Episode 312: The Tragical Execution

and kissed them in public whenever possible. And she needed to do this because she needed to keep the French strong along at least. In fifteen eighty, the Pope reissued his predecessor's bull excommunicating Elizabeth from the church. This was also during the same period when Jesuit priests began arriving in England in large numbers in the hopes of instigating

a Catholic rebellion. The political situation was hardly encouraging. Mary Stuart had embarked on a fresh round of plots against Elizabeth, this time in league with the Spanish ambassador Mendoza, a dangerous association that would last the next three years. Relations with Scotland had cooled since James the sixth assumption of power. The young king had become increasingly involved with his mother's Geese relations for a time, and there were fears that

Philip the Second would appropriate the Portuguese throne. With its strong navy and wealthy foreign territories, Portugal would only further strengthen his empire and make him the richest monarch in history in France, as we know, the wars of religion continued to break out, preventing Elizabeth from looking to her ally for support, and England, of course, was vulnerable in its isolation. Then in August, news arrived that Philip had

annexed Portugal and have been proclaimed its monarch. Elizabeth commented, quote, it will be hard to withstand the King of Spain now. To counteract this new threat, she threw the weight of her support behind Don Antonio, the illegitimate Portuguese claimant, whose claim was far less sound than Philip's own. To further try to put him off course, Elizabeth offered her support to Anjou in the Netherlands and invited the French to send marriage commissioners to England. As a matter of urgency.

Unfortunately for her, the French did not respond. It seems that the Duke's interest in Elizabeth was waning, and, as we know, it will very soon become a non issue. On September twenty sixth, fifteen eighty, Francis Drake and his ship, the Pelican, now renamed the Golden Hind, dropped anchor at Southampton after a three year voyage in which he had circumnavigated the world, the first person to do so since Ferdinand Magellan, which recovered in this show about sixty years

earlier fifteen nineteen to fifteen twenty two. As he disembarked, he inquired whether the Queen was still alive, and showed relief when he found that she was, for he needed her protection against the Wrath of Spain, whose king would be demanding his head as a punishment for wrecking Spanish trade and seizing eight hundred thousand pounds of Spanish treasure. That's a lot far from treating Drake as a criminal.

Elizabeth promptly invited him to Richmond Palace, where he entertained her for six happy hours with tales of his adventures. Amongst the treasures he had brought with him on pack horses was a crown set with five huge emeralds, which she would then wear in public on New Year's Day fifteen eighty one. She was so pleased with the massive amount of war booty that Drake had captured she allowed him to keep a sizeable portion of it for himself.

Her own share, amounting to one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, was placed in the tower. None, and I mean none was returned to Spain, nor would Drake be punished, despite Ambassador Mendozes near hysterical protests and demands. Instead, by the Queen's own command, the Golden Hind was moored on the Thames and exhibited to the public as a memorial to Drake's heroic voyage. Thereafter, Sir Francis Drake was always welcome

at court and became a frequent visitor. Elizabeth always received him affectionately and delighted talking to him about his voyages around the world. He brought her costly gifts, among them an exquisite diamond cross, but otherwise Elizabeth's position in the world was growing increasingly endangered. From fifteen eighty onward, Philip began planning a military and naval offensive against England, and

made no secret about it. At the same time, the Pope issued a public response to a question posed by two anonymous English Catholic lords as to whether or not it was lawful to kill Elizabeth. His response was that such a murder quote not only is not a saying, but gains merit end quote. This response was soon common knowledge throughout all of Europe. Cecil was dismayed. He knew

that only Elizabeth kept Rome from returning to England. If she died, all was lost, and so in response, Parliament passed a new statute of recusancy in March fifteen eighty one. It raised the fine for failing to attend Anglican services, imposed a prison sentence for anyone attending a Catholic Mass, and classified anyone who converted to Catholicism as a traitor. Finally, though, Elizabeth did get some good news. In January fifteen eighty one, the French declared that they would send a set of

commissioners to England. Elizabeth had no intention of marrying anjous, but she did want a treaty of friendship with France. When the commissioners arrived in April, the Queen told them such rather bluntly. The French were shocked. They indicated they had no authority to do anything other than discuss the terms of a marriage. In June, Elizabeth told the same commissioners she might still consider a marriage to Anjou, but only if he came in person and negotiated it himself.

