France. Quick-tempered and abusive, he was a staunch supporter of the Scottish crown, despite his Protestantism, and trusted by Mary. The pregnant queen married Bothwell in May but he fled when she faced rebellion. He died in a Danish prison in Murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley of Scotland

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Henry, Lord Darnley, had been lodging at Kirk o' Field while convalescing after contracting either syphilis or smallpox. What he didn't know was that while he had been recovering his enemies had been filling the cellars of the house with gunpowder. At 2 o'clock in the morning of the 10th FebruaryKirk o' Field was blown to pieces by a huge explosion which was said to have been heard throughout Edinburgh. The house was reduced to rubble and Darnley's body was found in a neighbouring garden, by a pear tree, beside that of his groom, with a dagger lying on the ground between them. Historian Magnus Magnusson wrote of how his night-gown clad body showed signs of strangulation and concluded that Darnley had been strangled to death before the explosion. Perhaps something had awoken Darnley and he had attempted to flee Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley house, with his groom, using the chair and rope, which were also found in the garden, to escape from a first floor window. It appears that both men were intercepted and murdered. Perhaps the explosion was an attempt to cover up their murders but the men had got out of the house before meeting their murderer. Mary Queen of Scots observed forty days of mourning for her husband, but there were rumours that she was insincere and rumours of murder. It was not long before the Earl of Bothwell's name James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell was linked to Darnley's murder as the shoes of Archibald Douglas Parson of Douglasa supporter Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley Bothwell, were found at the scene of the crime and it was alleged that Bothwell had supplied the gunpowder. On the 24th AprilBothwell and men met Mary on the road between Linlithgow Palace and Edinburgh, and Bothwell warned Mary that there was danger waiting for her in Edinburgh. He then insisted that she go with him to Dunbar, to his castle, so that he could protect her. On arrival at Dunbar at midnight, Bothwell took Mary hostage and allegedly subjected her to a violent rape so that she would marry him. On reporting the events to London, Sir William Drury noted that although it looked as if Mary had been forced into the marriage by Bothwell, things were not as they appeared. There was evidence that Mary had shown an interest in Bothwell in October when she travelled four hours by horseback to visit him at Hermitage Castle when he was ill. It was all very suspicious. Mary Stuart and Lord Darnley c. It is thought that Lord Darnley's murder and Mary's links with Bothwell were factors in her eventual trial and execution. The famous Casket Letters, which were produced at the York Conference inwere said to implicate Mary in Darnley's murder, but many historians now believe that these letters were forgeries. The National Archives have a wonderful report entitled "Kirk o'Field - What happened in " which was produced for teachers but which contains a contemporary sketch of Kirk o'Field and zoomed in sectionsextracts from letters from Mary to Bothwell, and an extract from a letter from Elizabeth I to Mary. Click here to view it now. Click here to view it and to read more about it. On the 20th Junea few days after Scottish rebels apprehended Mary Queen of Scots, servants of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, allegedly found a silver casket of eight letters, two marriage contracts which apparently proved that Mary had agreed to marry Bothwell before his divorce and twelve sonnets in the possession of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell and third husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Well, the eight letters found in the casket were allegedly written by Mary to Bothwell and one was said to implicate the couple in the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who had been murdered in February Elizabeth I ordered a commission to investigate the matter of Mary's involvement in Darnley's murder and on the 14th December the letters were produced at the Royal Commission as proof against Mary. There is no other proof. Her guilt or innocence depends Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley whether the letters are true or false. The Casket Letters no longer exist, so cannot be examined today, but we still have the transcripts and translations, complete with William Cecil's notes. It is these notes which Guy says give us a "glimpse" into Cecil's thoughts as he read letters that were "dynamite" in that if they were indeed genuine then "an anointed Queen could justifiably be deposed from her throne, Elizabeth's 'safety' would be guaranteed, and the threat of an international Guise conspiracy ended for ever" 2. However, if they were forgeries then Mary would have to be released because it could not be proved that she was complicit in Darnley's murder. John Guy writes of how the sonnets found in the casket Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley said to be Mary's own reflections on her adultery" 3 with Bothwell and proof "that her consuming passion for Bothwell gave her a powerful motive for murder. He also points out that they can