By Emma Adams, Smith Intern from Brigham Young University, Utah.

Why has the casket come to Stirling? 

On the twenty-seventh of July 1542, a new-born Mary Queen of Scots was escorted by an armed guard of 3500 men to Stirling Castle. This would begin Mary’s long history with the Castle, and with Stirling as a whole.

She spent the first years of her life at Stirling Castle until her betrothal to Francis II of France, upon which she moved in with the young prince. She would not return to Stirling until she was widowed at the young age of 19.  Although she no longer lived at the castle, she visited many times until her 2^nd marriage to her cousin Lord Darnley, and eventually to visit her son James who lived in Stirling Castle. 

It is with Lord Darnley that she conceived her only child, King James VI of Scotland a.k.a. King James I of England. He was born just 11 months after their marriage and his christening as well as the week-long celebration for his birth were held at Stirling Castle. However, tensions lay under the surface of their marriage, as Darnley was under the impression that Mary’s advisor, David Rizzio was having an affair, and so he and his friends set out to kill him. Mary was devastated by his death and their marriage declined very rapidly until it ended, as Lord Darnley was found murdered.  

In 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate under the allegations that she had murdered or plotted the murder of her late husband, Lord Darnley. Mary was then shipped off to England to be placed under the care of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England and stayed there under lock and key. Eventually, she was found guilty of her husband’s murder due to letters that were found in a casket that were to her last husband, the Earl of Bothwell whom she married shortly after Lord Darnley’s death. This casket, the Mary Queen of Scots Casket, was a gift from her first husband, King Francis II. It was used to supposedly prove the meddling she had in the Earl’s divorce to his wife that occurred just 12 days before the two were married, while also allegedly sharing their collusions to kill Lord Darnley. However, there is much debate over whether the letters are authentic as Mary’s supporters swore they were written by her servant Mary Beaton, and that the letters versus authenticated letters by Mary have enough differences that one cannot be sure if they are forgeries or not.  

Soon after her conviction, Mary was beheaded for her alleged crimes, and the casket was handed down until it eventually was loaned to us by the National Museum of Scotland. The ornate silver box was originally created within the bustling workshop of an esteemed goldsmith in Paris towards the end of the 15^th century or the beginning of the 16^th century. Since it is made of silver, it should have been melted down to pay for King Louis XIV’s armies, but it amazingly survived in all its intricate glory and has probably only survived due to its connection to the short-lived ruler, Mary Queen of Scots.