Editing Mary, Queen of Scots (section)

=== Murder of Darnley ===

{{main|Murder of Lord Darnley}}

[[File:Kirk o' Field contemporary sketch.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kirk o' Field]] drawn for [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] shortly after the murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, 1567]]

Mary's son by Darnley, [[James VI and I|James]], was born on 19 June 1566 in [[Edinburgh Castle]]. However, the murder of Rizzio led to the breakdown of her marriage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=259 ff}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=160}}</ref> In October 1566, while staying at [[Jedburgh]] in the [[Scottish Borders]], Mary made a journey on horseback of at least four hours each way to visit the Earl of Bothwell at [[Hermitage Castle]], where he lay ill from wounds sustained in a skirmish with [[Little Jock Elliot|John Elliot of Park]].<ref>[[Lorna Hutson]], ''England's Insular Imagining: The Elizabethan Erasure of Scotland'' (Cambridge, 2023), pp. 149–151.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Bingham|1995|pp=158–159}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=273–274}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=274–275}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=157–160}}</ref> The ride was later used as evidence by Mary's enemies that the two were lovers, though no suspicions were voiced at the time and Mary had been accompanied by her councillors and guards.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=274–275}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=158–159}}</ref>

Immediately after her return to Jedburgh, she suffered a serious illness that included frequent vomiting, loss of sight, loss of speech, convulsions and periods of unconsciousness. She was thought to be dying. Her recovery from 25 October onwards was credited to the skill of her French physicians.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=275–276}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=274}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=161–163}}</ref> The cause of her illness is unknown. Potential diagnoses include physical exhaustion and mental stress,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=276}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=161}}</ref> haemorrhage of a gastric ulcer,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=275}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=161}}</ref> and [[porphyria]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=161}}</ref>

At [[Craigmillar Castle]], near Edinburgh, at the end of November 1566, Mary and leading nobles held a meeting to discuss the "problem of Darnley".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bingham|1995|p=160}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=160}}</ref> Divorce was discussed, but a bond was probably sworn between the lords present to remove Darnley by other means:<ref>{{Harvnb|Bingham|1995|pp=160–163}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=277–279}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=176–178, 261}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=161}}</ref> "It was thought expedient and most profitable for the common wealth&nbsp;... that such a young fool and proud tyrant should not reign or bear rule over them;&nbsp;... that he should be put off by one way or another; and whosoever should take the deed in hand or do it, they should defend."<ref>Confession of James Ormiston, one of Bothwell's men, 13 December 1573, quoted (from [[Robert Pitcairn (antiquary)|Robert Pitcairn]]'s ''Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland from AD 1488 to AD 1624'') in {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=177}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=279}}</ref> Darnley feared for his safety, and after the [[Baptism of James VI|baptism of his son at Stirling]] and shortly before Christmas, he went to Glasgow to stay on his father's estates.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=189}}</ref> At the start of the journey, he was afflicted by a fever–possibly smallpox, syphilis or the result of poison. He remained ill for some weeks.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=190–192}}</ref>

In late January 1567, Mary prompted her husband to return to Edinburgh. He recuperated from his illness in a house belonging to the brother of [[James Balfour, Lord Pittendreich|Sir James Balfour]] at the former abbey of [[Kirk o' Field]], just within the city wall.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=285–292}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=292–294}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=227–233}}</ref> Mary visited him daily, so that it appeared a reconciliation was in progress.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=232–233}}</ref> On the night of 9–10 February 1567, Mary visited her husband in the early evening and then attended the wedding celebrations of a member of her household, [[Bastian Pagez]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=296–297}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=297–299}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=244–247}}</ref> In the early hours of the morning, an explosion devastated Kirk o' Field. Darnley was found dead in the garden, apparently 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><ref>A post-mortem revealed internal injuries, thought to have been caused by the explosion. [[John Knox]] claimed the surgeons who examined the body were lying and that Darnley had been strangled, but all the sources agree that there were no marks on the body, and there was no reason for the surgeons to lie as Darnley was murdered either way ({{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=255}}).</ref> [[James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell|Bothwell]], [[James Stewart, Earl of Moray|Moray]], [[William Maitland of Lethington|Secretary Maitland]], the [[James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton|Earl of Morton]] and Mary herself were among those who came under suspicion.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=298–299}}</ref> Elizabeth wrote to Mary of the rumours:

{{blockquote|I should ill fulfil the office of a faithful cousin or an affectionate friend if I did not&nbsp;... tell you what all the world is thinking. Men say that, instead of seizing the murderers, you are looking through your fingers while they escape; that you will not seek revenge on those who have done you so much pleasure, as though the deed would never have taken place had not the doers of it been assured of impunity. For myself, I beg you to believe that I would not harbour such a thought.<ref>The original letter is in French, this translation is from {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=308–309}}. For other versions see {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=312}} and {{Harvnb|Lewis|1999|p=86}}.</ref>}}

By the end of February, Bothwell was generally believed to be guilty of Darnley's assassination.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=304}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=312–313}}</ref> Lennox, Darnley's father, demanded that Bothwell be tried before the [[Estates of Parliament]], to which Mary agreed, but Lennox's request for a delay to gather evidence was denied. In the absence of Lennox and with no evidence presented, Bothwell was acquitted after a seven-hour trial on 12 April.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=311–312}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=336–340}}</ref> A week later, Bothwell managed to convince more than two dozen lords and bishops to sign the [[Ainslie Tavern Bond]], in which they agreed to support his aim to marry the queen.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=313}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=343–345}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=163}}</ref>