The Murder of David Rizzio: Bloodshed at Holyrood Palace

Mary, Queen of Scots — shown here during her later captivity — was just 23 and five months pregnant when she witnessed the brutal murder of her friend David Rizzio in her private chambers at Holyrood Palace.

Edinburgh has always been a city of contrasts — high castle walls and narrow, shadowy closes; royal splendour and dark secrets. And sometimes, even inside the elegance of a royal palace, the past leaves its mark in blood.

Just a mile downhill from the mighty fortress of Edinburgh Castle, at the foot of the Royal Mile, stands the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Unlike the castle, Holyrood was never meant for defence. It was a royal home — a place for ceremony, diplomacy, and rest. Kings and queens came here to escape the chill of stone battlements, to walk in gardens instead of guard posts, to host banquets rather than battles.

And they still do. Holyrood remains the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. During Holyrood Week each summer, the Royal Family stays here. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin rested in the Throne Room, as mourners gathered to pay their respects. This palace has seen royal life and royal death — and centuries earlier, it witnessed something just as chilling.

Because in 1566, peace gave way to panic.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was only 23. Newly returned from France to rule her native Scotland, she was young, Catholic, intelligent — and already controversial. By the time she settled at Holyrood, she was five months pregnant with her first child. Her husband, Lord Darnley, was charming and well-born — but dangerously jealous.

Especially of one man.

David Rizzio was Mary’s private secretary and close companion. He was Italian, cultured, and confident — a skilled musician, well-spoken, and clearly trusted by the Queen. Too trusted, Darnley thought. Whispers began. Rumours took hold. And inside the very palace meant for peace, a deadly plot began to take shape.

On the evening of March 9th, Mary was dining in her private apartments with Rizzio and a few friends. The room was lit with candlelight. The stone walls muffled sound. But outside, in the darkened corridors, her husband was moving.

Darnley led a group of armed men through the palace. They burst into the Queen’s chamber. Mary rose in shock, trying to protect Rizzio — but it was too late. He was seized and dragged from her side.

He was stabbed 56 times.In front of the Queen.During her supper.While she carried the future King of Scotland and England.

His blood soaked the wooden floor. Her screams echoed through the walls. And though the chamber has been restored many times, some say the stains never truly disappeared. Today, visitors to Holyroodhouse can still stand in that room. The light feels dimmer. The air stills. And the past presses in, close enough to touch.

Mary never forgave Darnley. Their marriage collapsed. Though she gave birth to a son — James VI of Scotland, who would later become James I of England — her power began to slip away. Within a year, Darnley would be dead too, in mysterious and violent circumstances. And Mary’s reign would spiral toward imprisonment and execution.

But the murder of David Rizzio was a turning point — a moment when the private life of a queen exploded into public horror.

And it happened not on a battlefield, but in a quiet chamber of a palace built for peace.

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