| Lord Darnley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Title: | King Consort Of Scotland |
| Born: | 7 December 1545 |
| Age: | 20 |
| Height: | 5'11 |
| Gender: | Male 
|
| Status: | Deceased (asphyxiation) |
| Religion: | Catholic |
| Originally From: | Yorkshire, England |
| Current Location: | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Affiliations: | House of Tudor |
| Relationship Information | |
| Parents: | Lord Lennox † (Father)
Lady Lennox (Mother) |
| Wife: | Queen Mary |
| Children: | King James Stuart (Son) |
| Interests: | Lady Keira † |
| Character Information | |
| First Appearance: | With Friends Like These |
| Portrayed By: | Will Kemp |
| GALLERY | |
Lord Darnley, a nobleman with a blood-claim to the English throne. Much like the late, great Francis, Darnley has a “wildly ambitious mother whose love hinges entirely on his ability to secure a crown,” though his own ambition should not be underestimated. He hopes to become Mary’s second husband, a union which “could take down Elizabeth, giving (the couple) not just one nation, but two.
Personality
Breezily confident, charming and warm, he was born with a blood-claim of his own to the English throne and a wildly ambitious mother whose love hinges entirely on his ability to secure a crown.
Early Life
Season 4
Lord Darnley has a strong relation with Lady Keira, who is soon to be married to Lord White. He doesn't want to see Mary Stuart, neither to marry her. After a lot of discussion with his mother, Lady Lennox, he agrees to meet her. when he reaches Scotland, he sees Mary at a dinning party of which purpouse was to introduce the Scotsman to Gideon Blackburn, a possible husband for their Queen. He returns in a hurry back to England. [1]
Lord Darnley promises not to marry Queen Marry of Scotland, and in return, Queen Elizabeth will pay off Keira's dowry to her family so she and Lord Darnley can marry. However before the sum could be paied in secret by a single horseman, Lord Narcisse arranged his murder. [2]
Lord Darnley stops into visit Keira on his way to Scotland with his mother, Lady Lennox. He promises he'll return for her in a week and they will meet at their special place. Before he returns, Keira receives a letter from him, breaking things off, so she marries Lord White. [2] [3]
Also, in order to make Mary Stuart like him, he secretly ignites a fire. After he saves a boy from a burning house, the people see him as a hero.
Lord Taylor challenged him to a boxing matching after Mary Stuart announced her engagement to the Englisman. Well aware of his father, Lord Lennox's reputation as a coward for siding with King Henry VIII in The War of the Rough Wooing he did not want a possible traitor on the Scotish Throne.
A second argument came about when Lord Taylor's secretary got sick, believing it was Lord Darnley's poisoning his Scotch. Hours before the fight one of his own men smashed two of Lord Darnley's figures at a pub to compensate.
However, even with two possibly broken fingers (and Mary's help), Lord Darnley won the boxing match and Lord Taylor bent his knee to him. [4]
Mary and Darnley talk about his former relationship with Lady Keira, and Queen Mary accuses him of having an affair. He denies it, informing her she is already married to Lord White. [5]
Of the arriving guest to witness Mary and Darnley's Catholic wedding, few are as important as Lucrezia de' Medici. She lends legitimacy and strength both to Queen Mary's Scottish rule and Queen Mary and Lord Darnley's joint claims to the English Throne.
However, after Lord Darnley jokingly insulted King Francis, Lucrezia withdrew her support and set sail for the following day back to Florence. Mary was very upset over this, because if the Duchess left, she took her support and the promise of funding with her. Lucrezia agreed to reconsider if she was given the lands belonging to Lord Theodore Davies. The lands were quite valuable, and come with a title, The Earldom of Menteith. Only with this exchange would she continue supporting Mary's rule. After a day of misadventures, Queen Mary and Lord Bothwell were able to acquiring the Davies Estate' papers. With that, Lucrezia was pleased to continue the alliance between Florence and Scotland [6]
Meanwile. Lady Keira was sick and weak with fever, an later died after being stuck by a cart in Scotland, after James Stuart forced her to her feet, and back to England on Mary's behalf. Darnley cannot forgive her for this. [6]
Dead of Night
Mary Stuart tells Greer she is pregnant with King Darnley's child. Telling her, only Darnley knows, and she's also told James Stuart before he left. Greer Apologies for being hard on Mary about James. Mary tells her it's alright. In trying to protect her throne, she put her brother in a dangerous position that ended with his banishment.
Mary and Darnley are talking about Lord Bothwell. The man who despises Darnley, and Mary invited him to Court. Mary tells him, after James left she was upset, and needed someone she could trust.
Lord Ruthven and Darnley were both involved, and Ruthven even lead the murder of David Rizzio in place of the missing Lord Bothwell in front of the very pregnant Queen Mary. [7]
Notes
- Mary and Darnley consumated their engagment. [8]
- James Stuart is forced to 'give' his lands back to Darnley because they are the old Lennox Estates. [9]
- Mary Stuart secretly discovered she was pregnant with Darnley's child. [8] [10] [11][12]
- Mary had her second wedding to Lord Darnley.[12]
- King Darnley was involved in the murder of David Rizzio. [13]
- Two days after David Rizzio's murder, Mary and Darnley escaped Holyrood Palace they parted ways, and never saw each other again. [13]
Historical Notes
- Lord Darnley's real name was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
- His son's godparents were King Charles IX of France, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- Lord Lennox was Lord Darnley's father. He was second cousins once removed to King James V, and (at best) third in line of succession for the Scottish Crown. He spent most of his youth in exile in England, but returned to Scotland to assert his claims to the line of succession when King James V died in 1542.
- Lord Darnley does have Tudor Blood in him, through his mother Lady Lennox.
- Mary, Queen of Scots had briefly met her future husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley in February 1561 when she was in mourning for King Francis II. Darnley's parents, Lord and Lady Lennox, who were Scottish aristocrats as well as English landowners, had sent him to France ostensibly to extend their condolences while hoping for a potential match between the two.
- History's Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley were married on On 29 July 1565 in Mary's private chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- When Mary, Queen of Scots was 7 months pregnant,she was held at gunpoint while Riccio was stabbed numerous times. He was stabbed 56 times by King Darnley, and his friends. Riccio's murder was lead by Lord Ruthven.
- On 2 April 1566, Lord Ruthven sent their testimony on David Rizzio's murder to Queen Elizabeth I, declaring they had acted the best for King Darnley, Mary, Queen of Scots, state and religion.
- Two days after David Rizzio's murder, a disillusioned King Darnley switched sides, and Mary, Queen of Scots received her brother, James Stuart at Holyrood Palace. On the night of March 11/12, Darnley and Mary escaped from the palace and took temporary refuge in Dunbar Castle before returning to Edinburgh, Scotland on 18 March. The former rebels James Stuart, Argyll and Glencairn were restored to the council.
- The Lennox Jewel was most likely made for his mother, Lady Lennox. Theories vary as to when the jewel was made and for what occasion. In 1842, the jewel was bought by Queen Victoria.
- The War of the Rough Wooing Lord Lennox soon married Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor and half-sister of the deceased King James V. When the Parliament of Scotland rejected the Greenwich treaty, Lennox changed sides and supported King Henry VIII of England's military efforts to secure a marriage between in The War of the Rough Wooing. After the defeat of his supporters at the Battle of Glasgow Muir, he fled once more to England.
- The Treaty of Greenwich, was a marriage contract between Mary, Queen of Scots, and King Henry VIII's son Edward Tudor.
Clips
