It was 1561 when Mary Queen of Scots first visited Lochleven Castle at the request of Sir William Douglas. Little did she know then that in just  six years time, she would return to this same castle, not as a guest, but as a prisoner.

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The downward spiral that lead the Queen to Lochleven Castle started a few years before her imprisonment. Her second husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered near Edinburgh the February of the year she was imprisoned and Mary herself was of course a suspect for the murder since the marriage was tragic and included Darnley killing one of Mary's good male friends in front of her out of jealousy. Just three months later, in May 1567, Mary married one of her close advisors James Hepburn, the 4th Earl of Bothwell. This third and final marriage seemed to be the beginning of the end for Mary Queen of Scots as Protestant Scots Lords stood up in rebellion against her and finally, Mary was forced to surrendered in June of the same year. Mary was made to be an adulteress and a murderer to her nation and was taken to Lochleven Castle to be held prisoner for her 'crimes'. She was forced to abdicate in favor of her son, James VI. 

Lochleven Castle must have seemed like a logical place to keep the Queen, as the castle is on a small deserted island surrounded by Loch Leven making if extremely difficult for intruders to make it to the castle without being caught. The loch was also drained in 1836, meaning that at the time Mary stayed there, the island was even smaller than it is if you visited today. However, the Protestant Lords clearly did not comprehend the intelligence of the Queen along with the help of her good friend, and son of the owner of the castle, George Douglas.