Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox

Darnley was born at Temple Newsome in Yorkshire, most likely in 1546, to Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox, and Lady Margaret Douglas.

That parentage made him dangerous from the cradle, and through his grandmother Margaret Tudor, he carried a legitimate claim to the English throne, and through his father he held a claim to the Scottish one.

In an age when royal blood was the most valuable and hazardous substance a person could possess, Darnley had it from both sides and he grew up polished for royal greatness.

He stood over six feet at a time when that was remarkable and he could dance, ride, hunt, and play the lute.

The powerful Lord James Stuart, Earl Moray, Mary's half-brother, had ridden out of Edinburgh just hours before the blast.

an absence his critics have found convenient ever since.

Darnley's father, the 4th Earl of Lennox, demanded justice.

And on April 12, 1567, Bothwell finally stood trial in Edinburgh.