A bare three months after the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell, who was almost certainly one of the people responsible for the killing. The infatuated queen made him a duke.

A rising of prominent Scottish nobles led to her being confined in Loch Leven Castle where she was made to abdicate, in favour of her son the infant James VI. A year later, Mary escaped from Loch Leven, in the scene which this panel presents. The army which rallied to her was defeated, and Mary was compelled to flee, seeking safety with her cousin of England. Elizabeth kept her a prisoner for 19 years, and finally and reluctantly agreed to her execution in 1587.