Lockleaven, May 2nd, 1568. The loft was choppy that night, its dark waters rippling under a low,

colorless sky. On the island, the bulk of Lockleaven Castle loomed, a fortress and miniature,

its stout stone walls rising from the shore like it had grown out of the rock itself.

Inside, a young queen paced her chamber.

Mary Queen of Scots had been here for almost a year.

Her freedom stripped away after being forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her infant son.

Tonight, however, was different.

Outside her door, a teenage page clutched a set of keys he wasn't supposed to have, his heart pounding.

In a few minutes, Mary would step into the chill air, cross the water, and take her first breath as a free woman.

She had no way of knowing then that it would be the first step toward

19 years of captivity. So my friend, settle in, grab your coffee or your water, and let's dig

into the story of how Mary Queen of Scots escaped from one prison to another one.

Hey friend, welcome back to the YouTube channel for the Renaissance English History podcast.

I am your host, Heather.

I've been podcasting on Tudor England since 2009 with my show, which makes it the original Tudor history show.

I am, as always, delighted that you are here with me, spending this time with me, talking about Tudor history. Today, we are going up to

Scotland, and we are talking about Mary Queen of Scots' big escape. Let's start with how Mary

ended up here. Her road to Loch Cleveland had been a political

freefall. In February of 1567, her husband, Lord Darnley, had been murdered under suspicious

circumstances. I mean, like, look, we know how he was killed. There was like an explosion and all

of that. But who did it is the big mystery.

It's just somebody wrote a comment one time and they were like, it wasn't suspicious circumstances. Like, we know how he died. Like, okay, I get we know how he died, but we don't know like the whole thing of how he, it's still a mystery. So I'm sorry. Anyway. All right. Back to the story. Just a few weeks later, she married James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, the man that many suspected of actually organizing Darnley's murder. The scandal enraged

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