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Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley

 
Artist: Redd Stewart
 
  • Born: May 27, 1923, Ashland City, TN
  • Died: August 03, 2003, Louisville, KY
  • Active: '50s
  • Genres: Country
  • Instrument: Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "Reflections of You," "Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart," "I Remember"

Biography

Singer Redd Stewart formed several bands in and around Louisville, KY, in the 1930s with moderate success before meeting and teaming up with a brash young accordionist and bandleader named Pee Wee King and achieving widespread popularity. Though the band did well in the late '30s, it wasn't until after WWII that the group really hit full stride. It was during that time that Stewart began writing and, inspired by his service time, wrote a smash hit for Ernest Tubb in the weepy "A Soldier's Last Letter." And with King as a writing partner, the team churned out hits such as "Bonaparte's Retreat" and the enduring country classic "Tennessee Waltz." The hits kept coming with "Slow Poke" and "You Belong to Me" topping the charts in the early '50s, and the duo continued to play in bands together throughout the '60s. ~ Steve Kurutz, All Music Guide
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Actor: Henry Redd Stewart
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  • Born: *ba zz, 1923 in Ashland City, Tennessee
  • Died: Aug 03, 2003 in Louisville, Kentucky
  • Active: '40s
  • Major Genres: Musical
  • Career Highlights: Hollywood Barn Dance
  • First Major Screen Credit: Hollywood Barn Dance (1947)

Biography

The co-writer of the classic country ballad "The Tennessee Waltz," two-time gold record winner and a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, singer/songwriter Henry Redd Stewart found his calling early in life and successfully collaborated with some of country music's finest performers. An Ashland, TN, native who was raised in a musical household, Stewart took up the banjo early in life and was playing with local bands by the time he reached the second grade. Getting into the jingle business after penning a song for a Louisville car dealer in 1935, Stewart joined country legend Pee Wee King and his band, the Golden West Cowboys, with whom he graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Stewart subsequently gained a solid reputation as a solo artist, and singer Ernest Tubb's rendering of the Stewart-penned "Soldier's Last Letter" topped the Billboard country charts for four weeks in 1944. Again teaming with King to write "The Tennessee Waltz" and "Bonaparte's Retreat," both proved successful and enduring hits. Awarded several country music awards throughout his career and later indicted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, Stewart also successfully collaborated with his wife Darlene Collins Stewart. A fall in his Louisville, KY, home left him with injuries that ultimately proved fatal. Just a week after the death of his wife, the enduring country singer died in the early days of August 2003. He was 80. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Henry Stewart Lord Darnley
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(born Dec. 7, 1545, Temple Newsom, Yorkshire, Eng. — died Feb. 9/10, 1567, Edinburgh, Scot.) English nobleman, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of James I. Son of Matthew Stewart, earl of Lennox (1516 – 71), a pretender to the Scottish throne, Henry wed his cousin Mary in 1565 despite the opposition of Elizabeth I and Scottish Protestants. It became evident, even to Mary, that superficial charm was his only positive attribute. After he played a role in the murder of Mary's secretary, David Riccio, he was himself murdered at age 21 at the instigation of James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell (1535 – 78), whom Mary soon married.

