Supposing Mary Stuart returned to Scotland without the direct agenda of being named heiress to the English throne, whom might she have selected as her consort to succeed François II? Bear in mind, she'd have no intention of relinquishing Catholicism or raising an heir within that faith. Darnley was of course her OTL choice due to his lineage, faith, and looks, but we all know that for the disaster that it was. Without the might of France to back her, what candidates would be either favorable in the Scottish peerage's eyes or strong enough to bring them to heel? Early-reign she seemed opposed to marrying her own subject, but perhaps with the intervention of the Alt-history butterflies one might pacify her vanity and serve as the aforementioned happy medium.
The root of her problems and source of her demise seem to all tie back to her marriage to the perpetual child, Henry Stuart, paired with longing for the English crown. A stable spouse capable of satisfying his wife's lustful nature and influencing her politically without completely taking the reins entirely would more than likely keep Mary's head attached to her shoulders —a 16th century Prince Albert Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The root of her problems and source of her demise seem to all tie back to her marriage to the perpetual child, Henry Stuart, paired with longing for the English crown. A stable spouse capable of satisfying his wife's lustful nature and influencing her politically without completely taking the reins entirely would more than likely keep Mary's head attached to her shoulders —a 16th century Prince Albert Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.