On this day in history, on the 24th of July 1567, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne and flee Scotland in the process.
The Lead Up To Her Fleeing Mary Queen of Scots had her only child - a son named James - with her second husband, Lord Darnley, on the 19th of June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle. James would later become King James I of England and Ireland and James VI of Scotland. He was only a baby when he became King. The godparents of Mary Queen of Scots son was chosen as England’s Queen Elizabeth I and France’s Charles IX. The young James became parentless at a young age. His father, and Mary Queen of Scots second husband - Lord Darnley - was murdered just a few months after James was baptized. James was baptized on the 17th of December 1566 at Edinburgh Castle. Lord Darnley was murdered on the night/early morning of the 9th/10th of February 1567. He was murdered at about 2 am, when two explosions took off after gunpowder was placed near Darnley’s sleeping quarters that night - his sleeping quarters were at the Old Provost’s lodging at Kirk O’Field in Edinburgh that night and early morning.
Who Killed Lord Darnley?
Rather conveniently, Mary was away for the night at a wedding in Holyrood. during the time of Lord Darnley's murder. Was it just a coincidence that she was separated from her husband on the night of his murder? or was it an opportunity that Mary used to kill her own husband? We know that Mary and Darnley weren’t getting along prior to Darley’s murder; perhaps this could be seen as a motive in-and-of-itself. The murder of Lord Darnley also seems like it was premeditated - with Mary going to a wedding during the time that Lord Darnley was murdered, she would have had plenty of time to plan his murder and she was also the one who brought Darnley to the Old Provost’s to stay. Mary also showed form for planning murder. Or, at least, we know that she was prepared to murder, which gives her form. Mary was prepared to murder her own cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, therefore, if she was prepared to get rid of Elizabeth, then it seems reasonable to suspect that she may have been prepared to have got rid of Lord Darnley. There is evidence that Mary Queen of Scots plotted to kill Queen Elizabeth I, however, the same cannot be said of any evidence pointing Mary to Lord Darnley’s death. Regardless of that, it’s possible that she gave a silent nod, or was even happy at her own husband’s death, as Darnley was a drunk and violent (to name some of his ill-behaviour). Although there is a lot to point Mary towards the murder of Lord Darnley, she is not the main suspect to his murder. The main suspect to his murder is Lord Bothwell. Quite interestingly, Mary Queen of Scots married Lord Bothwell a few months after the murder of Lord Darnley. Before their marriage, Bothwell was accused of murdering Darnley. However, he was acquitted of the murder in February 1567, therefore, he was never found guilty of murdering Darnley. There are some things though that could suggest that Lord Bothwell murdered Darnley. Bothwell was ambitious, ruthless and opportunistic. It’s possible that Bothwell also wanted to be King of Scotland alongside Mary and probably did love her, as he tried to gather an army when she was captured by Elizabeth I. However, it is thought that Bothwell abducted Mary before she was captured by Elizabeth. The abduction happened on the 24th of April 1567: just a few months after Bothwell was acquitted Darnley’s murder. It didn’t take long for both of them to become married. Mary and Bothwell were wed on the 15th of May 1567, just a few weeks after Lord Bothwell had abducted her. The marriage wasn’t favoured by everyone at court it seems, which led to him fleeing from Mary on the 15th of June 1567, first to Aberdeen, then to Shetland and later to Norway.
The Abdication Of Mary Queen Of Scots
Lord Bothwell fleeing the country was the beginning of the end of Mary Queen of Scot’s reign. It was her own people, her own nobles that turned on Mary and imprisoned her in her own country. She became a Queen in name only at this point, as through being captured and imprisoned, her power as Queen and even her dignity as Queen was stripped from her. While much is said about the way that Elizabeth I treated Mary, not much is said about the way Mary’s own people treated her. Upon Bothwell fleeing the country, Mary’s own Scottish lords humiliated her in front of a spectator of crowds by denouncing her as a murderer and adultress in Edinburgh. Later that night, after Mary’s humiliating experience, she was imprisoned by the same lords in Loch Leven castle.
Mary Queen of Scots became imprisoned by her own Scottish lords.
While imprisoned at Loch Leven castle during the 11 months being imprisoned there, she suffered a miscarriage - which would have given her twins - and, she had a failed attempt where she tried to escape from the castle. Her second attempt was successful in escaping the castle though. Mary successfully escaped the castle on the 2nd of May 1568. Mary’s Abdication Before Mary abdicated in 1567 while imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, she suffered a miscarriage. Mary suffered a miscarriage of twins between the 20th of July and the 23rd of July in 1567. It was only a day later, on the 24th of July 1567, that Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate from the throne. Taking her place was her one-year-old son, James. Sources: https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/downfall-mary-queen-scots-execution-murder-lord-darnley/ https://britishheritage.com/history/mary-queen-scots-kill-lord-darnley https://www.history.com/news/mary-queen-of-scots-casket-letters-scandal Weir, Alison (2008) [2003]. Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley. London, England: Random House https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/mary-queen-of-scots-great-escape/
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