Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley were Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England and widow of James IV of Scotland. It is the common belief that Darnley was born on 7 December, but this is disputed. He was a first cousin and the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was the father of her son James VI of Scotland, who succeeded Elizabeth I of England as James I. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was born, at Temple Newsam, Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England in 1545. However this date is uncertain as his parents were
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley a galliard with Mary at night. From then on, he was constantly in Mary's company. Darnley was his wife's half-first cousin through two different marriages of their grandmother, Margaret Tudor, putting both Mary and Darnley high in the line of succession for the English throne. Darnley was also a descendant of a daughter of James II of Scotland, and so also in line for the throne of Scotland. As a preliminary to the marriage, Darnley was made Lord of Ardmanoch and Earl of Ross at Stirling Castle on 15 May 1565. An entourage of 15 men were made knights, including