On this day in 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, met her tragic end. After nearly 19 years of imprisonment in England, accused of plotting to overthrow her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, Mary was sentenced to death for treason.
Mary’s downfall was sealed by the Babington Plot of 1586. Though she had spent years under house arrest, she remained a figure of hope for English Catholics who opposed Elizabeth’s Protestant rule. Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, intercepted and deciphered coded letters between Mary and Anthony Babington, a Catholic conspirator who plotted to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne. The evidence was damning – Mary had allegedly approved the plot. Though Elizabeth had long resisted executing her fellow queen, this discovery forced her hand.
Mary was put on trial at Fotheringhay Castle in October 1586. She was denied legal representation but defended herself with remarkable skill, arguing that she was a sovereign queen and could not be tried for treason against another monarch. Nevertheless, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. Elizabeth hesitated for weeks, fearing the political consequences of executing an anointed queen. However, on the 1st of February 1587, she finally signed the death warrant, and Mary’s fate was sealed.
On the morning of the 8th of February, Mary was led to the great hall of Fotheringhay Castle, where a scaffold had been erected. She wore a black gown, which she later removed to reveal a red petticoat – a symbolic choice, as red was the Catholic colour of martyrdom.
Before kneeling at the execution block, Mary forgave her executioner and prayed in Latin, her final words being:
“In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum”
(“Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”)
The execution, however, was far from swift. The first axe blow missed, striking the back of her head rather than her neck. The second failed to sever her neck completely, leaving the executioner to finish the job with a third strike. When he lifted her head and declared, “God save the Queen,” it became apparent that Mary had been wearing a wig; her once-famous auburn hair had turned grey. It is also said that there was a small dog hidden in her skirts, refusing to leave her side.
Mary was buried at Peterborough Cathedral, though her son, James VI of Scotland (later James I of England), eventually had her remains reinterred at Westminster Abbey in 1612.
Though she died as a prisoner, Mary’s legacy lived on – her son would go on to unite the crowns of England and Scotland, fulfilling her long-held ambition.