The French left despondent. In November, Elizabeth declared firmly that she could not marry Anjou, but desired a treaty of friendship with France. This firmly shut the door on any prospects of marriage for good, but it did force Philip the Second to extend an olive branch. Philip declared he would forgive Elizabeth's prior misdeeds. He was mostly referencing English piracy if England instead entered into a treaty of alliance

with Spain. In May fifteen eighty two, a Catholic conspiracy against Elizabeth, involving the Geese family, the Pope Philip of Spain and the Jesuits, was hatched in Paris, its objective being to place Mary Stuart on the English throne. It was apparent by now to the government how successful the Jesuit missions to England had been yet the Queen would still not sanction more stern measures against her Catholic subjects.

Dudley commented, quote, her Majesty is slow to believe that the great increase of papists is a danger to the realm. The Lord of his mercy open her eyes end quote. In October, Wolsingham's spies seized a cipher letter written by the Queen of Scots which indicated that she was involved in some new conspiracy. From then on, her correspondence was

carefully vetted and her servants watched more closely. By the spring of fifteen eighty three, Mary Stuart and her Catholic allies had conceived of a plan whereby she would be reinstated in Scotland as a joint ruler with her son, James the sixth. The plan was doomed to failure because Mary herself was insisting that sovereign power devolved chiefly upon her, which would of course be resisted by James. Nor would

the Scots be likely to welcome a Catholic queen. However, Elizabeth, who was aware of what had been proposed, toyed with the idea, anxious to reach a settlement whereby this problem of the Queen of Scots could be solved without a recourse to bloodshed. Mary herself believed that James's loyalty to her as his mother he had not seen since babyhood,

would ensure his cooperation in the plan. But although the young king declared he desired his mother to be set at liberty, his chief concern was to preserve his own interest and position. Walsingham was still hot on Mary's trail at this time. He found out that Sir Nicholas Throckmorton's nephew Francis, a Catholic, was paying secret nocturnal visits to the French embassy. As he was known to be sympathetic to Mary's cause, the conclusion was correctly drawn that he

was working as her agent. In fact, he was communicating with the Duke of Geese and the Jesuits. However, Walsingham had little idea of what the object of this activity was at the time, and therefore had throck Morton and the French ambassador watched over the next six months. In September fifteen eighty three, Elizabeth celebrated her fiftieth birthday. She

had now reigned for twenty five years. In October fifteen eighty three, an insane young Catholic, John Somerville, swayed by Jesuit propaganda, was arrested for bragging that he intended to march on London and shoot the queen with a pistol and quote hoped to see her head on a poll, for she was a serpent and a viper end quote. He was thrown into Newgate Prison and condemned to death, but himself before they had a chance to take his head.

The publicity that was given to this event provoked an upsurge of national affection towards Elizabeth, and in November, the French ambassador reported that when she traveled to Hampton Court, huge crowds of people knelt by the wayside wishing her quote a thousand blessings and that the evil disposed who meant to harm her be discovered and punished as they deserved end quote. The Queen made frequent stomps to thank them for their loyalty, and told the ambassador quote she

saw clearly she was not disliked by all. In November fifteen eighty three, Nicholas Throckmorton was arrested at his house in Lundon, the premises were searched, revealing lists of Catholic English lords and harbors where Spanish ships might safely land. It was, in other words, evidence of assigned and sealed insurrection. Walsingham was surprised at the discovery. He knew something was afoot, but not anything to this scale, and he believed that

the French ambassador to have been behind it all. Under torture in the tower, Rockmorton gave nothing away, but after the Queen authorized him to be racked a second time, his courage failed him. He would later sign a confession quote, now I have disclosed the secrets of her, who was the dearest thing to me in the world. End quote. It would be pretty clear in a moment who her was.

