16. The Queen Falls Out of Love
Whatever the truth, if any, of a three-way bisexual love triangle between Queen Mary, Lord Darnley, and David Rizzio, the royal marriage soured within a year. By 1566, the queen and her husband were estranged. So Darnley began plotting against Mary, who was pregnant by then. His nebulous plan was to push the queen out of the way, and take her place on the throne as king of Scotland in his own right. Whether or not he had ever been Darnley’s lover, Rizzio stuck with Mary when the rift opened up between the queen and her husband.
Rizzio’s loyalty to the queen further incensed Darnley. When rumors began making the round that the child growing in Mary’s womb was actually Rizzio’s, Darnley’s rage mounted. Eventually, the snickering at court and throughout Scotland about Darnley being a cuckold proved too much for the king consort’s pride and fragile masculinity. So he decided to do something about it. That something turned out to be one of the era’s most shocking public murders.