Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany (
7 December 1545 – 9 or
10 February 1567), commonly known as
Lord Darnley,
king consort of Scotland, was the first cousin and second husband of
Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of her son
King James VI, who also succeeded
Elizabeth I of England.
Darnley was born in 1545, at
Temple Newsam, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, the son of the
4th Earl of Lennox, and his wife,
Margaret Douglas. He was related to his future wife in at least three ways: They shared a grandmother in
Margaret Tudor, putting both Mary and Darnley high in the line of succession for the English throne; Darnley was a descendant of a daughter of
James II of Scotland and thus also in line for the throne of Scotland; and Darnley's family surname was due to a much more ancient connection to his male-line ancestor,
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. On their marriage, which took place
July 29, 1565 in the chapel of
Palace of Holyroodhouse in
Edinburgh, Darnley was given the title of "King of Scots", but he was a
king consort only, with no royal powers.
His marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, was a disaster. Darnley was younger than Mary and not particularly mature for a 19-year-old (similar case occurred when
Mary I of England married
Philip II of Spain). He possessed a fondness for cross-dressing. He was unpopular with the other nobles and had a mean and violent streak. Within a short time, Mary became pregnant, but Darnley grew more and more demanding. His jealousy of Mary's private secretary,
David Rizzio, culminated in the bloody murder of the latter by Darnley and a group of his supporters, in the presence of the queen herself at Holyrood Palace.
Archibald Douglas, Parson of Douglas subsequently secured pardons for all those involved.
Following the birth of their son, the future
James VI of Scotland, the succession was more secure; in late
1566 and early
1567, Darnley and Mary appeared to be close to reconciliation, as she was often seen visiting his chambers. But Darnley was unpopular and petulant and offended many who should have been his natural supporters. On
February 10, 1567, the bodies of Darnley and servant at the time were discovered in the gardens of the Hamiltons' house,
Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, where they had been staying. A violent explosion had occurred that night at the house, but the evidence pointed to Darnley's having escaped that attempted assassination only to be murdered when he got outside.
Suspicion fell on
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell and his supporters, notably
Archibald Douglas, Parson of Douglas whose shoes were found at the scene, and upon Mary herself. Bothwell later abducted Mary, where he kept her for a week, at the end of which she had agreed to marry him, under pressure, duress, or desperation (Mary's power as a lone Queen was not respected since she was a woman, and Bothwell had proven himself loyal to Scotland for the past 10 years). There were also speculation that Bothwell had raped Mary, giving her no choice but to marry him. Darnley's death was a key event in the downward spiral that led to her loss of the Scottish crown.
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