lthough it began well enough, Mary's reign in Scotland was, in the end, disastrous. This had much to do with her choice of husbands, The first, Lord Darnley, was murdered in suspicious circumstances, whilst the second, the Earl of Bothwell, was thought to have been involved in the murder of Darnley.

Eventually, a group of Scottish lords, led by the Earl of Moray, rose in rebellion against Mary and forced her to abdicate in favour of her son, James, with Moray as Regent. Mary could have raised another army to fight her enemies in Scotland, or sought safety in Catholic France or Spain.

She chose instead to seek protection from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England and seek her help to regain her Scottish throne. This was her purpose in crossing the Solway in May 1568.

Shortly after Mary's arrival in England, the Earl of Moray, Regent in Scotland, produced the 'Casket Letters' which seemed to implicate both Mary and Bothwell in the murder of Darnley. However, since Moray had much to gain from Mary's conviction for murder, there was a strong suspicion that the letters were forgeries.