MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS' DOWNFALL

Sub-titled 'The Life and Murder of Henry, Lord Darnley' this engaging and well researched biography re-examines the famous murder and brings new light and compelling confusions to a story surrounded by political betrayal, murder, falsified evidence, conspiracy and love. In the early hours of 10th February 1567, a large explosion ripped through the Old Provost's lodging at Kirk o'Field, Edinburgh, where Mary Queen of Scotland's consort Henry Lord Darnley was staying. His body was found with that of his valet in a neighbouring garden the next morning. The Queen's husband had been suffocated and the ramifications for Mary and Scottish history would be far-reaching. Lord Darnley cuts an infamous figure in Scottish and Tudor history. In life he proved a controversial character and his murder remains one of history's great and unresolved mysteries - establishing whether Mary was implicated has taxed historians for the subsequent 450 years. The book sets in motion a series of events leading to Mary Queen of Scots's downfall. Was there a conspiracy between the Scottish peers and William Cecil? Was his objective to keep Mary from the English throne? Darnley was the son of Matthew Stuart, Fourth Earl of Lennox and thus directly bound by blood to one of the most powerful families in Scotland. As the oldest son of Margaret Douglas, the eldest sister of Henry VIII, King of England, Darnley was related to the Tudor rulers of England and thus Queen Elizabeth I. The family trees are particularly useful when there is such a muddle of titles to absorb. The second part of the book covers the struggle for recognition to the succession as England's ruler and the third part the schemes to marry Darnley to Mary, who wanted the marriage and why, and the outcome of that marriage. The final parts cover the death of the king and what happened. The book shines a light on a human drama and power struggle taking place on a much bigger geopolitical stage. 330pp, colour plates, illus. and maps.