Mary Queen of Scots Timeline

In early 1560, the Protestant lords invited English troops into Scotland in an attempt to secure Protestantism during Mary's absence in France.

On 11 June 1560, Mary's mother died, making the question of future Franco-Scots relations a pressing one.

Image source: Mary of Guise

Under the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh, signed by Mary's representatives on 6 July 1560, France and England undertook to withdraw their troops from Scotland.

Widowed, Mary returned to Scotland nine months later, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561 to take up personal rule of her kingdom.

Her privy council of 16 men was appointed on 6 September 1561, retaining those who already held offices of state. It was dominated by Protestant leaders including the Earls of Argyll, Glencairn, and Moray.

Mary joined with Moray in the destruction of Scotland's leading Catholic magnate, Lord Huntly, in 1562, after he led a rebellion against her in the Highlands.

Even the one significant later addition to the council, Lord Ruthven in December 1563, was another Protestant whom Mary personally disliked.

Mary next met her half-cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, on Saturday 17 February 1565 at Wemyss Castle in Scotland; the two quickly fell in love.

Image source: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley

Mary married Darnley at Holyrood Palace on 29 July 1565, even though both were Catholic and a papal dispensation for the marriage of first cousins had not been obtained.

Mary set out from Edinburgh on 26 August 1565 to confront rebel lords led by Moray who opposed her marriage, an episode known as the Chaseabout Raid.

Mary's son by Darnley, James, was born on 19 June 1566 in Edinburgh Castle. He would later reign as James VI of Scotland and James I of England.

Image source: James VI and I

While staying at Jedburgh, 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.

At Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh, at the end of November 1566, Mary and leading nobles held a meeting to discuss the "problem of Darnley", whose behavior had grown intolerable.

Image source: Craigmillar Castle

In February 1567, Darnley's residence was destroyed by an explosion, and he was found murdered in the nearby garden. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was generally believed to have orchestrated the death.

Image source: Murder of Lord Darnley

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was acquitted of the charge of murdering Darnley in April 1567, and in the following month he married Mary.

Image source: James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

In July 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son, who became James VI of Scotland, ending her reign as Queen of Scotland.

On 2 May 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle with the aid of George Douglas, brother of William Douglas, the castle's owner.

Image source: Lochleven Castle

In mid-July 1568, English authorities moved Mary to Bolton Castle, because it was farther from the Scottish border but not too close to London.

Image source: Bolton Castle

A commission of inquiry, or conference, was held in York and later Westminster between October 1568 and January 1569, where the casket letters allegedly implicating Mary in Darnley's murder were examined but never conclusively proven genuine.

Image source: Casket letters

On 26 January 1569, Mary was moved to Tutbury Castle and placed in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife Bess of Hardwick.

Image source: Tutbury Castle

In May 1569, Elizabeth attempted to mediate the restoration of Mary in return for guarantees of the Protestant religion, but a convention held at Perth rejected the deal overwhelmingly.

The Duke of Norfolk continued to scheme for a marriage with Mary, and Elizabeth imprisoned him in the Tower of London between October 1569 and August 1570.

Image source: Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk

In 1571, Cecil and Walsingham uncovered the Ridolfi Plot, a plan to replace Elizabeth with Mary with the help of Spanish troops and the Duke of Norfolk.

Image source: Ridolfi plot

After the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, Walsingham introduced the Bond of Association and the Act for the Queen's Safety, which sanctioned the killing of anyone who plotted against Elizabeth and aimed to prevent a putative successor from profiting from her murder.

In 1584, Mary proposed an "association" with her son, James, seeking to share or transfer royal authority while she remained in captivity.

In February 1585, William Parry was convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, without Mary's knowledge, although her agent Thomas Morgan was implicated.

On 11 August 1586, after being implicated in the Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth, Mary was arrested while out riding and taken to Tixall Hall in Staffordshire.

Image source: Babington Plot

After eighteen and a half years in captivity, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in 1586, sealing her fate.

Image source: Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

On 1 February 1587, Elizabeth signed the death warrant and entrusted it to William Davison, a privy councillor, setting the execution in motion.

At Fotheringhay, on the evening of 7 February 1587, Mary was told she was to be executed the next morning. She was beheaded on 8 February 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle, ending her life after decades of imprisonment.

Image source: Fotheringhay Castle