An Interesting Life...?

Mary, Queen of Scots

My life, overall, was pretty hectic and miserable.


My father, King James V of Scotland, had only one heir to the throne, and the next thing I knew, I became the Queen of Scotland; I was not Mary Stuart anymore...  I was only nine months when I ascended to the throne!


When I was approximately one-years-old, King Henry VIII of England wanted to unite England and Scotland together. He managed to do this by signing the Treaty of Greenwich.

I guess it was a smart political move to sign the treaty. But I was involved in this contract. It stated that I would be married to Edward VI of England.  



During the invasion of England in the Scottish and French territories, the French aided my country (Scotland) against the English. So in return, the Scottish Parliament agreed and signed a French Marriage Treaty, stating that I was to wed the Francis II of France, not Edward anymore. 

Francis II of France

Throughout my life, I was married to three husbands (see posts My Life in France, Lord Darnley, and Earl of Bothwell and the Sticky Situation for more information). In chronological order, my husbands were Francis II of France, Henry Stewart (Lord Darnley), and James Hepburn, the 4th Earl of Bothwell. To sum it up, my marriages had many ups and downs.


Lastly, I died because of the "Babington Plot". Here was how the story went. Anthony Babington, who was also Catholic like me, wanted to reestablish Catholicism in England and also planned to rescue me from my imprisonment (see post Earl of Bothwell and the Sticky Situation). I sent and received several letters to him, but little did I know that Elizabeth knew about these "letters". And in one of my last letters, Babington mentioned that he wanted to assassinate Elizabeth. I, on the other hand, did not agree to this.




Meanwhile, Elizabeth's secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham, tried to convince Elizabeth that her life would be in danger if I were to live. But being Elizabeth, she disagreed with Walsingham. A stubborn, ambitious man, Walsingham, hired a spy named Gilbert Gifford to intercept my letter to Babington. Walsingham had the letter copied, forged, and rewritten. Apparently in this new letter,  I had "authorized" Babington's plan to assasinate Elizabeth I. 

Sir Francis Walsingham

Wasn't this great? Now, Sir Francis Walsingham  had a valid proof and evidence to execute me. And the next thing I knew, Babington was killed. I was next. 


I was notified of my execution and spent hours praying and writing my will. In my will, I stated that I wanted to be buried in France and  hoped that my servants would be released from this ordeal.

In February 8, 1587, I walked up five steps to the killing block and kneeled on a cushion, and right next to me, there was a butcher's knife.


It was interesting to say that my death was written by Robert Wynkfield with much detail. He even managed to write down the small details! 

My Execution

After few minutes later, two other executioners helped me to disrobe myself. "Never have I had such assistants to disrobe me, and never have I put off clothes before such company." (Robert Wynkfield) Wasn't it strange that someone had to disrobe me this way? During this time, I tried to be calm and be peaceful. I was now ready for death....


After I knelt down on the cushion in front of the block, I was blindfolded. I put my head on the block and shoved my arms behind my back; I could literately hear the blade swoosh up in the air. And the next thing I knew, the blade forcefully came down and successfully cut my neck . My head fell from the chopping block.... I was only forty-four years of age.

So really, my life was not great at all. I was sold off to King Henry the VIII, was caught in a bad scandal (see post Lord Darnley), and was executed because of Sir Francis Walsingham. Maybe if I wasn't an "aristocratically" born, then maybe, just maybe, my life could have turned out differently.

Images and Video Source: BBC, YouTube, Wikipedia, EnglishHistory.net, Explore-Parliament.net., NNBB.com