Mary Queen of Scots Defeated: Exile Begins After Langside
Mary Queen of Scots lost her final military gamble at the Battle of Langside on May 13, 1568, when her forces were routed by an army loyal to her infant son James VI, commanded by her half-brother the Earl of Moray. Mary watched the 45-minute battle from a nearby hilltop and fled south toward the English border. Her fateful decision to seek refuge with her cousin Elizabeth I led to 19 years of imprisonment in various English castles. Elizabeth could neither release her (as Mary had a strong claim to the English throne) nor execute her (as she was an anointed queen). Mary was eventually convicted of complicity in the Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth and beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587.
May 13, 1568
458 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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