Negotiations on both the English succession and the Spanish marriage result in refusals, and Mary opts for a marriage of love with the handsome Darnley over a purely political match.

A dynastic argument for the union can certainly be made, however, as their marriage will unite the branches of the powerful Stewart family.

Moreover, Darnley, whose mother is the former Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor and the sixth earl of Angus, stands next to Mary in the English succession.

The couple wed on July 29 according to Roman Catholic rites, to the great displeasure of Moray, the prominent Hamilton family, and John Knox, head of the Scottish Reformed church, to say nothing of her Protestant subjects.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, disapproves of Mary marrying another Tudor descendant.