| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Henry VIII (1509 - 1547) |
|
1542 | Dec 8 |  Birth of Mary, Queen of Scots
|
| | Mary was born at Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian, Scotland. She was the daughter of James V, king of Scotland and Mary of Guise, from France. James V died a week after Mary was born and she became Queen of Scotland. |
|
| Dec 14 | Death of James V of Scotland
|
| | The defeat of the Scottish army at Solway Moss a few weeks earlier is supposed to have shocked James V so much that he died. His daughter Mary was only a week or so old when he died and she became queen, known as Mary Queen of Scots. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran became regent of Scotland as Mary was too young to rule. |
| |
|
|
1543 | Jul | Treaties at Greenwich
|
| | A treaty was signed by the Scots and Henry VIII swearing peace between the two nations and the agreement that Mary, Queen of Scots, should marry Henry's son Edward. |
|
| Sep 9 | Queen Mary's Coronation
|
| | The coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place at Stirling. |
| |
|
| Edward VI (1547 - 1553) |
|
1547 | Sep 10 | Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
|
| | Thousands of Scots gathered near the town of Musselburgh, just to the east of Edinbugh. They faced an English army led by the Duke of Somerset. The Scots had a good position on the battle field but wasted it when they attacked. The Scots were heavily defeated. The defeat at Pinkie Cleugh was a threat to Queen Mary and so she was secretly moved from Stirling Castle to the Augustinian Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith. |
| |
|
|
1548 | Qtr 1 | Queen Mary moved to Dumbarton Castle
|
| | To comply with the agreement to marry Mary to the French Dauphin, the young queen was moved from Inchmahome Priory to Dumbarton Castle on the banks of the River Clyde on the west of Scotland. It was here that she waited before sailing to France. |
|
| Jul | The French arrive in Scotland
|
| | The request of the Scottish Regent, Mary of Guise, for help to fight the English was answered by the arrival of a army of several thousand French. The assistance came on condition that her daughter Mary should marry the French Dauphin, Francis. |
|
| Aug 13 | Queen Mary arrives in France
|
| | Queen Mary arrived in France. Four girls all also called Mary and coming from noble families were chosen to accompany the Queen. Known as the 'Four Maries' the girls were Mary Beaton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston and Mary Seton. They landed, possibly, at Roscoff on the north-west coast of France. |
| |
|
| Mary I (1553 - 1558) |
|
1557 | Dec | The Lords of the Congregation
|
| | A group of Scottish Lords signed a covenant promising to support the advancement 'the most blessed Word of God' and to push forward the Reformation in Scotland. This was a move against what they saw as the threat from France with that came from the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the French Dauphin. They called themselves the Lords of the Congregation. |
| |
|
| Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) |
|
1558 | Apr | Betrothal of Mary and Dauphin Francis
|
| | An agreement was reached between the Scottish commissioners and the French king Henry II for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Francis, the Dauphin of France. The terms of the agreement allowed the Scots to maintain their traditional rights and would become united with France when Francis became King of France. It was also agreed that if Mary died without having children the Scottish throne would go to the Earl of Arran. |
|
| Apr 24 | Marriage and a secret agreement
|
| | Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis, the Dauphin of France. A secret marriage agreement was signed by Mary giving control of Scotland to France if she died without having children. |
| |
|
|
1559 | Sep | Coronation of Francis II, King of France
|
| | Francis was crowned King of France at Rheims cathedral. The ceremony was subdued because of the untimely death of his father. |
| |
|
|
1560 | Jun | Death of Mary of Guise
|
| | Mary Stuart's mother, Mary of Guise, died in Scotland leaving the country in a state of civil war. |
|
| Dec | Death of Francis II, King of France
|
| | Francis suffered from poor health throughout his life and he died at the age of sixteen from an abscess in his brain. |
| |
|
|
1561 | | Mary tours her kingdom
|
| | Mary Queen of Scots spent her time visiting the many castles and houses of her country. |
|
| Spring | Marriage proposal from Spain
|
| | After the death of Francis II, Mary Stuart was approached by Spain with a marriage proposal to Don Carlos of Spain. Both being Catholic, the marriage was a prefect choice but it fell through. Mary turned her attention to a return to Scotland. |
|
| Aug 14 | Mary Stuart leaves France
|
| | Leaving France from Calais in a small flotilla of ships, Mary Stuart set sail for Scotland. Five days later the ships arrived at the port of Leith, now part of Edinburgh. Mary was met by her half-brother James Stewart |
| |
|
|
1562 | Oct | Fall of Huntley
|
| | George Gordon, the 4th Earl of Huntley rebelled against Mary and at the battle of Corrichie his supporters were defeated by the Earl of Moray. Huntley died at the battle but not from a wound but because he was overweight and the strain of the events was too much for him. |
| |
|
|
1565 | Jul 29 | Mary Stuart marries Lord Darnley
|
| | Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Lord Darnley in the chapel at Holyrood House. Henry then became King of Scotland but in title only as Mary still held all the power of the monarch. |
| |
|
|
1567 | Feb 10 | Murder of Lord Darnley
|
| | Henry, Lord Darnley, was murdered as he tried to escape from his attackers as they laid gunpowder in his house. His house was destroyed in the explosion. The culprit was thought to be the Earl of Bothwell who was then very close to Queen Mary and it may have been the Queen herself who ordered the killing. |
| |
|
|
1583 | Nov | Throckmorton Plot
|
| | Francis Throckmorton was found guilty of carrying messages with details of an assassination attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth, an invasion by Spain and the freeing of Mary Stuart from captivity. Along with the Earl of Northumberland, Throckmorton was put in the Tower of London before being executed for treason. Before his death, Throckmorton revealed that Queen Mary knew about the plot. |
| |
|
|
1584 | Jun | Bond of Association
|
| | In response to the assassination threat to Queen Elizabeth an agreement signed by her supporters was devised. Those who signed agreed to prevent those who plotted against the Queen to succeed to the throne if the assassination was successful. They aso agreeed to prosecute anyone who whould benefit whether they were involved in the assassination or not. The third agreement promised to case down and kill those who carried out the assassination attempt. This move was hoped to make supporters of Mary Stuart directly or indirectly taking part in any more plots against the Queen. |
| |
|
|
1585 | Jan | Parry Plot
|
| | A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was uncovered. The person accused and found guilty was Dr. Parry, a supporter of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots. It was found that he had been assisted by Thomas Morgan, Mary Stuart's assistant who was looking after her affairs in Paris. Parry was executed for treason but no other action was taken. |
