Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox and Regent of Scotland was assassinated - 1571

On September 4, 1571, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Regent of Scotland was assassinated. Stewart was the leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland and was the grandson of James VI of Scotland. He spent most of his youth in exile in England, but returned to Scotland to assert his claims to the line of succession when James V died in 1542. At the time of the king's death in 1542, Lennox possessed a strong claim to the throne of Scotland should Mary, Queen of Scots, an infant, pass away childless. Although Lennox had come to Scotland lured by the prospect of marriage to Mary of Guise, he was soon offered the chance to marry Margaret Douglas, the daughter of Margaret Tudor and half-sister of the deceased James V. In 1544, he married Lady Margaret Douglas, who had a claim to the English throne. Their son was Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, born 1545, who eventually married Mary, Queen of Scots. After the murder of his son, Lord Darnley in 1567, Lennox was the most ardent pursuant of justice against the lords who had conspired in the murder. He also became the main witness against Mary, though her involvement in the murder is controversial. In 1570, Lennox became Regent for his grandson, James VI, but the queen's party declared war against him. He was assassinated on September 4, 1571, when the queen's party attacked Stirling Castle.

 

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs. The book can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

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James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and Scottish Regent is Assassinated - 1570

On January 23, 1570 James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, and regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland (future James I of England), was fatally shot by James Hamilton, a supporter of Mary Queen of Scots. It was the first recorded assassination by a firearm. Moray was born in about 1531, the most notable of the many illegitimate children of King James V of Scotland. His mother was the King's favorite mistress, Lady Margaret Erskine, and wife of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven. James became a supporter of the Scottish Reformation. But despite their religious differences, Moray became the chief advisor to his sister, Mary, Queen of Scots, after her return from France in 1561. She was the only surviving child of his father's marriage to Mary of Guise. When Mary abdicated the throne on July 24, 1567 in favor of her infant son, Moray was appointed regent. He was assassinated in Linlithgow on January 23, 1570 by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, a supporter of Mary. As Moray was passing in a cavalcade in the main street below the castle, Hamilton fatally wounded him with a carbine shot from a window of his Uncle Archbishop Hamilton’s house. The Regent's body was buried in St. Anthony's aisle at St. Giles Church in Edinburgh.  

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs. The book can be purchased from Amazon and the following links.  

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Great-Britains-Royal-Tombs-Monarchs/dp/0764341294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358963004&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry 

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Mary Queen of Scots is Born - 1542

Mary, Queen of Scots was born on December 8, 1542 at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, Scotland, to James V, King of Scots and Mary of Guise. She was one of the most fascinating and controversial monarchs of 16th century Europe and at the one time, she claimed the crowns of four nations - Scotland, France, England and Ireland. Her physical beauty and kind heart were acknowledged even by her enemies. Yet she lacked the political skills to rule successfully in Scotland. Her second marriage was unpopular and ended in murder and scandal; her third was even less popular and ended in forced abdication in favor of her infant son. She fled to England in 1568, hoping for the help of her cousin, Elizabeth I. Her presence was dangerous for the English queen, who feared Catholic plotting on Mary's behalf. The two queens never met and Mary remained imprisoned for the next nineteen years. She was executed in 1587, at the age of forty-four. By orders of the English government, all of her possessions were burned. In 1603, upon Elizabeth's death, Mary's son James became king of England. 

Michael Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs: A Guide to the Lives and Burial Places of British Monarchs, the book can be purchased from Amazon or Barnes and Noble from the following links: 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Great-Britains-Royal-Tombs-Monarchs/dp/0764341294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354983606&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry 

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Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley is born - 1545

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was born on December 7, 1545 at Temple Newsam, Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Through his parents he had claims to both the Scottish and English thrones. He was the king consort of Scotland from 1565 until his murder at Kirk O’ Field in 1567. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox, and his wife, Lady Margaret Douglas. Darnley's maternal grandparents were Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England, and widow of James IV, King of Scots. He was a first cousin to and the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was the father of James I of England (James VI of Scotland), who succeeded Elizabeth I of England.  

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs: A Guide to the Lives & Burial Places of British Monarchs. The book can be purchase from Amazon or Barnes & Noble through the following links:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Great-Britains-Royal-Tombs-Monarchs/dp/0764341294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354896704&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry 

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