Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany (7 December 1545 – 10 February 1567), commonly known as Lord Darnley, was a Prince Consort of Scotland, the first cousin and second husband of Mary I, Queen of Scots, and the father of her son King James VI, who also succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as King James I of England. Darnley was born in 1545, at Temple Newsam, Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of the 4th Earl of Lennox, and his wife, Margaret Douglas. His father lived in exile in England for 22 years, returning to Scotland in 1564.[1] Darnley was related to his future wife in at least four ways: they shared a grandmother in English princess Margaret Tudor (Mary descending from Margaret's marriage to James IV of Scotland, Darnley from Margaret's marriage to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus), putting both Mary and Darnley high in the line of succession for the English throne; Darnley was a descendant of a daughter of James II of Scotland and thus also in line for the throne of Scotland; both were descendants of Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (Mary through Joan's marriage to James I of Scotland, Darnley through her marriage to Sir James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn); and Darnley's family surname was due to a much more ancient connection to his male-line ancestor, Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. The marriage took place on Sunday 29 July 1565,[2] in the Chapel-Royal of Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. On the 30 July Darnley was given the title of King of Scots at a proclamation published at the Cross of Edinburgh,[3] but he was King Consort only, with no royal powers. His marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, was a disaster. Darnley was three years younger than Mary (their birthdays were only a day apart) and not particularly mature. He was unpopular with the other nobles and had a mean and violent streak, aggravated by a drinking problem.[4] Within a short time, Mary became pregnant, but Darnley grew more and more demanding. His jealousy of Mary's private secretary, David Rizzio, by whom it was said that Mary had become pregnant, culminated in the bloody murder of the latter by Darnley and a group of his supporters, in the presence of the queen herself at The Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. Archibald Douglas, Parson of Douglas, subsequently secured pardons for all those involved. Following the birth of their son, the future James VI, the succession was more secure; in late 1566 and early 1567, Darnley and Mary appeared to be close to reconciliation, as she was often seen visiting his chambers. But Darnley was unpopular and petulant and offended many who should have been his natural supporters, and Mary became frustrated at his insistence that he be awarded the Crown Matrimonial. There was also some evidence that he suffered from syphilis.[4] On 10 February 1567, the bodies of Darnley and his servant at the time were discovered in the gardens of the Hamiltons' house, Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, where they had been staying. Darnley was dressed only in his nightshirt, suggesting he had fled in some haste from his bedchamber. A violent explosion had occurred that night at the house, but the evidence pointed to Darnley escaping attempted assassination, only to be murdered when he got outside. There was strong evidence that Darnley and his valet had been strangled and that the explosion was set as an attempt to cover up the murders. Suspicion fell on the Earl of Bothwell and his supporters, notably Archibald Douglas, Parson of Douglas, whose shoes were found at the scene, and upon Mary herself. Bothwell later "abducted" Mary, and held her for a week, at the end of which she agreed to marry him. Darnley's death was a key event in the downward spiral that led to her loss of the Scottish crown. Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox (1555–1576), was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor. At the time of his father's death in 1571, the earl was acting as regent for the boy king James VI of Scotland and the earldom passed to the Crown. King James's father had been Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Charles's elder brother, who was already dead. However, shortly afterwards the title of Earl of Lennox was bestowed on Charles. He proceeded to incur the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth I of England by a hasty marriage to Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of Bess of Hardwick, apparently at his mother's instigation. The couple had one child, Arbella Stuart, but she was prevented by the Scots from taking up the earldom because of her gender and the fact that she had been born in England. Arbella Stuart married William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset.

Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (31 May 1590[1] – 1632) was an English noblewoman who was a central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I. She was born Frances Howard, the daughter of Lord Thomas Howard (later 1st Earl of Suffolk), second son of the 4th Duke of Norfolk, and his wife, the former Catherine Knyvet. Her father was a wealthy and powerful nobleman during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Henry Knyvet, of Charlton, Wiltshire, and Elizabeth Stumpe. Lady Frances Howard was married at the age of 13 to the 14-year-old Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex. The marriage was primarily a political union; they were separated after the wedding to prevent them from having intercourse, with the view that premature sex and pregnancy was to be avoided. Essex went on a European tour (from 1607 to 1609) and when he returned Frances made every effort to avoid him. He was at the time seriously ill with smallpox, but she had also fallen in love with Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset. It is suspected that she might have purposely encouraged her husband's natural impotence by the use of "love-philters" with first Simon Forman and later Abraham Savery. Essex himself did not seem to mind the lack of his wife's company, spending most of his time drinking with other men. When she finally took the step of annulment, unable to legally represent herself, her father and uncle, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, represented her and drew up the libel. The situation quickly attracted public attention, and was widely observed by those with "prurient minds". She claimed that she had made every attempt to be sexually compliant for her husband, and that, through no fault of her own, she was still a virgin. She was examined by ten matrons and two midwives who found her hymen intact. It was widely rumoured at the time that Sir Thomas Monson's daughter was a substitute, which is possible because she had requested to be veiled during the examination "for modesty's sake". The matter was a subject of mockery and ribald commentary throughout the court, including: This Dame was inspected but Fraud interjected A maid of more perfection Whom the midwives did handle whilest the knight held the candle O there was a clear inspection.[2] In turn, Essex claimed that he was capable with other women, but was unable to consummate his marriage. According to a friend, one morning (while chatting with a group of male companions) he had stood up and lifted his nightshirt to show them his erection -- proving, if nothing else, he was physically capable of arousal. When asked why only she caused his failing, he claimed that "she reviled him, and miscalled him, terming him a cow, and coward, and beast." The idea of satanic involvement was seriously considered by the judges and at one point it was proposed that Essex should go to Poland to see if he could be "unwitched". The annulment languished and possibly would not have been granted if it were not for the king's intervention (Somerset was the favourite of King James). James I of England granted the annulment on 25 September 1613. Frances married Somerset on 26 December 1613. Sir Thomas Overbury, a close friend and advisor of Somerset, had tried to advise him not to marry Frances Howard, but he was a desirable ally for the powerful Howard family. The family managed to get Overbury imprisoned during the annulment proceedings where he died -- curiously enough, the annulment went through eleven days after his death. It has been widely considered that Lady Somerset had him poisoned through an agent. The Somersets were convicted of murder, but spared execution. Lord and Lady Somerset had one daughter, Lady Anne Carr, who married the 1st Duke of Bedford.