BattlefieldsHolyrood Palace — Riccio Murder Action 1566
Tudor

Holyrood Palace — Riccio Murder Action 1566

1566
Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Mary's household guard
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Ruthven faction with c.80 armed men
Outcome
Riccio murdered; Mary held under armed guard then escaped; Darnley later murdered in revenge
The Battle

History & Significance

On 9 March 1566 a group of Scottish Protestant lords led by Lord Ruthven and including Mary's husband Darnley burst into Mary's supper chamber at Holyrood and murdered her Italian secretary David Riccio in front of the queen. The act was partly political — Riccio was accused of being French and Catholic — and partly personal. Mary was pregnant with the future James VI. The murder required a violent seizure of the palace and the use of armed men to hold the queen and her ladies. Mary was briefly held under house arrest before escaping to Dunbar.

Questions & Answers

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