Sibling rivalry damned Mary, historian says
Academic says the Scottish Queen’s half-brother killed her husband, which led to her giving up the crown
THE husband of Mary, Queen of Scots was murdered by her half-brother as part of plot to seize power, a historian has claimed.
Dr Kate Williams, a historical consultant for BBC shows and professor at the University of Reading, said she believed she had pieced together who was responsible for Lord Darnley’s death, drawing on letters written by Elizabeth I and the lords, and the evidence pointed the finger of blame at James, Earl of Moray.
On Feb 10 1567, Lord Darnley’s house was blown up and he was found dead with his servant in a nearby orchard. Lying next to them was a chair, a rope, a dagger and two dressing gowns.
His death, and the events surrounding his end, eventually led to the Queen – played by Saoirse Ronan in a forthcoming film with Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I – being forced to abdicate after she married the unpopular Lord Bothwell. She lost support and her half-brother, James, Earl of Moray, was made Regent.
While servants were blamed for the death of Lord Darnley in what Dr Williams calls a “show trial”, she says the true killer was never caught.
She said: “There was a pitched battle between brother and sister. He won, imprisoned her, forced her to abdicate. She escaped, fled to England and was there in prison for 20 years until execution. Moray got to be Regent immediately and sold Mary’s jewels to Elizabeth and Catherine de Medici.
“He got everything, including getting away with the perfect crime. So perfect that not even history has suspected him.”
Dr Williams said the winner of this battle, Lord Moray, who is played by James Mcardle in the feature film, was able to stop any investigation into the crime, and was in control of how history was written, so was never suspected. She said: “Mary was in shock. She spoke to Moray and her council, who encouraged her that they would investigate. And did nothing. But there was so little she could do… she was a queen but powerless, because how could she move against all the lords?”
Other suspects for the murder include Queen Mary herself, and the English, who were quickly on the scene and tried to use the death to discredit her. Lord Bothwell, then a friend and suspected lover of the Queen, was put on trial for the crime but found innocent. Dr Williams said the weight of evidence indicated her half-brother James was responsible for his death. “He was suspected at the time but he scrubbed it out of history. It was talked about before, the lords write that he would get rid of Darnley and he would be ‘looking through his fingers’ at it,” she said. “Elizabeth I later writes to Mary
‘There was a pitched battle between brother and sister. He won… and forced her to abdicate.’
and asks if she has been ‘looking through her fingers’ at it – it was an interesting use of the same phrase.”
She said it was likely the Scottish Queen knew of the plot but was powerless to stop it, as she spent most of her young life in France and had not built up a loyal following of lords in Scotland.
“This meant her half-brother held the power, as he had the trust and loyalty of those with influence in Scottish court.
The historian added: “She knew that Moray was involved and the lords were involved – was she supposed to put them all on trial? They were more powerful than her because there were vast numbers of them, and because they were men.
“Elizabeth built this ring of adoring loyal men around her so they wouldn’t depose her – Mary didn’t have the chance to do this so they were all loyal to their own family interests and to Moray.”
Dr Williams’s book Rival Queens about Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, is out now. The film, Mary Queen of Scots, will be in cinemas on Friday.