He revealed that the conspiracy's aim had been to prepare for King Phillip's enterprise of England, the object of which was to set Mary on the English throne. The Pope, the Geeses, the Jesuits, everyone was involved, and there were to be four separate invasions, one centering upon Scotland, another Ireland, a third Sussex, and a final Norfolk, all coordinated by Catholic activities at home. And abroad. Plans were so far advanced that all that remained to be done was to

stir up rebellion in England. Both Mary and Mendoza had been fully involved at every stage, but Walsingham had already guessed at Mary's complicity, for she had given herself away in several previous letters that had come under his scrutiny. Many of the Catholic lords implicated in Throckmorton's papers were arrested, but several had already fled the kingdom. Mendoza found himself

expelled in disgrace. In fact, the Spanish would never send another ambassador to England for the remainder of Elizabeth's reign. Brock Morton, I guess it goes out saying was condemned to die. Parliament was apoplectic. Everyone wanted Mary's head, everyone, it seemed, other than Elizabeth. She still preferred to keep her clearly treason his cousin in some form of captivity. On June the tenth, fifteen eighty four, news reached England that Catherine de Metici's youngest son, the Duke of Anjou,

had died. This meant now that unless Henry the third had a child. This would be the end of the line for the Valois house that had ruled France since the late thirteenth century. If Henri died now, then Henry, King of Navarre, a Protestant, would be the only French noble in line for the throne. Henry, as we know, was a Huguenot. Elizabeth put on a massive show of grieving when she received news of Anjou's death. Some of it might have been genuine to Catherine herself. Elizabeth wrote

the following, your sorrow cannot exceed mine. Although you are his mother, you have several other children. But for myself I find I have no consolation if it be not death, in which I hope we shall be reunited. Madame, if you could see the image of my heart, you would see there a picture of a body without a soul. But I will not trouble you with sorrows, for I have too many of my own. Worst news arrived shortly thereafter, William, the Duke of Orange was assassinated on the tenth of July.

Everyone assumed that Philip had been behind it. It seemed certain now that with Henri the Third consumed by domestic issues, and with Anjou and William both dead that the Spanish enterprise to retake the Netherlands would succeed. If this happened, then Spain would be able to turn its full attention toward England for good. This made the Mary Stuart situation ever more dire, and it had been dire to begin with. Mary Stuart was now forty two and sixteen years of

captivity had had their effect on her. Her hair was gray. She should put on wait. She was plagued by rheumatism and a chronic pain in her side. Although she had been allowed to go to healing waters several times, this hadn't improved her situation. In fifteen eighty four, Mary's principal residence was Sheffield Castle, where she still lived under the guardianship of the Earl of Shrewsbury. From time to time

she stated his other houses while Sheffield was cleaned. The Earl scrutinized all of her correspondents, and whenever she went out to take the air she was permitted to do so, he and a troop of guards accompanied her. In fact, there were guards everywhere, both inside and outside the castle, while at night a watch was set in the surrounding

towns and villages. Every traveler to the region was questioned as to his business in the district, and no one was allowed to enter the castle or communicate with Mary without written authorization from the council. She might only receive visitors under direct supervision. Mary bitterly resented these restrictions, but she was nevertheless treated with honor and deference as befitting a queen. She maintained a household of forty eight people,

selected her own servants and paid their wages. Elizabeth to frad her food bills, which often amounted to about one thousand pounds per year. She was allowed to indulge her passion for hunting, but rheumatism often prevented her from doing so. Instead, she worked with her ladies on embroidery and played with her numerous lap dogs and caged birds. She would never leave her prison, she told her friends, unless it was as Queen of England, and despite the risks, she continually

