The Wars of Religion 641 In 1 56 1 the Scotch queen, Mary Stuart, whose French hus- Mary Stuart, Dand, Francis II, had just died, landed at Leith. She was but quleri^° '^ nineteen years old, of great beauty and charm, and, by reason ^^^g"Jjf^.J^® of her Catholic faith and French training, almost a foreigner to Catholics her subjects. Her grandmother was a sister of Henry VIII, and Mary claimed to be the rightful heiress to the English throne should Elizabeth die childless. Consequently the beau- tiful Queen of Scots became the hope of all those who wished to bring back England and Scotland to the Roman Catholic faith. Chief among these were Philip II of Spain and Mary's relatives the Guises in France. Mary quickly discredited herself with both Protestants and Mary's Catholics by her conduct. After marrying her second cousin, conduct"^ Lord Darnley, she discovered that he was a dissolute scape- grace and came to despise him. She then formed an attach- ment for a reckless nobleman named Bothwell. The house near Edinburgh in which Darnley was lying ill was blown up one night- with gunpowder, and he was killed. The public sus- pected that both Bothwell and the queen were implicated. How far Mary was responsible for her husband's death no one can be sure. It is certain that she later married Bothwell and that her indignant subjects thereupon deposed her as a murderess. After fruitless attempts to regain her power, she abdicated in Mary flees favor of her infant son, James VI, and then fled to England to i^gg"^ ^" ' appeal to Elizabeth, While the prudent Elizabeth denied the right of the Scotch to depose their queen, she took good care to keep her rival practically a prisoner. As time went on it became increasingly difficult for Elizabeth The rising in to adhere to her policy of moderation in the treatment of the 1569, and' the Catholics. A rising in the north of England (1569) showed S^j^s^f^r that there were many who would gladly reestablish the Catholic deposing ^ & ./ Elizabeth faith by freeing Mary and placing her on the English throne. This was followed by the excommunication of Elizabeth by the , Pope, who at the same time absolved her subjects from their allegiance to their heretical ruler. Happily for Elizabeth the
