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Woodcut of the siege of Edinburgh castle, held for Mary until 1573, from Holinshed’s Chronicles (1577)
The turbulent personal rule of Mary Queen of Scots came to an end in 1567, when, incarcerated in the grim fortress at loch Leven, she was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her infant son, James VI. But Mary, famously, escaped her prison the following year, quickly assembling an army and confronting her enemies at the battle of Langside. Here, her forces were defeated, and she precipitously fied to England, remaining a prisoner of Elizabeth I until her execution 19 years later.