|
 Mary Queen of Scots was
born in 1542 and was murdered on the orders of Elizabeth of England in 1587.
She ruled Scotland from 1542 to 1567 and had many associations late in her
reign with Perthshire.
Mary Queen of Scots stayed at
Blair Castle just north of
Pitlochry in 1564.
Mary visited
Huntingtower Castle in 1565 while
on honeymoon with Darnley.
She stayed at the
Drummond Castle in 1565, by then
seat of the Drummond Earl of Perth, and often hunted with Darnley in the
Royal forests in Glen Artney, south of Comrie.
This later inspired Sir Walter Scott to use Glen Artney in The Lady of
the Lake.
Loch Leven Castle, on an island in
Loch Leven by Kinross, is best known for being
the prison of Mary Queen of Scots from 1567-8 after the Battle of Carberry.
Mary escaped when young William Douglas locked everyone else in the Great
Hall and threw the keys of the castle into Loch Leven. Those same keys were
found 300 years later!
Mary used
Doune Castle as a base and forces loyal to
her held the castle until 1570. |
