Mary Queen of Scots' Downfall : The Life and Murder of Henry, Lord Darnley

In The Early Hours Of 10 February 1567 A Large Explosion Ripped Through The Provosts Lodgings At Kirk O' Field, Edinburgh, Where Mary Queen Of Scotland's Consort, Henry Lord Darnley, Was Staying. Darnley's Body Was Found With That Of His Valet In A Neighbouring Garden The Next Morning. The Queen's Husband Had Been Murdered And The Ramifications For Mary And Scottish History Would Be Far-reaching. Lord Darnley Cuts An Infamous Figure In Scottish And Tudor History. In Life, He Proved A Controversial Character, And His Murder At Kirk O' Field In 1567 Remains One Of British History's Great, Unsolved Mysteries - Solving Whether Mary Was Implicated Has Taxed Historians Ever Since. In This Engaging And Well-researched Biography, Robert Stedall Re-examines Darnley's Life And His Murder. It Is Not To Be Missed; His Investigation Brings New Light And Compelling Conclusions To A Story Surrounded By Political Betrayal, Murder, Falsified Evidence And Conspiracy.-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. 1 The Lennoxes' Background And Scottish Heritage -- Ch. 1 The Marriage Of The Earl Of Lennox To Lady Margaret Douglas -- Ch. 2 Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl Of Lennox -- Ch. 3 Lady Margaret Douglas -- Ch. 4 Lennox's Involvement In English Efforts To Subsume Scotland Under Its Control -- Ch. 5 Efforts To Secure A Protestant Succession For The English Throne -- Ch. 6 The Upbringing Of Lord Darnley -- Ch. 7 The Scottish Reformation -- Pt. 2 Competing Ambitions To Be Recognized As Elizabeth's Heir -- Ch. 8 Mary's Marries The Dauphin And Becomes Queen Consort Of France -- Ch. 9 Margaret Douglas's Initial Efforts To Promote Darnley As A Husband For Mary -- Ch. 10 Events Following Mary's Arrival In Scotland -- Ch. 11 Rival Efforts To Be Established As Elizabeth's Heir -- Ch. 12 Mary's Efforts To Find A Husband -- Ch. 13 The Impact Of Lennox's Arrival In Scotland -- Pt. 3 Darnley's Arrival In Scotland And Marriage To Mary -- Ch. 14 The Complex Scheming That Led To Darnley Marrying Mary -- Ch. 15 Moray's Rebellion -- Ch. 16 Mary's Efforts To Govern With Her Husband Without Moray And Maitland -- Ch. 17 Riccio's Murder -- Ch. 18 A Time For Compromise -- Ch. 19 James's Birth And Its Aftermath -- Ch. 20 Mary's Illness At Jedburgh And Convalescence At Craigmillar -- Ch. 21 The Baptism Of Prince James -- Ch. 22 Mary's Visit To Glasgow To Persuade The King To Return To Edinburgh -- Pt. 4 King Henry's Murder -- Ch. 23 The Planning Of The Murder Of The King -- Ch. 24 The Demise Of The King -- Ch. 25 A Review Of What Happened -- Ch. 26 The Immediate Aftermath Of The Murder And Mary's Reaction To It -- Pt. 5 The Conspiracy To Force Mary To Abdicate -- Ch. 27 Pawns In A Game Of Chess -- Ch. 28 Bothwell's Exoneration And Marriage To Mary -- Ch. 29 The Confederate Alliance Challenges Mary And Orkney -- Afterword -- Genealogical Tables -- 1. The English Succession -- 2. The Scottish Succession -- 3. Stewart (stuart) Of Lennox -- 4. Douglas Of Angus. Robert Stedall. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In the early hours of 10 February 1567 a large explosion ripped through the Provosts lodgings at Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, where Mary Queen of Scotland's consort, Henry Lord Darnley, was staying. Darnley's body was found with that of his valet in a neighboring garden the next morning. The Queen's husband had been murdered and the ramifications for Mary and Scottish history would be far-reaching. Lord Darnley cuts an infamous figure in Scottish and Tudor history. In life, he proved a controversial character, and his murder at Kirk o' Field in 1567 remains one of British history's great, unsolved mysteries - solving whether Mary was implicated has taxed historians ever since. In this engaging and well-researched biography, Robert Stedall reexamines Darnley's life and his murder. It is not to be missed; his investigation brings new light and compelling conclusions to a story surrounded by political betrayal, murder, falsified evidence and conspiracy. Introduction by the Author: There are very few books that have been written on the life of Lord Darnley, and very little was known about him prior to his marriage to Mary Queen of Scots. In my new book, I tell the story of one of the great cads of history, whose deluded ambitions led him to position himself as the rightful heir to both the English and Scottish crowns, eventually culminating in his murder at Kirk o Field. Darnley is remembered for his reputed good looks which seem to have attracted Mary, but it is clear she fell for a fantasy of a man. This has been demonstrated by the extraordinary records of the biostatistician, Karl Pearson, who in 1928, compared Darnleys skull to all the known portraits of him. Pearson shows that he was not as good looking, facially at least, as history has suggested. The unflattering image of him on the cover of this book correlates closely with the outline of his skull. Darnleys dissolute lifestyle, and interest in self-promotion, led Mary to believe that she needed to be rid of him. The Scottish peerage concluded that their only solution was to murder him. History has questioned whether she was implicated. My research into the layout of the crime scene, and the depositions of those accused of the murder, reveal surprising conclusions on who was involved. Robert Stedall, January 2018 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, has long been portrayed as one of history's romantically tragic figures. Devious, naïve, beautiful and sexually voracious, often highly principled, she secured the Scottish throne and bolstered the position of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Her plotting, including probable involvement in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, led to her flight from Scotland and imprisonment by her equally ambitious cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth of England. Yet when Elizabeth ordered Mary's execution in 1587 it was an act of exasperated frustration rather than political wrath. Unlike biographies of Mary predating this work, this masterly study set out to show Mary as she really was – not a romantic heroine, but the ruler of a European kingdom with far greater economic and political importance than its size or location would indicate. Wormald also showed that Mary's downfall was not simply because of the'crisis years'of 1565–7, but because of her way of dealing, or failing to deal, with the problems facing her as a renaissance monarch. She was tragic because she was born to supreme power but was wholly incapable of coping with its responsibilities. Her extraordinary story has become one of the most colourful and emotionally searing tales of western history, and it is here fully reconsidered by a leading specialist of the period. Jenny Wormald's beautifully written biography will appeal to students and general readers alike. The story of the Scottish ruler—and the mysterious death of her ambitious and controversial husband. In the early hours of February 10, 1567, a large explosion ripped through the lodgings at Kirk o'Field, Edinburgh, where Mary Queen of Scotland's consort, Henry, Lord Darnley, was staying. Darnley's body was found with that of his valet in a neighboring garden the next morning. The queen's husband had been murdered—and the ramifications for Mary and Scottish history would be far-reaching. Lord Darnley cuts an infamous figure in Scottish and Tudor history. In life, he proved a controversial character, and his murder at Kirk o'Field remains one of British history's great unsolved mysteries—the question of whether Mary was implicated has taxed historians ever since. In this engaging and well-researched biography, Robert Stedall reexamines Darnley's life and his death. His investigation brings new light and compelling conclusions to a story surrounded by political betrayal, murder, falsified evidence, and conspiracy.