STEWART, Mary Queen of Scots ¹

   Cause of her death was execution by beheading.¹

   User ID: K224.

Mary married Francis Dauphin, then King of France, son of Henry II King of France and Catherine DE MEDICI, on 24 April 1558.¹ (Francis Dauphin, then King of France was born in 1544 and died in 1560.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Attempts were made by the English King, Henry VIII., to secure the young Queen's hand for his son (afterwards Edward VI.), and in pursuance of this policy his lieutenants invaded and ravaged Scotland. The last battle fought between Scots and English tookplace at Pinkie, near Edinburgh, 10 September 1547, and on 7 August 1548 Queen Mary was sent for safety to France. On 24 April 1558 she was married to the Dauphin Francis, son of Henry II. of France and Catherine de Medicis. On 10 July 1559 she became Queen of France by the accession of her husband as Francis., but her reign lasted little more than a year King Francis dying 5 December 1560. The widowed Queen Mary returned to Scotland on 19 August 1561"

from Scots Peerage (vol 1) ¹

Mary next married Henry STEWART Duke of Albany, Lord Darnley, King of Scots, son of Matthew STEWART 4th Earl of Lennox and Margaret DOUGLAS Countess of Lennox, on 29 July 1565.¹ (Henry STEWART Duke of Albany, Lord Darnley, King of Scots was born on 7 December 1545 in Temple Newsham, Yorkshire, England ³ and died on 10 February 1567 in Kirk O' Field, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland ³.). The cause of his death was murder.¹

  Marriage Notes:

"The widowed Queen Mary returned to Scotland on 19 August 1561, and on 29 July 1565 was married to her cousin, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, eldest son of Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox, and Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of Queen Margaret Tudor. Henry, Lord Darnley, King of Scots, was, after an unhappy married life, murdered at Edinburgh on 10 February 1566-67, leaving an only child, afterwards James VI"

from Scots Peerage (vol 1) ¹

Mary next married James HEPBURN 4th Earl of Bothwell, Duke of Orkney, son of Patrick HEPBURN 3rd Earl of Bothwell, 'the fair earl' and Agnes SINCLAIR, on 15 May 1567 in Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland.^{1 2} (James HEPBURN 4th Earl of Bothwell, Duke of Orkney was born about 1535 ² and died on 14 April 1578 in Dragsholm Castle, Zealand, Denmark ².)

  Marriage Notes:

"Queen Mary fell under the power of James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, to whom she was married at Holyrood, 15 May 1567, and created Duke of Orkney. Dissension with the nobility ensued, and the Queen was made prisoner and detained in the island castle of Lochleven, where she remained until 2 May 1568, when she effected her escape. During her captivity she abdicated 24 July 1567 in favour of her infant son, her half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, being appointed Regent. Her adherents met the Regent's troops in battle at Langside on 13 May 1568, but suffered a decisive defeat, following upon which the Queen fled into England. There, on various pretexts, she was detained prisoner by her cousin and rival, Queen Elizabeth, till 1586, when she was tried, condemned, and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, in Northamptonshire, on 8 February 1586-87. Her remains, after being buried in Peterborough Cathedral, were afterwards removed to King Henry vn.'s chapel, Westminster Abbey."

from Scots Peerage (vol 1)




"The newly-created Duke of Orkney married, secondly, at Holyrood on 15 May 1567, as her third husband, Mary Queen of Scots. The ceremony was performed by Adam Bothwell, the Protestant Bishop of Orkney. The contract of marriage was signed and registered on the previous day. This union was only dissolved by the death of the forfeited Duke ; but on 21 October 1568 the Queen expressed her willingness ' that the lawis be usit ' for obtaining a separation ; and in May 1569 she executed a mandate for thebringing of an action against him in her name for divorce. He, on his part, signed a similar mandate in the same year. In each of these documents the name of the mandatory is left blank. James, Duke of Orkney, had no legitimate issue born to him. On 18 July 1567 Sir Nicholas Throckmorton reported to Queen Elizabeth that he had received a message from Queen Mary, then detained at Lochleven, to the effect that she believed herself to be seven weeks gone with child ; and Queen Mary's secretary testifies that she miscarried of twins before 25 July."

from Scots Peerage (vol 2) ^{1 2}