Mary, Queen of Scots escaped from Lochleven Castle on May 2, 1568. She had been imprisoned there for almost a year, after being forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favor of her son, James VI. The escape was planned by George Douglas, the brother of the laird of Lochleven Castle. Douglas was sympathetic to Mary's cause, and he had been helping her to smuggle letters out of the castle. On the night of the escape, Douglas disguised Mary as a servant girl and rowed her across Loch Leven to the mainland.