Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December Mary, Queen of Scots, was born in 1542 and was executed on It is generally believed that Mary's execution - ordered by Elizabeth I - was the final reason Philip II needed to launch the Spanish Armada. There are few other figures in Tudor England who had such an eventful life, though for Mary, Queen of Scots, it was to end in tragedy. Sites:

Mary was Elizabeth I's cousin. Mary had been brought up as a strict Catholic which put her at odds with the Protestant Elizabeth. Mary's father, James V of Scotland, died when she was one. At such a young age, the Scottish lords found it difficult to respect her and by 1548, Mary was sent to France for her own safety. As a young girl, Mary lived in France where she had married the king of France - Francis II. She was fifteen and he was fourteen. Her father-in-law, Henry II, king of France, said of her "the little Queen of Scots is the most perfect child I have ever seen." Sites:

While in France, Mary lived in luxury travelling from one palace to another. She developed a love of animals - especially dogs - and spent a lot of time learning. She could speak French, Latin, Spanish and some Ancient Greek. Mary could also play the lute with some skill. Her religious teacher was a monk from the priory at Inchmahome in Scotland and she developed very strong views on religion. Her doting father-in-law, Henry II, had been killed in a jousting accident in Her mother had died in Scotland in Her husband, Francis had always been a sickly youth and his death aged sixteen in 1560 surprised no-one but it left Mary a widow at the age of seventeen. Within just six months she had lost three close members of her family. many say that she never really recovered from this sad period in her life. Sites:

A fervent Roman Catholic and a claimant to the English Crown, Mary was a great danger to Elizabeth I. She was captured in 1568 and after 19 years of confinement, executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February She was first buried in Peterborough Cathedral with great solemnity by Elizabeth's orders but James I brought the remains to Westminster in He had erected a magnificent marble tomb for her in the south aisle of the Lady Chapel on which there is a fine white marble effigy under an elaborate canopy. She wears a close-fitting coif, a laced ruff, and a long mantle fastened by a brooch. At her feet is the Scottish lion crowned. The sculptors were William and Cornelius Cure. So the two queens rest opposite one another in the aisles of Henry VII's chapel. Next to Mary is the tomb of Margaret, Countess of Lennox on which is a kneeling figure of Lord Darnley. Sites:

First Marriage: the Dauphin Ten years later she married Francis, son of Henry II, king of France, and his wife, Catherine de Medici. Unfortunately, this marriage did not last long as Francis died after only 2 years of marriage. Mary was inconsolable! Second Marriage: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley In 1565 Mary married her cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, an English nobleman. The bridegroom was proclaimed Henry, King of Scots. Their only child was to become James 1 of England. Mary soon became disenchanted with Henry, he had become overbearing, arrogant and carried away by his new title. He made enemies of some of the powerful nobles and, because of that enmity, there was a plot to kill him. Some thought that Mary had knowledge of the plot. Henry, along with his servant, was found strangled to death after the gunpowder blast intended to take his life failed. Third Marriage: James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell The rift between Mary and her husband became public knowledge. She turned to a Scottish nobleman, a very powerful man, the Earl of Bothwell, for support. He and other Scottish noblemen proposed to do whatever they could to help the queen in her dilemma. This decision led to a failed explosion plot and to the strangulation death of Darnley. A few months later, Mary and the Earl married. This angered the populace who suspected Bothwell's participation in the murder of their King. Mary's subjects were outraged and turned against her. Sites:

In 1586, a man called Anthony Babington devised a plot to kill Elizabeth, rescue Mary and then see her as the next queen of England. Babington wrote in code to Mary to explain what he was doing. Mary wrote back, stating that she agreed with what he was doing. Walsingham's spies intercepted both letters. Babington was arrested and charged with treason. In September 1586, Babington was executed. Now the government had a case against Mary. She was put on trial in October Mary defended herself well but the judges found her guilty of treason. To the judges, who would not listen to her arguments, she said "You are indeed my enemies". The reply was "We are the enemy of the enemies of our queen." The trial lasted just 2 days. Mary was found guilty of plotting to kill Elizabeth. She was sentenced to death. In February 1587, Mary was given just 24 hours notice that she would be executed the next day. How strong was the evidence against Mary? by 1587, she was in poor health and was frail. Was she in any fit state to become involved in a plot against her cousin? how did Walsingham's men manage to find the letter by Mary that was hidden in a beer barrel? Did they know where to look? Did they write it? locked up in a castle, how could Mary know what others were doing or have any way of influencing their movements? Regardless of this, Babington admitted his part in the plot and he admitted that Mary knew about the plot against Elizabeth all along. However, it is almost certain that his confession was as a result of torture. Elizabeth hesitated about signing Mary's death warrant. Eventually she did and Mary was executed at Fortheringhay Castle, 70 miles north of London, on February 8th, Mary was not allowed to have her chaplain present at her execution.

Mary's execution was a curious affair. She dressed in scarlet, the color of martyrdom. She had to be helped onto the scaffold as she was so frail. She spoke her last words in Latin and then putting her head onto the block said "Into your hands, O Lord" three times, again in Latin. It took two goes with the axe to remove her head. When the executioner lifted up her head, he found that he had a wig in his hand and the actual head was still on the scaffold. No-one had known that she had lost her hair. Then her body moved. Underneath her skirt, a small dog, a Skye terrier, was seen. Mary had brought her dog to her own execution In 1612, her son and the now king of England, James, brought his mother's body to Westminster Abbey where she was buried in a magnificent tomb.