David Rizzio

David Rizzio was an Italian musician and courtier who became private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. His closeness to the queen and influence at court provoked hostility among Scottish nobles and Mary’s husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

Rizzio was murdered in Mary’s presence at Holyrood Palace in 1566 by conspirators who claimed he exercised improper political influence. The killing became one of the defining episodes of Mary’s troubled reign.