intrigued totain that intention. Over the years, it had become more and more difficult for her to correspond with her friends abroad, and now she had to rely on those members of her household who might be able to evade Walsingham's vigilance. In August of fifteen eighty four, Walsingham decided

to tighten the security nets surrounding Mary. Shrewsbury had borne the burden of guarding her for so many years and was inclined to be too lenient with her, so now she was transferred into the temporary care of Sir Ralph Sadler. The following month, after Walsinghen had shown Elizabeth a letter which proved her cousin was still plotting to depose her, Mary was removed from Sheffield to Wingfield in Staffordshire, and then in January fifteen eighty four she was moved to

a large fortress of Tutbury. There would be fewer hunting johns there and it would be far more difficult for her to smuggle out letters. However, she'd still be able to retain her household, and although she protested the move and complained that the castle was damp and cold, the accounts showed that she was plentifully provided with both food

and fuel. Nor, it was pointed out to her had she been quote so well entertained when she lived her own will in her own country end quote where the standards of living were honestly a lot lower than they were in England at the time, but all this was still not enough to ensure Elizabeth's safety. A fresh wave of panic h England in the fall of fifteen eighty four when evidence of another plot, this one again supported

by Philip, surfaced. The level of detail in the plot this time, which was high, was enough to force Dudley and other members of the nobility to take members into their own hands. Many of these men formed what became known as the Bond of Association. Essentially, these men swore oath that the moment credible evidence was discovered that Mary Stuart had engaged in a plot, I guess a new one to kill Elizabeth, they would all immediately descend upon

Mary's jail and kill her with their own bare hands. Mary, when she found out about the bond, also swore the oath, which makes absolutely no sense. But then again, a mere two days later, Mary was months more writing to Philip urging him to invade England, depose Elizabeth, and execute her. So I guess she should have taken her own life at that point based on the bond that she swore the oaths to, but she didn't. At the end of the year, yet another plot against Elizabeth was uncovered, this

one involving a Welsh member of Parliament, William Powry. Still, to this day historians aren't precisely sure why Parry would conspire against his queen, but he did. Elizabeth send him to the gallows, but once more refused to move against Mary Stewart, who had once more been implicated in the plot. Parliament responded to all this by giving any secret Catholic priest in England forty days to get out. If they were uncovered after that time, they would be executed, plain

and simple. In March fifteen eighty five, James the sixth of Scotland wrote to his mother. He informed Mary that he could do nothing to save her. Worse still, he went on to say that neither would he. She was and his words quote, captive in a desert. There was nothing to be done. Abandoned by her only child, Mary flew into further spirals of despair. That same year, Mary's jailor was changed for the final time. Her new warden, a Mayas Pollet, was a staunch Puritan and disciplinarian. He

tolerated nothing. Mary was now firmly isolated from the outside world, Paulett would permit her no visitors. He read every single piece of her correspondence himself, most of it then ending up directly on Wolsingham's desk. During fifteen eighty five, relations

between England and Spain deteriorated rapidly. In May, in retaliation against English attacks on his ships, Philip ordered all English vessels in his ports to be seized and added to his own fleet at Lisbon, which he was preparing for a war he did not want, which he felt was his sacred duty to prosecute. Three months later, but none such.

Elizabeth made a treaty with the Dutch, who were now basically England's only allies, and in September she appointed Sir Francis Drake and Admiral, providing him with a fleet of twenty two ships and two thousand men, and dispatching him on a voyage to capture several of Spain's greatest naval

bases in the Caribbean. Drake's mission was successful. He occupied Vigo on the coast of Spain, and then sailed to the Indies and sacked Santa Domingo, Habana and Cuba and Cartagena, the capital of the Spanish main Philip was deeply humiliated, but Elizabeth behaved as all this had nothing to do with her. Drake, she said, quote, careth not if I

disavow him end quote. Her objectives in this campaign of harassment were to keep Philip fully occupied elsewhere, and at the same time demonstrate to him the might of England's naval power. Nonetheless, on December the eighth, Dudley set out for the Netherlands, hoping to rid England of the Spanish menace once and for all. Dudley had hoped to take

the offensive against Parma, it was not to be. Elizabeth never gave her general sufficient financial support that, in the end, disappointing that Elizabeth was still refusing to accept a Dutch crown, Dudley's new countryman treated him as a prince. Instead of advancing on the Spanish position. Dudley quickly found himself on what amounted to a royal progress, much to elizabeth chagrin.

