Lord Darnley is a noble title associated with a Scottish Lordship of Parliament, first created in 1356 for the family of

Stewart of Darnley Stewart of Darnley, also known as the Lennox Stewarts, were a notable Scots family, a branch of the Clan Stewart, who provided the English Stuart monarchs with their male-line Stuart descent, after the reunion of their branch with the royal Sco ...

and tracing a descent to the Dukedom of Richmond in England. The title's name refers to Darnley in Scotland. Outside the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

, another Earldom of Darnley was created in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

in 1729.

Early history

The first

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

was Sir John Stewart of Darnley. His descendant,

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox (before 14308 July/11 September 1495) was known as Lord Darnley and later as the Earl of Lennox. Family Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Alan Stewart of Darnley, a direct descendant of Alexander Stew ...

, was created

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first ear ...

in 1488. Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (1516–1571), was the father of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545–1567) (later created Duke of Albany), better known as "Lord Darnley", a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

, his father holding that title, who became the husband of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, and thus father of

King James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

(1566–1625). Together with Lord Ruthven and others, Darnley openly murdered David Rizzio in

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

in March 1566. Mary thereafter distanced herself from Darnley. On 10 February 1567, Darnley died when his residence was destroyed by a bomb whilst his wife, Mary, Queen of Scots, attended a party. Darnley and his groom were found dead at the scene with marks on their necks (possibly they were strangled) and next to them lay a knife with which they had been stabbed. The suspected murderer,

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was a prominent Scottish nobleman. He was known for his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third and final husband ...

, married Mary one month after he was acquitted and released from jail.

Later history

With the elevation of the Earldom of Lennox to a

dukedom Dukedom may refer to: * The title and office of a duke * Duchy, the territory ruled by a duke * Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee, United States * ''Dukedom'' (game), a land management game See also * Lists of dukedoms Lists of dukedoms include: ...

in 1581 the barony of Darnley retained its link with Lennox and in 1612 the Dukedom of Richmond was added to the title and remained so after its extinction and revival in 1675. The subsidiary Earldom of Darnley was revived at the same time.

References

Lordships of Parliament Darnley Extinct lordships of Parliament Noble titles created in 1572 Noble titles created in 1578 {{Scotland-stub