12. Getting a New Love to Kill an Old One
Queen Mary’s leading ally in the ensuing plot to get rid of Darnley was James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who organized a plot to assassinate Darnley. On February 19th, 1567, explosives were detonated beneath Darnley’s bedroom. He survived the blast, but upon staggering out of the wreckage, he was seized and strangled to death.
Soon thereafter, Mary married Bothwell. The marriage turned out to be extremely unpopular, and united both Catholics and Protestants in denouncing the queen for marrying the man who had murdered her husband.