Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) queen regnant of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 and queen consort of France from 1559-60. In 1558, she married Francis, Dauphin of France and became queen consort until she was widowed in 1560. Mary returned to Scotland and in 1565 married her first cousin, Lord Darnley. In February 1567, there was an explosion at their house, and Darnley was found dead, strangled, in the garden. She soon married the 4th Earl of Bothwell, who was generally believed to be Darnley's murderer. Queen Mary was imprisoned in 1567 and forced to abdicate. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled to England seeking the protection of her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Perceiving her as a threat, Queen Elizabeth had her arrested. After 18 years and 9 months in custody she was tried and executed for treason for her alleged involvement in three plots to assassinate Elizabeth. Engraving from The gallery of heroick women by Peter Le Moyne, 1652. |