On this day in history, 17th July 1537, Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, was burnt to death for treason on the castle hill at Edinburgh.
Janet had been charged with plotting to poison King James V, nephew of King Henry VIII, and assisting and corresponding with her brothers, Sir George Douglas and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.
The king hated the Douglas family. Janet’s brother, the 6th Earl of Angus, had been married to James’s mother, Margaret Tudor. Angus had been a controlling stepfather and when James did escape his control, he forced Angus into exile.
Janet’s husband, Archibald Campbell broke his neck trying to escape from Edinburgh Castle and her son, the 7th Lord Glamis, was condemned to death but his sentence was commuted to imprisonment.
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Image: Photo of Edinburgh Castle seen from the roof of the National Museum of Scotland by Kim Traynor.
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