The Murder of Lord Darnley at Kirk o' Fields, 1567

In February Lord Darnley, Mary's husband had been lodging at a house, Kirk 'o Fields, in the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, a few hundred yards from Mary at Holyrood Palace.

At 2 o'clock in the morning the night air was torn by an enormous explosion, and Kirk o' Fields was reduced to rubble. Darnley must have suspected something as he lay that night in his bedroom, for in the alarm that was raised after the explosion his body was found in the gardens and it was apparent that he had been killed by the explosion while trying to escape from the house.

Had he heard suspicious sounds under his room where large amounts of gunpowder had been secretly hidden? Perhaps he had heard the sound of the torch lighting the fuse. A chair and rope was also found in the garden; Darnley and his groom had used it to climb out of the first floor window. They both lay dead, clad only in nightgowns, one dagger between them.

The illustration above is from a contemporary drawing. At the top left is the infant James VI sits up in his crib praying: "Judge and avenge my cause, O Lord". To the right Darnley and his groom lie dead in the garden.

Below, the townspeople of Edinburgh gather round and four soldiers carry a body for burial

Other Mary Queen of Scots pages:

• Mary Queen of Scots House
• Mary in France
• French Court
• House Interior
• Mary's Possessions
• Hermitage Castle
• Battle of Carberry
• Murder of Darnley