When on February the fifth, Elizabeth learned from one of her ladies who had heard in a private letter that Dudley had accepted the office of Supreme Governor of the Netherlands and had been inaugurated into the highest and supreme commandment. At a solemn ceremony at the Hague on the fifteenth of January, she exploded with so much fury that her courtiers didn't know it to do. She raged, quote, it

is sufficient to make me infamous to all princes. We could never have imagined, had we not seen it fall out, that a man raised up by ourselves, and extraordinarily favored by us above any other subject of this land, would have in so contemptible a sort broken our commandment, and a cause that so greatly touched our honor. Our express pleasure and commandment is that all delays and excuses laid apart.

You do presently upon the allegiance of your allegiance. She's talking to deadly here, Obey and fulfill whatsoever the Bearer shall direct you to do in our name, whereof fail you not, as you will answer the contrary at your uttermost peril end quote. Now, Dudley believed that he had done all of this in England and Elizabeth's best interest, and he was personally hurt by her response. Cecil, for

his part, was desperate to calm Elizabeth down. He did not want England to appear divided, especially not now with Spain on the verge of an aggressive action. In March fifteen eighty six, Philip received the Pope's blessing for the invasion of England, which was to be treated as though it were effectively a crusade. Philip did not intend to add England to his already vast aines. However, his plan was to place his daughter Sabella on the English throne.

Back in England, Walsingham found the final piece of the puzzle when Novice Priest Gilbert Gifford flipped upon his arrival in England and subsequent arrest. He had been sent to England from France by Mary Stuart's friends, who were keen to re establish contact with her. But now with Gifford having flipped sides, all information would be directly passed to Walsingham. Every letter that Mary Stuart believed she was writing to

France wound up on his desk Instead. Gifford was now to inform Mary that he had organized a secret route whereby letters might be smuggled in and out of her prison. Walsingham had discovered that Master Burton, the local brewer in Buxton, nearby supplied the house regularly with beer and large barrels. It was Gifford's task to persuade the brewer, with the promise of substantial payment, to convey Mary's letters in a waterproof wooden box that was small enough to be slipped

through the hole of a barrel. The brewer, an honest man who was sympathetic to Mary, agreed, thinking he was doing her a service. He didn't find out until it was too late that he had been used, and when Paulette, Mary's jailer let him in on the secret, he merely raised his prices, knowing that too much was at stake for his customer to protest. Mary, for her part, never

knew she had been duped. When she got a packet of letters from France through Gifford's clandestine brewer messenger, she busily set to work answering them, never realizing she was effectively digging her own grave. None of these letters were actually coming from France. Only three major people other than assistants, knew about the framing of Mary Walsingham, Dudley and Elizabeth Laid. In May, Gifford sent Walsingham two letters from Mary Stewart.

The first was to Mendoza back in Spain, now assuring the Spaniards of her support for the invasion and promising to enlist the help of James the sixth. The second was to a supporter, Charles Paget, asking him to remind Philip the Second of the need for urgency in invading England. Paget's reply, which now also arrived on Walsingham's desk, described how a priest, John Ballard, had recently arrived from France to orchestrate a Catholic rebellion against Elizabeth, timed to coincide

with the Spanish invasion which was expected that summer. On June twenty sixth, Mary wrote to Anthony Babington, one of the active conspirators against Elizabeth, expressly approving of his plan to assassinate the queen and place her on the In this lengthy communication, Mary incriminated herself by endorsing the Babington

plot and Elizabeths murder. She wrote, quote, the affair being thus prepared, and forces in readiness, both within and without the realm, then it shall be time to set the six gentlemen to work, taking order upon the accomplishment of their design, I may suddenly be transported out of this place end quote. This letter was just what Walsingham wanted for.

