May 13th, 1568 - Battle of Langside

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Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we travel back to May 13th, 1568, to witness a decisive clash that would change the fate of one of Scotland’s most tragic and romantic figures—Mary, Queen of Scots. It was on this day that the Battle of Langside was fought—a battle that crushed her final attempt to reclaim her throne and set her on a path toward nineteen years of imprisonment and, ultimately, execution.

By 1568, Mary’s life had already been a whirlwind of political turbulence, scandal, and personal tragedy. The only surviving child of King James V, she was queen almost from birth. Raised in the glittering French court and married to the French Dauphin, Mary returned to Scotland as a young widow to rule a country that had changed in her absence—one simmering with religious conflict and divided loyalties.

Her reign was marred by controversy, particularly her marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, a union that swiftly deteriorated into bitterness, culminating in his murder under suspicious circumstances. Her subsequent marriage to the chief suspect in Darnley’s murder—James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell—outraged the Scottish nobility. The backlash was swift. Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her infant son, James VI, and imprisoned at Lochleven Castle.

But Mary was never one to accept defeat. On the night of May 2nd, 1568, she escaped Lochleven in a daring plot involving disguised clothing and a small band of loyal supporters. Word spread quickly—Mary was free, and with her escape came the hope of reclaiming the crown. Her supporters rallied to her cause, and within days, she had assembled a force of nearly 6,000 men. Their goal was to reach Dumbarton Castle, a strategically vital fortress on the River Clyde that could serve as her base of operations.

However, Mary’s half-brother, James Stewart, the Earl of Moray, who ruled as Regent for the young King James VI, was determined to stop her. Moray, a shrewd and calculating leader, had smaller numbers—just under 4,000 men—but his troops were battle-hardened and commanded by seasoned officers like Kirkcaldy of Grange. He anticipated Mary’s path and moved to intercept her near the village of Langside, just outside Glasgow.

What followed on the morning of May 13th was not a grand clash of cavalry and chivalry, but a brutal and chaotic skirmish shaped by poor planning and rough terrain. Mary’s forces, under the command of the Earl of Argyll, were disorganized. They marched into the narrow streets and sloping ground around Langside, where Moray’s men waited. The terrain choked the movement of Mary’s vanguard, and a hail of musket fire from Moray’s sharpshooters wreaked havoc.

Despite outnumbering the Regent's army, Mary’s troops could not effectively deploy. Skirmishers picked off their advance guard, and the difficult terrain prevented any cohesive formation. When Moray’s men counterattacked, Mary’s lines buckled and collapsed. What had begun as a hopeful advance became a chaotic rout. Her army scattered in retreat, leaving over a hundred of her men dead on the field.

For Mary, the consequences were immediate and devastating. She fled the battlefield and rode for the border, eventually reaching England and placing her fate in the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I. It was a fatal miscalculation. Rather than offer aid or sanctuary, Elizabeth had Mary detained. For nearly two decades, Mary would remain a prisoner—always a threat to the English crown in the eyes of Elizabeth’s advisors, always the focus of Catholic plots and rebellion.

Her involvement, whether real or perceived, in one such conspiracy—the Babington Plot—led to her trial and execution in 1587. The ax fell on a life steeped in drama, romance, and tragedy.

The Battle of Langside, though small in scale, was a pivotal moment. It extinguished Mary’s last real hope of regaining power and cemented the authority of the Protestant regime under Moray and eventually James VI. That boy-king would grow to become James VI of Scotland and James I of England, uniting the crowns after a century of conflict.

The battlefield at Langside, today nestled within the suburban streets of Glasgow, stands as a quiet witness to the day when the fate of a queen—and indeed, the direction of Scottish and English history—was irrevocably changed.

Thank you for joining me today on This Day in Scottish History. I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into the fall of Mary, Queen of Scots—a tale of ambition, heartbreak, and the unyielding tides of history. Don’t forget to visit my blog for more stories at bagtownclans.com/thisday. I’m Colin MacDonald—Haste Ye Back!