be read as religious poetry. One of the marriage contracts from the silver casket was said to be dated 5th April "at Seton", so over a month before Mary and Bothwell's marriage, but Guy points out that this is a "blatant forgery" because the wording of the contract included "extracts from the Ainslie's Tavern bond" 7a document which was produced after Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley gathering of the Lords at Ainslie's Tavern on the 19th April The other contract Guy describes as "innocuous" because "it is less a 'contract' than a written promise by Mary to marry Bothwell" 8. Letters 1 and 2, "the short Glasgow Letter" and "the long Glasgow letter" were the most damning and the second letter, if genuine, was proof that Mary was Bothwell's lover before their marriage and that she had been involved in Darnley's murder. Letter 2 contained "seemingly graphic allusions to the murder plot You can read Guy's full thoughts on the letter in "The Casket Letters" chapters of his book, but he argues that only the fifth extract, which said "Think also if you will not find some invention more secret by physick, for he is to take physick at Craigmillar and the baths also. And shall not come forth of a long time" 10can be connected to a murder plot. Guy explains Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley this extract was meant to prove that Mary wanted Darnley to be poisoned while he was at Craigmillar but it is not evidence of the plot which actually killed Darnley at Kirk o'Field. Also, Guy argues that "it has to be regarded as a later forged interpolation" 11 because it was missed in the material that was sent by George Buchanan to William Cecil in June and only used in the final accusations laid against Mary by the Confederate Lords to prove that Darnley's illness, which was in fact syphilis, was caused by poisoning. This charge does not make sense though as Darnley was already ill at this time. After examination of the transcripts and Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley, Guy concludes that, "in the absence of the original handwritten pages" of Letter 2, "around words are likely to be genuine" and that words are "likely to interpolations" 12 from later letters or forgeries. It could well be that "old and new pages were spliced together to make up a composite document" 13 to convince Cecil and Elizabeth of Mary's guilt. Joseph Bain London,pp. James Anderson. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our privacy page. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here. Excellent article, thanks. Darnley turned out to be a disappointment for those who made him King and they had turned on him. He had plenty of enemies willing to bunk him off. Mary, herself was ill with smallpox at the same time, although she recovered and the investigation did not convict her. The letters were used later at her trial. Mary had growing enemies; she needed to escape, Bothwell offered protection. What a cruel and insensitive man, divorcing his wife, Jean Gordon who welcomed Mary into her home and then marrying the Queen!. I can see why the Puritan Lords now saw Mary as a hussy and believed that she had married her lover and accomplish. First, these Lords now had an excuse to oust Mary, of whom many disapproved. Second, Mary had fallen into their trap by wedding Bothwell. Third, Mary could have played the victim better by appealing to the Lords and council for help, putting her case as a wronged woman to them and demanding that they rescue her from Bothwell and arrest him as her abuser and a murderer. A bit of helpless woman, appealing to the good Lords of the Congregation, boo hoo, tears, sorrow, tears, help me, my lords, justice…may have saved her. Instead Mary looked guilty because she did nothing. This made her look suspicious when she fled to her cousin in England for help. Women are worse than men when it comes to hurling mud and throwing blame and shame at another woman, so she took a great risk in asking Elizabeth to help her. Elizabeth also found Mary an annoyance she could do without as Mary undermined her sovereignty over England, by calling herself Queen of England. If Mary cleared herself, Elizabeth promised to her her cause and meet her, but she decided that she could not risk that either. I am sketching out the outline for a possible play about Mary Stuart. Also: why would anybody planning a murder in sixteenth-century Scotland EVER hit upon gunpowder as a murder weapon? Also, Darnley Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley killed in the middle of winter — a Scottish winter. If gunpowder were stored in a cellar as it would have to be, to destroy a buildingits surroundings would be EXTREMELY damp, if not downright wet — which meant that the powder would be in constant danger of losing its ginger and failing to explode. When the Scottish nobles wanted to kill someone, they used their dirks or their swords, as they had the previous year when they murdered Ricciardi. Name required. Email required. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. View All Events. First things first Tick the "Email" box to give us permission to email you. Email You can Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. There are 9 comments Go To Comment. If the casket letters are forgeries, who wrote them and why? Any thoughts you have on any of the above observations would be welcome. Membership Login Username or Email:. Remember Me. Cart Item Removed. No products in the cart.