It enabled Mary to be dealt with under the fifteen eighty five Active Association, and it is almost certain that in order to discover the names of Babington's co plotters, he forged a PostScript to the Bloody Letter asking for their names, before forwarding it to Babington on the twenty ninth of July. Later, Mary's supporters would claim that Walsingham

had forged other passages in the letter, particularly endorsing Elizabeth's assassination. However, Mary's complicity is corroborated by the Spanish ambassador Mendoza, who informed King Philip that she was fully acquainted with every aspect of the project. By now, the conspirators were openly bragging of their enterprise and toasting its success in London's inns. Babington also had commissioned a group portrait of himself and the future conspirators quote as a memorial of so worthy

an act. On July fifth, Elizabeth and James the sixth concluded the Treaty of Berwick, which provided that each monarch help each other in the event of an invasion. This meant that Philip would not be able to invade through its northern border. The news of her son's ultimate betrayal reached Mary just as Babington was asking her blessing on his plot. By August, Wosingham believed he had enough evidence to move against Mary such that he no longer actually

needed Babington to write his reply. He wanted to strike now before either of them realized what was going on, and moved to burn their correspondence. On August the ninth, Mary's jailor, Pollet, impounded her property and began at thorough search. He then arrested Mary herself while she was out hunting. Elizabeth immediately ordered that every one of Mary's servants be dismissed and replaced with men of Poullet's choosing. Babington was arrested on August the fourteenth and sent to the tower.

He quickly confessed to everything and implicated the Queen of Scot's in the plot. The Privy Council now demanded that Elizabeth summoned Parliament. She tried to stall, realizing that doing such would force a trial for Mary that was certain to lead to her execution, but eventually she capitulated, and on September the ninth summoned Parliament into session. On September thirteenth, Babington and the other conspirators except for Mary, were tried

for treason. The verdict was a foregone conclusion. Babington was drawn and quartered a week later, but the crowds were so appalled at the savagery of the execution that Elizabeth ordered all the other convicted men be hanged until dead before being disemboweled. Elizabeth still held out hopes that the deaths of the other conspirators would placate her subjects and

that she might pardon Mary. Elizabeth simply could not countenance the sanctioned murder of another anointed sovereign, but of course she was wrong. Her counselors pointed out that there were many good reasons for preceding against Mary under the statute. There was no doubt that Mary had plotted against her life, an evidence supporting this could be produced in court. James the sixth was very unlikely to cause trouble, for he

could only benefit from his mother's death. Mary's removal would clear the way for a product and heir who would be acceptable to the English people, who would also remove the chief focus for Catholic discontent and rebellion. The Friends had long since abandoned Mary, and King Philip could have no worse intentions towards Elizabeth than those he already held.

Above all, everyone urged the Queen to think of her people, who had become unsettled and fearful as a result of recent events, and were now prey to rumour mongers who were spreading alarming stories that Elizabeth had been killed or that Parma had invaded Northumberland. To be on the safe side, the fleet was sent to patrol the coast, and people became more vigilant in hunting out Catholic priests. It was still, by no means certain that Elizabeth would allow her cousin

to be put on trial. She had previously objected that Mary was not subject to English law, but that as an anointed queen, she was answerable to God alone. English lawyers debated these objections at length, concluded that Elizabeth was within her rights to prosecute Mary under the Statute of fifteen eighty five. Finally, the Queen relented. She agreed to appoint a commission of thirty six, which included some Catholic

lords to illustrate impartiality to try Mary. Mary, However, when the court assembled on the eleventh of October, refused to acknowledge its jurisdiction over her. She argued that she was a queen in her own right and beyond the reach of English common law. Regardless, the trial began on October the fourteenth. Mary, for the record, was not entitled to counsel. She had to conduct her own defense as best she could, not that it would have made much of the difference.

