Battle of Carberry Hill The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on the 15 June 1567 , near Musselburgh , East Lothian , a few miles east of Edinburgh , Scotland , UK . A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule Mary , Queen of Scots after she had married the Earl of Bothwell , who was widely believed to have murdered her previous husband Lord Darnley . The Lords were intent to avenge Darnley ' s death . However , Bothwell escaped from the stand - off at Carberry while Queen Mary surrendered . Mary abdicated , escaped from prison , and was defeated at the battle of Langside . She went to exile in England while her supporters continued a civil war in Scotland . The conflict . In May 1567 Queen Mary of Scotland married James Hepburn , 4th Earl of Bothwell . Many of the Queen ' s allies who previously supported her including Maitland , Morton , Balfour , and Murray of Tullibardine disapproved of this and chose to oppose her . Many of the same Lords who claimed disapproval in June , had signed the Ainslie Tavern Bond only two months earlier in April , pledging support for the marriage . In April , Bothwell , along with several others , had been accused of Lord Darnley ' s murder . Bothwell was acquitted of the charge . His chief prosecutor , Lord Darnley ' s father , the Earl of Lennox , failed to appear at the trial despite multiple summons . His 3000 troops were turned back when confronted by the Duke , Lord Bothwell ' s 4000 and then Lennox chose not to appear . Scottish law of the time prohibited an accuser from bringing armed troops to trial . Many Scottish nobles disputed the trial verdict , and James Murray , brother of the Laird of Tullibardine offered to duel with Bothwell or prove the guilt of the King ' s murder on Bothwell ' s henchmen . Despite this very public dissent , Mary made Bothwell the Duke of Orkney and Zetland on 12 May 1567 , then married him three days later . On 11 June 1567 Bothwell ' s enemies assembled in armour in Edinburgh , with a printed proclamation of their intention to deliver the Queen and revenge the King ' s murder and preserve the Prince . Stand - off at Carberry Hill . With only the support of the Hamiltons Queen Mary and Bothwell left Fa ' side Castle on the morning of 15 June 1567 and took position on the nearby field of battle at Carberry Hill against her enemies , the rebel Confederate Lords . Mary ' s army , according to John Knox , took their position at Carberry Hill in an entrenchment made by the English for the Battle of Pinkie twenty years before . They were armed with cannon and pole - arms brought from Dunbar Castle . According to a letter sent to the Archbishop of Glasgow , the Queen had 200 " hagbutters " commanded by Captains Alexander Stewart and Hew Lauder of her royal guard . Seven or eight cannon were brought from Dunbar Castle to defend the Queen ' s position at the " auld fort " by Fawside Castle . Bothwell ' s men had also brought 300 pikes from the armoury at Dunbar . After the surrender these weapons were captured and dispersed , and in September 1567 the Scottish Privy Council wrote to the villages around Carberry asking for their return . The Confederate Lords approached from Musselburgh with an army of equal force . David Calderwood wrote they were 2 , 000 but with only a few " harquebusiers " who were volunteers from Edinburgh . Knox , with local knowledge , wrote that they rounded the hill to get an easier ascent and make an approach from Carberry village without the sun in their eyes . At first during this manouevre Mary ' s army thought the Confederate Lords were bypassing them and fleeing to Dalkeith . The stand - off lasted from 11 o ' clock in the morning till 5 o ' clock in the afternoon . With the armies marshalled against each other , the French ambassador tried to negotiate , and received from the Earl of Morton his firm resolution to fight against the murderer of Lord Darnley . Bothwell ' s first action was to fire his cannon at cavalry ' prickers ' who tried to draw the Queen ' s party out to fight . Queen Mary ' s supporters carried the banner of the Lion of Scotland ; the rebel Lords ' banner replicated the murder scene showing Darnley dead under a tree with the infant James VI , with the motto , " Judge and Revenge my cause , O Lord . " This banner had been flown as a flag at Edinburgh castle . Bothwell offered single combat to any of the Confederate Lords . William Kirkcaldy accepted the challenge , but Bothwell would not fight him as he was merely a baron . He also refused Murray of Tullibardine , and then Lord Lindsay . It was hot and Queen Mary ' s supporters had nothing to drink . The day dragged on . Two of Bothwell ' s supporters , Edmund Blackadder and the laird of Wedderburn , understanding that Bothwell was intending to leave , made their apologies to the Queen and rode away . In response to an oath made by the rebel Lords , Queen Mary agreed to surrender to Kirkcaldy . He led her horse by the bridle down from the hill . while Bothwell rode off to Dunbar Castle with 25 horsemen . A drawing of the battlefield sent to London with a newsletter survives and gives a schematic idea of the events . When William Drury , Marshall of Berwick sent a drawing of the Confederate Lord ' s banner and the plan to London , he added this PS ; " The Queen ' s apparel in the field was after the fashion of the women of Edinburgh , in a red petticoat , sleeves tied with points a " partlyte , " a velvet hat and muffler . She used great persuasions and encouragements to her people to have tried it by battle . For welcome the Lords showed her the banner with the dead body , which seeing they say that she wished she had never seen him . The banner was hanged out before her window at the Provost ' s house ( in Edinburgh ) , wherewith she seemed much offended . George Buchanan wrote that Mary surrendered " dressed only in a short shabby robe , that scarcely reached below her knee . " Mary had left her more elaborate outfit in a chest at Fawside Castle ; a black dress sewn with grains of jet , a crimson coat and cloak , and her gold and silver embroidered hat . Queen and King ' s men . According to the later chroncicle called " The Historie of James the Sext " , Queen Mary ' s supporters at Carberry were ; George Seton , 7th Lord Seton , Lord Hay of Yester , Lord Borthwick , John Cockburn of Ormiston , Home of Wedderburn , Blackadder of Tulliallan , and Cockburn of Langtoun . The Confederate Lords included the Regent Morton , John Erskine , 17th Earl of Mar , Alexander Cunningham , 5th Earl of Glencairn , the Lords Lindsay , William Ruthven , 1st Earl of Gowrie , Alexander Home , 5th Lord Home , Lord Sempill , Lord Sanquhar , and the lairds Murray of Tullibardine , Douglas of Drumlanrig , Kirkcaldy of Grange and all their horsemen and foot soldiers . Aftermath . The rebel Lords took Queen Mary to Edinburgh and then , betraying their oath at Carberry Hill , imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle , near Kinross , where her keeper was Sir William Douglas , half brother to James Stewart , 1st Earl of Moray . William Kirkcaldy was infuriated at the rebel Lords ' betrayal of the oath , which he had represented to her in good faith . According to George Buchanan the spy Ninian Cockburn raced to the French court with news of Mary ' s capture . On the way he overtook her ambassador , William Chisholm , Bishop of Dunblane , who was ignorant of Mary ' s defeat , and upstaged him in front of Charles IX of France and Catherine de Medici . Queen Mary remained in prison for eleven months while accusations continued by the Lords who deposed her at Carberry Hill . Bothwell obtained a ship and first went to Shetland , and evaded William Kirkcaldy whose ship the " Lion " ran aground . Then he crossed the sea to Norway , captivity and madness . Mary escaped from Lochleven and made for Dumbarton Castle in the west of Scotland . She was drawn into battle at Langside and defeated . Mary sought safety in England , became a closely watched captive , and was executed in 1587 . In Scotland , her supporters continued a civil war for the next five years .