Knox died on November 24, 1572; Mar, the Regent, had predeceased him by a month, leaving Morton in power.

On May 28, 1573, the castle, attacked by guns and engineers from England, and cut off from water, struck its flag.

The brave Kirkcaldy was hanged; Lethington, who had long been moribund, escaped by an opportune death.
The best soldier in Scotland and the most modern of her wits thus perished together.

Concerning Knox, the opinions of his contemporaries differed.

By his own account the leaders of his party deemed him "too extreme," and David Hume finds his ferocious delight in chronicling the murders of his foes "rather amusing," though sad! Quarrels of religion apart, Knox was a very good-hearted man; but where religion was concerned, his temper was remote from the Christian.