Mary tried to claim all the letters were forged, that she had no idea who Anthony Babington was, but the sheer weight of evidence against her ultimately crushed any defense. The decision was thirty five to one guilty, but the Commission could not pronounce sentence. Elizabeth would have to do that and Parliament would have to confirm it. Now. Meanwhile, while this is going along, in the Netherlands, things had originally gone well for the English. They fought and won

a pitched battle against the Spanish near Arnheim. But then the reality that Dudley was a really poor commander who alienated all his allies took its toll. As more and more English soldiers deserted. It became clear that this enterprise had been a failure. When Dudley wrote to Elizabeth begging permission to return home. The Queen instantly granted his request. Parliament duly assembled on the twenty ninth of October to settle the merry issue once and for all. Elizabeth distance herself,

remaining isolated at Whitehall. As expected, both the Lords and Commons demanded Mary's head. A delegation from the Commons told her such on November the twelfth, plunging the Queen into an agony of indecision. Two days later, Elizabeth wrote a letter back to Parliament asking if there was any other way. Perhaps, she suggested Mary might remain imprisoned for the balance of her life. No, was the response. So long as Mary lived, England would never be free from Catholic plots. She simply

had to die. Dudley derived from the Netherlands on November the twenty third, and he too told Elizabeth she had no choice. Mary, Queen of Scots, simply must be executed. On December the second, the Queen and her council drafted the death warrant and it was read aloud in London. There were explosions of celebration. However, there was one small problem. Elizabeth still had to sign it. She had not. Besides sentimental reasons, there are several issues preventing the queen from

taking the last step. France and Scotland's emissaries were both pleading for mercy. Elizabeth was loath to insult either of her two powerful neighbors, and so she faced the most agonizing decision of her life. Moreover, if she signed the warrant, she was sitting the president that one sovereign might condemn another to die welus, she might provoke the Catholic powers of Europe to an extraordinary response. If she did not sign, then Mary would continue to be the focus of Catholic plots,

however long as she lived. At Christmas, the court moved to Greenwich, where the Queen agreed that cecil should prepare the final warrant for execution. On January the sixth, a Scottish emissary suggested to Elizabeth she might avoid the execution if Mary renounced her claim to the English throne in favor of her son, James the sixth, the Protestant. Elizabeth was furious at this succession. She knew the consequences of naming a successor would only leave to more, not less strife,

albeit from different directions. On February the first, the Queen sent for Sir William Davison, who was acting for a presently indisposed Wolsingham. Now what happens next depends a lot on whose version of events you believe. What seems undisputed is that Elizabeth signed the death warrant. Davison then either had the Great Seal affixed to it immediately or a day or so later. Either way, when Elizabeth found out everything was set to go, she tried to have Davison detained.

Then she had Davison right to poll it, asking him to quietly murder Mary himself, and then just declared she had died of natural causes. There was absolutely no way the puritanical paulet was going to do that, and he wrote back as such the very next day. By now the warrant was on its way. On February seventh, the warrant reached Fotheringham Castle, where Mary was being held. Paul Itt informed Mary that she must be ready to die

at eight in the morning the following day. She took the news well and was quite cheerful at supper that evening, according to all reports. Then she wrote her farewell letters and gave instructions for the disposal of her personal effects. She spent several hours in prayer before falling asleep at two in the morning. When she awoke, the sun was shining and the fair weather, according to everyone there, was interpreted by Protestants as a sign that God approved of

the execution. As she made ready, Mary wept at the prospect of saying goodbye to her servants, but she composed herself by the time she was summoned to the Great Hall. At eight o'clock on Wednesday, February eighth, fifteen eighty seven, worded by the Sheriff of Northampton, and attended by her ladies, Mary Queen of Scots entered the Great Hall of Fotheringham Castle, watched by three hundred spectators. Many were astonished to see

