Editing Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (section)

==Death==
{{Main|Murder of Lord Darnley}}
[[Image:Kirk o' Field contemporary sketch.jpg|thumb|350px|right|1567 drawing of [[Kirk o' Field]] after the murder of Darnley, drawn for [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] shortly after the murder.]]
Darnley was murdered eight months after James's birth. On the night of 9/10 February 1567, his body and that of his valet were discovered in the orchard of [[Kirk o' Field]], in Edinburgh, where they had been staying.<ref name=":4" /> During the weeks leading up to his death, Darnley was recovering from a bout of [[smallpox]] (or, it has been speculated, [[syphilis]]). He was described as having deformed pocks upon his face and body. He stayed with his family in [[Glasgow]] until Mary brought him to recuperate at Old Provost's lodging at Kirk o' Field, a two-storey house within the church quadrangle, a short walk from Holyrood, to incorporate him into the court again.<ref>"Mary, Mary, quite Contrary." Off Our Backs 19 February 1971: 11–. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 15 March 2012 .</ref> Darnley stayed at Kirk o' Field while Mary attended the wedding of [[Bastian Pagez]], one of her closest servants, at Holyrood.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=296}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=161}}</ref>

Around {{nowrap|2:00 a.m.}} on the night of 9/10 February 1567, while Mary was away, two explosions rocked the foundation of Kirk o' Field. These explosions were later attributed to two barrels of gunpowder that had been placed in the small room under Darnley's sleeping quarters. Darnley's body and the body of his valet, William Taylor, were found outside, surrounded by a cloak, a dagger, a chair, and a coat. Darnley was dressed only in his nightshirt, suggesting he had hurriedly fled from his bedchamber. Darnley was smothered.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=296}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=161}}</ref> There were no visible marks of strangulation or violence on the body.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=252}}; {{Harvnb|Greig|2004}}</ref> A post-mortem revealed internal injuries thought to have been caused by the explosion. [[John Knox]] claimed that the surgeons who examined the body were lying and that Darnley had been strangled, but all the sources agreed there were no marks on the body and there was no reason for the surgeons to lie as Darnley was murdered either way.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=255}}</ref>