For more information on Henry Stewart Lord Darnley, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Lord Henry Stuart Darnley
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Darnley, Henry Stuart or Stewart, Lord, 1545–67, second husband of Mary Queen of Scots and father of James I of England (James VI of Scotland). His mother was Margaret Douglas, the daughter of Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England; this made Darnley a candidate for succession to the English throne after Elizabeth I. His father was Matthew Stuart, 4th earl of Lennox. Darnley was born and brought up in England, where his father was in exile. In 1565, at the age of 19, he was allowed by Queen Elizabeth to follow his father to Scotland, and within a short time he married Queen Mary. The motives of the Scottish queen were predominantly political; Darnley was a Catholic and his right of succession to the English throne reinforced Mary's own. However, his handsome appearance and courtly manners must also have impressed Mary because at first she was infatuated with him. The Protestant lords, dismayed at what appeared a Catholic triumph, revolted, but Mary defeated them easily. Within a short time Darnley had shown himself to be a vicious and dissipated man, and Mary denied him the crown matrimonial (which would have given him power equal to Mary's). Wounded in pride and suspicious of Mary's relationship with David Rizzio, Darnley joined a conspiracy against Rizzio. On Mar. 9, 1566, Darnley and a group of nobles seized Rizzio in the queen's presence and stabbed him to death. They may have hoped simultaneously to shock the pregnant queen into fatal illness, but she defeated the coup by winning over Darnley and escaping from her captors to the help of loyal nobles. Darnley soon found himself without a friend in either camp. Although Mary made efforts toward reconciliation after the birth of their son, Darnley remained intractable, and the council demanded that the queen rid herself of him. Possibly with Mary's knowledge, there was then formed a plot, one of whose leaders was the earl of Bothwell. The earl of Morton was later executed for his part in it, and others may have had a hand. Recovering from an illness, Darnley arrived in Edinburgh early in 1567 and lodged in Kirk o' Field, a house just outside the city. On the night of Feb. 9, after a visit from Mary, the house was blown up by gunpowder. In the morning the bodies of Darnley and a page were found strangled in an adjoining garden. Details of the murder remain a historical mystery. Mary's subsequent failure to punish Bothwell and her hasty marriage to him led to the revolt that soon dethroned her.
 
Dictionary: Darn·ley   (därn') pronunciation, Lord (Title of Henry Stew·art or Stu·art (stū'ərt, styū'-)) 1545–1567.
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Scottish nobleman and second husband (1565–1567) of Mary Queen of Scots. He plotted to kill David Rizzio, Mary's secretary, in 1566 and was himself murdered the following year, possibly at the urging of Mary's lover, the Earl of Bothwell.


 
Wikipedia: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
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Henry Stuart
King consort of Scots
Tenure 29 July 1565 - 10 February 1567
Duke of Albany; Earl of Ross
Successor James, Duke of Rothesay
Spouse Mary I of Scotland
Issue
James I of England
House House of Stuart
Father Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
Mother Margaret Douglas
Born 7 December 1545(1545-12-07)
Temple Newsam, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Died 10 February 1567 (aged 21)
Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, Scotland

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.

Contents

Early life

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.

Estrangement

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.

Mary is said to have nursed Darnley under this Plane tree (Acer pseudoplatanus)[5] at Darnley in Glasgow.

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.

Aftermath

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.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 7 December 1545 – 15 May 1565: Master of Lennox (Scotland); Lord Darnley (English title)
  • 15 May – 20 July 1565: The Earl of Ross and Lord of Ardmanach.[6]
  • 20–28 July 1565: The Duke of Albany
  • 28 July 1565 – 10 February 1567: His Grace The King of Scots
  • February 1565: Order of Saint Michael; the Scallop or Cockle-shell Order. This was conferred by the King of France.[6]

Ancestors[7]

References

  1. ^ Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood. Pub. Edinburgh: Duncan Anderson. p. 62.
  2. ^ Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood. Pub. Edinburgh: Duncan Anderson. p. 65.
  3. ^ Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood. Pub. Edinburgh: Duncan Anderson. p. 67.
  4. ^ a b *Mary Queen of Scots, by Antonia Fraser, 13th reprint, London, 1989, ISBN 0-297-17773-7
  5. ^ "The Darnley Sycamore". Forestry Commission Scotland - Heritage Trees of Scotland website. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6U8J4E. Retrieved on 2009-02-10. 
  6. ^ a b Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood. Pub. Edinburgh: Duncan Anderson, p. 65.
  7. ^ Jamie's descent from King Robert III
  • Darnley: A Life of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Consort of Mary Queen of Scots by Caroline Bingham
  • Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir
Scottish royalty
Preceded by
Francis II of France
King consort of Scots
1565–1567
Succeeded by
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
Peerage of Scotland
New creation Duke of Albany
4th creation
1565–1567
Succeeded by
Prince James,
Duke of Rothesay

later became James VI
Earl of Ross
1565–1567

 
 

 

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