that her legendary beauty was gone. Her manner, though, was dignified and calm, and she had dressed for care her last public appearance. As she approached the black draped scaffold strewn was strong. She turned to her ladies and said, quote, thou hast cause rather to joy than to mourn. For now shalt thou see Mary Stuart's troubles receive their long

expected end end quote. The Protestant Dean of Peterborough was waiting on the scaffold to offer her final consolation, but she refused, saying instead quote, mister Dean, trouble not yourself for me. For know that I am settled in the ancient Catholic religion, and in defense there of, by God's grace, I'm mind to spend my blood end quote. As he insisted on praying aloud, she read her Latin prayers in

a louder voice, weeping as she did so. Then the executioner and his assistants came forward to help her remove her outer garments. To this, Mary replied, quote, I was not wont to have my clothes plucked off by such grooms, nor did I ever put my clothes before such a company. But of course there was a ripple of comment amongst the onlookers when she took off her black gown to reveal a low cut satin bodice and velvet petticoat of scarlet, the Catholic color of martyrdom. By this, together with the

religious ornament she wore and carried. Mary proclaimed herself to be, in the end a martyr for her Catholic faith. When the executioner knelt before Mary to beg forgiveness for what he must do, she gave it readily, saying, I hope you shall make an end of all my troubles with great fortitude. Then she knelt and laid her head on the block, repeating over and over again in Latin, into

thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. It took two blows of the axe to sever her head, and there was so much trauma to the spinal cord that her lips continued to move for fifteen minutes afterwards. As was the custom, the executioner then lifted the head by its hair and cried God save the Queen. But on this occasion, as he did so, her red wig fell off, revealing short hold gray hair. The face seemed to have

changed and become virtually recognizable in death. When news of Mary's execution reached London, the people went wild with joy, but Elizabeth did not rejoice. In fact, when word reached her once jury the ninth, she was hysterical. She erupted into tears and anger. Ferociously blaming all her counselors for driving her to do it. She genuinely felt grief and remorse for having killed her cousin, but she also feared very much that God would punish her for such a

grave sin. Elizabeth would later try to claim that the execution had gone forward without her approval, but no one believed her. Philip Scond believed it was his duty to avenge Mary's death. James the sixth issued a token protest, but had no interest in alienating England. Almree the Third condemned the execution, but he was far too busy dealing with internal issues to do anything about it. It was not until May that Cecil or Dudley were allowed to

go back to court. Elizabeth and Dudley were soon back to bickering over how best to address the ongoing issue

in the Netherlands. Spring Philip had ordered the Duke of Parma to subjugate as much of the provinces as possible in order to create a springboard for the invasion of England, for which pressures had been stepped up, especially since April, when, with Elizabeths authorization, Drake had quote singed the King of Spain's beard end quote by burning thirty seven Spanish ships in the Cadiz Harbor, impounding one hundred more at Cape Vincent, and seizing a huge hall of Spanish treasure off the

a's oars. Thanks to this action, the Armada was not able to set sail that year, but Drake's impertinence had made Philip all the more determined to crush England once and for all. Dudley was all for armed intervention in the Netherlands, but the Queen was proving difficult on the matter. On the thirtieth of October, on Queen Elizabeth's orders, Mary's coffin was at last taken from the castle at Fotheringham

for burial. With the coming of summer, it becomes something of a health hazard, giving off such a bad smell that no one wished to enter the room where it was kept. It was brought to Peterborough Cathedral, where it was buried with royal honors and great pomp and circumstance.

In sixteen twelve, then King James the First of England would give orders for his mother's body to be transferred to Westminster Abbey, where it was laid to rest in a chapel opposite that in which Elizabeth herself lay entombed. If you've enjoyed the episode and would like to support the show and check out Western Civ two point zero, there is a link in the show notes for a free seven day trial, and if you'd like to support the show in other worries. It's always great to get

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