Editing Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (section)

==Succession crisis==
There was a political dilemma in England arising from the dynastic ambition of the Lennoxes: Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, was third in line to the Scottish throne, and his wife [[Margaret Douglas]], Countess of Lennox, was a niece of Henry VIII, making her a potential successor to the English throne if Elizabeth should die.<ref name="Macauley, 2004, 267">Macauley, (2004), p. 267</ref> As [[Roman Catholic]]s, they posed a threat to English [[Protestants]].<ref name="Macauley, 2004, 267"/> Although Elizabeth was bright, witty, and well-educated for her position, as a woman she had to prove herself. As she was a Protestant, many Roman Catholics would have liked to see the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, take the throne. They regarded Elizabeth as illegitimate, her parents' marriage not having been recognised by the Catholic Church. As a male descended from Henry VII, Darnley was also a contender for the English throne—these interrelationships made for complex intrigues, spying, strategising, and manoeuvering for power at the various courts.

When [[Henry II of France]] died in July 1559, Lennox's brother John, 5th [[Duke of Aubigny|Sieur d'Aubigny]], was elevated in the French court as a relative of the new French queen, Mary, already Queen of Scots. Aubigny arranged for Darnley to be dispatched to the French court to congratulate Mary and [[Francis II of France]] on Francis's accession and seek restoration for Lennox. Mary did not restore Lennox to his Scottish earldom. Still, she did give 1,000 crowns to Darnley and invited him to her coronation.<ref>Macauley, (2004), p. 268</ref> Lennox planned to appeal directly to the Queen of Scots via her ambassador, over the heads of Elizabeth and the [[House of Guise|Guise]]. The mission of Lennox's agent, one Nesbit, appears to have been a desperate one; not only was Lennox willing to hand over Darnley and his brother Charles as hostages for his restoration, but he supplied pedigrees of Darnley, indicating his right to the inheritance of England and Scotland and the houses of Hamilton and Douglas.<ref>Macauley, (2004), pp. 268–269</ref> Aubigny was also later accused of supporting Mary's title to the throne of England and hinting that even his nephew had a stronger claim than Elizabeth.

Lennox set Nesbit to watch Mary, Darnley, and Darnley's tutor, John Elder. In 1559 [[Nicholas Throckmorton]], the English ambassador in Paris, warned Elizabeth that Elder was "as dangerous for the matters of England as any he knew."<ref>''Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth'', vol. 1</ref> [[William Paget, 1st Baron Paget|Lord Paget]] in March 1560, wrote of the 'well founded' fear that Catholics would raise Darnley to the throne on Elizabeth's death.<ref>The Lennox Crisis, 1558–1563; Sarah Macauley, Christ's College, Cambridge. ''Northern History'', 41:2 (Sept. 2004), p. 276.</ref>

[[Francis Yaxley]] was a Catholic spy discovered in 1562 whose activities led to the arrest of the Lennox family. He had been a [[Clerk of the Signet]] and from 1549 was employed by [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] travelling in France.<ref>''HMC Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury'', vol. 1 (London, 1883), pp. 74, 118, 121, 147; vol. 2 (1888), p. 509: ''CSP Domestic, Elizabeth: 1547–1580'' (London, 1856), p. 90.</ref> Yaxley was employed by the Countess of Lennox. He placed Mabel Fortescue and other ladies as servants in the Lennox household at Settrington in November 1560.<ref>''CSP Domestic, Elizabeth: 1547–1580'' (London, 1856), pp. 164, 171, 177.</ref> His interrogation at the [[Tower of London]] in February 1562 revealed that he had obtained intelligence about the English Court from the Spanish ambassador, and the ambassador had entrusted him and Hugh Allen with messages and tokens for the Lennoxes and Darnley. Yaxley admitted that his missions were intended to arrange the marriage of the Queen of Scots with Darnley, that Darnley's religion guaranteed him greater success in his suit than the [[James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran|Earl of Arran]], and that the countess had many friends in the north.<ref>Macauley, (2004), p. 284: ''CSP Domestic 1547–1580'' (London, 1856), p. 195.</ref> Although the Lennox threat never died out, Elizabeth did not convict the family of treason in 1562 after their arrest, nor did she encourage efforts to annul the countess's claim to her throne. Perhaps Elizabeth feared that these investigations could also be directed at herself, or her inaction was intended to ensure the monarchy's survival by not reducing the number of potential heirs. The Lennox family was released in February 1563. Within a few months, Darnley and his mother were conspicuous by their presence at Court and the favour they received there, although Elizabeth would not accommodate the earl at Court.<ref name="Macauley, 2004, 287">Macauley, (2004), p. 287</ref>

Sarah Macauley notes three outcomes of the court's decision in the Lennox trial:<blockquote>"Their elevation at Court was, as it turned out in 1563, a useful complication in the succession issue. First, it presented a public statement that the preferences of Parliament (the claim of Catherine Grey in the succession crisis) could not dictate her own policy. Secondly, favouring the Lennoxes could serve as some kind of appeasement of the English Roman Catholics, who, like the Spanish ambassador, might foresee Elizabeth naming Darnley as her successor ... Such speculation would also distract them from favouring the more alarming claim of the Queen of Scots ... Thirdly, and most significantly, the elevation of the Lennoxes presented an obstacle between the Queen of Scots and the English throne. Thus was Darnley's uniquely 'British' inheritance put to use at last ... The subsequent release of Darnley into Scotland and the restoration of his father at the Scottish Court were part of this policy: the political disaster of the Darnley marriage as yet unforeseen."<ref>Macauley, Sarah. 'The Lennox Crisis, 1558–1563.', in ''Northern History'' 41.2 (2004), pp. 267–287</ref></blockquote>
In September 1564, the [[Parliament of Scotland|Scottish Parliament]] restored Matthew Stewart's rights and titles as Earl of Lennox, and listened to a lengthy speech from the Queen's secretary [[William Maitland of Lethington|William Maitland]], who offered;<blockquote>"[I]t may be affirmid Scotland in na manis age that presentlie levis wes in gritter tranquillitie."<ref>[[Annie Cameron|Cameron, Annie I.]], ed., ''Warrender Papers'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1931), p. 43, Maitland's oration in parliament.</ref></blockquote>