Stewart of Darnley Stewart of Darnley Stewart of Darnley was a notable Scots family, a branch of the Clan Stewart, who provided the English Stuart monarchs with their male-line Stuart descent, after the reunion of their branch with the royal Scottish branch, which led to the ultimate union of the two main kingdoms of Great Britain: England and Scotland. In 1565 the House of Stewart of Darnley was re-united with the Royal House of Stewart when Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley married his first cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, both being grandchildren of Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, and hence
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley take the throne, as they regarded Elizabeth as illegitimate, her parents' marriage not having been recognized by the Catholic Church. And many would have preferred Darnley, as a male, to have the throne as well. All of these interrelationships made for complex intrigues, spying, strategizing and maneuvering for power at the various courts. When Henry II of France died in July 1559, Lennox's brother John, 5th Sieur d'Aubigny, was elevated in the French court as kinsman of the new French queen, Mary, already Queen of Scots. Aubigny arranged for Darnley to be dispatched to the French court to congratulate Mary