Crown Matrimonial

{{Short description|Right under Scots law for a male consort to reign}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{for|the play|Crown Matrimonial (play)}} In [[Scots law]], the '''Crown Matrimonial''' was the right of a [[queen regnant]]'s [[King consort|male consort]] to reign equally with his wife, as co-sovereign.

== Francis II of France == The Crown Matrimonial of Scotland was sought by King [[Francis II of France]], husband of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], by the [[Parliament of Scotland]] and Mary's mother, queen [[Mary of Guise]], who was [[regent of Scotland]]. It would make Francis legal co-sovereign of Scotland with Queen Mary, and would also grant Francis the right to keep the [[Scottish throne]] if he outlived her. By the terms of the offer, he would be able to pass the Scottish crown to his descendants by a wife other than Mary. The [[Crown of Scotland]] was to be sent to France, where it was supposed to be kept at the [[Basilica of St Denis|Abbey of Saint Denis]]. However, the offer was never realised, as the [[Clan Hamilton|Hamilton family]], who were close to the throne, joined the Protestants and opposed it.<ref name=Guy>John Guy, ''Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005)</ref>

== Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley == Mary's second husband, [[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley]], also demanded the Crown Matrimonial after their [[Wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley|wedding on 29 July 1565]]. The Protestant peers promised to make him sovereign by the consent of Parliament. They agreed that Henry, as the new sovereign, would pardon all the exiled Protestants and allow them to return to Scotland. However, the plan was never realised.<ref name=Guy/>

Darnley was disappointed by his lack of royal status and regarded this as a slight on his family honour. Among several incidents which may have been humiliating, in February 1566 [[Nicolas d'Angennes]], sieur de Rambouillet, came to Edinburgh with the heraldic [[Order of Saint Michael]] for him. Rambouillet was told by the [[Privy Council of Scotland|Privy Council]] that Darnley's personal coat of arms should be used, without any indication of his consort role.<ref>Retha M. Warnicke, ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (Routledge, 2006), pp. 113–117.</ref>

==See also== *[[Jure uxoris]] *[[King consort]] *[[Clan Hamilton]]

== References == <references/>

[[Category:Scottish monarchy]] [[Category:16th century in Scotland]] [[Category:Legal history of Scotland]] [[Category:Gender equality]] [[Category:Mary, Queen of Scots]] [[Category:Parliament of Scotland]] [[Category:Sovereignty]] [[Category:Scottish Reformation]] [[Category:Political history of Scotland]] [[Category:Constitutional laws of Scotland]] [[Category:Inheritance]]