Bothwell and his first wife,
Jean Gordon, who was the sister of Lord Huntly, had divorced twelve days previously.
Catholics considered the marriage unlawful, since they did not recognise Bothwell's divorce or the validity of the Protestant service.
In the absence of Lennox, and with no evidence presented, Bothwell was acquitted after a seven-hour trial on 12 April.
Bothwell was given safe passage from the field,
and the lords took Mary to Edinburgh, where crowds of spectators denounced her as an adulteress and murderer.
On 6 May, Mary and Bothwell returned to Edinburgh and on 15 May,
at either Holyrood Palace or Holyrood Abbey, they were married according to Protestant rites.
Many believe that James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell was behind Darnley's death, especially when
one considers his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots a mere three months later.
Lennox, Darnley's father, demanded that Bothwell be tried before the Estates of Parliament,
to which Mary agreed, but Lennox's request for a delay to gather evidence was denied.
It was generally believed that James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell orchestrated Darnley's death,
but he was acquitted of the charge in April 1567 and the following month he married Mary.