Mary Queen Of Scots Downfall

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.

Whether you’ve seen the recent movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie or the classic 1970’s film starring Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson, this vibrant work of history will give you new insight into the life of Mary, Queen of Scots and her rivalry with Elizabeth I of England. Mary Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart, was one of the most well-known and controversial monarchs of the sixteenth century. She ascended to the throne of Scotland at only six days old and would eventually become ruler of four countries at once—Scotland, England, Ireland, and France. She was intelligent, compassionate, and tolerant, despite the popularity of that time for religious persecution. Despite her popularity, Mary’s reign was a tumultuous one: she was married three times, was forced to abdicate her throne, and was eventually imprisoned and beheaded by her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. What caused Mary’s rapid descent from royalty? Historian and scholar Martin Hume analyzes Mary Queen of Scots’s fall from power based on her love affairs. Though many previous historians had assumed that her downfall was caused by her lack of virtue, Hume posits that Mary’s ruin was not based on her “goodness or badness as a woman, but from a certain weakness of character.” Fans of the royal families of Scotland and England, professional and amateur historians, and anyone looking to discover one of history’s most famous and controversial women, the ups and downs of Mary Stuart’s life and reign in The Love Affairs of Mary Queen of Scots will be educational and entertaining.

Mary Queen of Scots: Catholic martyr or manipulative femme fatale On 10 February 1567, conspirators bent on killing Henry, Lord Darnley, King-Consort of Mary Queen of Scots successfully razed his Edinburgh residence at Kirk o' Field in a huge explosion. Soon afterwards, Darnley's partially-clothed body was discovered in a nearby orchard, strangled to death by an unknown assailant. Rumours of Mary's involvement in his murder quickly surfaced. Placards across Edinburgh implied that she had provoked the Earl of Bothwell into killing her husband in a crime of passion. This became more plausible when she tried to avoid having to prosecute him for the murder, and subsequently married him, encouraged by her most senior Protestant nobles. While Mary's motives for the marriage might be explained by her need for his protection, those of the Nobility who had encourage it are confusing. Why would they want a union, which would inevitably place Bothwell, a man they hated, as head of government? Was their motif to associate her in the murder plot? Mary's involvement in Darnley's murder has remained one of the great historical mysteries. Genealogist and author Robert Stedall has spent ten years researching the inter-marriages within Scottish peerage to provide an explanation for their motives in removing Mary from the throne. In this first volume, of his two volume history of Mary and James, he explains in vivid detail the switching allegiances of the nobility, and can reveal for the first time, the gripping true story of Mary's downfall and imprisonment.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn. Handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne by marrying Mary Stuart, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It was not long before Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing sovereign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. After an exhaustive reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Britain’s bloodstained, power-obsessed past.

The struggle between the fecund Stewarts and the barren Tudors is generally seen only in terms of the relationship between Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. But very little has been said about the background to their intense rivalry. Here, Linda Porter examines the ancient and intractable power struggle between England and Scotland, a struggle intensified during the reigns of Elizabeth and Mary's grandfathers. Henry VII aimed to provide stability when he married his daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland in 1503. But he must also have known that Margaret's descendants might seek to rule the entire island. Crown of Thistles is the story of a divided family, of flamboyant kings and queens, cultured courts and tribal hatreds, blood feuds, rape and sexual licence on a breath-taking scale, and violent deaths. It also brings alive a neglected aspect of British history - the blood-spattered steps of two small countries on the fringes of Europe towards an awkward unity that would ultimately forge a great nation. Beginning with the unlikely and dramatic victories of two usurping kings, one a rank outsider and the other a fourteen-year-old boy who rebelled against his own father, the book sheds new light on Henry VIII, his daughter, Elizabeth, and on his great-niece, Mary Queen of Scots, still seductive more than 400 years after her death.