1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Mary Queen of Scott's, also known as Mary Stewart, 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: was crowned as Queen of Scotland four hundred and eighty 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: years ago today. She had inherited the crown on December fourteenth, 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: fifteen forty two, after the death of her father, James 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: the Fifth, and she was only a few days old 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: when her father died than when she was crowned on 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: September ninth, fifteen forty three, she was only nine months old. 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: So we are pulling one of our episodes on Mary 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: out for today's Saturday Classic. This one is more focused 10 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: on her adult life, especially the conspiracy that ultimately led 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: to her execution in fifteen eighty seven. 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:47,919 Speaker 2: So enjoy Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 2: a production of iHeartRadio. 14 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: Hello, and Welcome to the podcast I'm Tracy V. Wilson Frye. 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: Earlier this year, the folks that Focus Features came to 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: us about doing a podcast related to Mary, Queen of 17 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: Scott's to coincide with their new film, also called Mary 18 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: Queen of Scott's. Mary Stewart, as she is also known, 19 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,839 Speaker 1: has made several appearances on our show before Previous hosts 20 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: talked about the death of her husband, Lord Darnley, as 21 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: well as her lengthy rivalry with Queen Elizabeth the First. 22 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: But Mary is such a memorable figure and there's so 23 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: many parts of her life that we haven't talked about 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,759 Speaker 1: that it was very very easy for us to find 25 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: something that we wanted to cover, and that is the 26 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: Babbington plot, which ultimately led to her execution. So we're 27 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: gonna set the stage with a little bit about her 28 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: youth and a little about that rivalry with Elizabeth, but 29 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: our focus today is really on the plot and the 30 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: trial that followed. And since this is an episode about 31 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: the Stuarts, Mary's beheading is only one of the gruesome 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: executions that we're going to discuss. 33 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, there was definitely a trend in those stories where 34 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 2: there is a lot of violence, there's a lot of 35 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: killing each other in very grisly ways. Yeah, this is 36 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 2: one of those times. Any pretty much anytime, but especially 37 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 2: when we talk about the Stuarts and the Tutors. I 38 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 2: kind of have that thing of like, who would want 39 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 2: that job? Because no one's safe, Like it's one thing 40 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 2: to have a stressful job, and I guess if you 41 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 2: really want power, there's a draw, but I would be like, no, 42 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 2: I'm not part of the royal family, thank you. I 43 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 2: would completely excommunicate myself. But that is neither here nor there, 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 2: so we will get into Mary's story. Mary Stewart was 45 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 2: born on December eighth, fifteen forty two, in Linlithgow Palace 46 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 2: in Scotland, and her parents were James the fifth of 47 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 2: Scotland and Marie of Geese. She was their only surviving child, 48 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 2: and less than a week after Mary was born, her 49 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 2: father died. Mary became Queen of Scotland at the age 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 2: of six days old, with her mother acting as regent. 51 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: Mary spent most of her childhood and young adulthood in France, 52 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 2: not in Scotland. She was sent there to be fostered 53 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 2: and to escape an unwonted marriage to Henry the Yighth's 54 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 2: son Edward, and then on April twenty fourth of fifteen 55 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 2: fifty eight, she married Francis, the Dauphin of France. He 56 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: was the son of Henri the second and Catherine de Medici. 57 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 2: At the time, she was seventeen and he was fourteen, 58 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 2: and they do seem to have been genuinely fond of 59 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 2: each other, but their relationship was also more like siblings 60 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 2: than spouse's. On November seventeenth of that same year, Elizabeth 61 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 2: the First ascended to the English throne, and that put 62 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 2: Mary next in the line of succession after Elizabeth, which 63 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: was the focal point of the rivalry between the two 64 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 2: of them. There was a lot more than just this 65 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 2: one issue tangled up in this rivalry, though, including religion, politics, 66 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:52,119 Speaker 2: family dynamics, ongoing tensions between England and Scotland, and ongoing 67 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 2: tensions between England and France. Consequently, the next decade of 68 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 2: Mary's life was increasingly chaotic and turbulent. Onria the Second 69 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 2: tried to make a claim to the English throne on 70 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 2: her behalf, but he died not long after that. That 71 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 2: made Francis the King of France and Mary was the 72 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 2: Queen Consort. But then Francis died on December fifth of 73 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 2: fifteen sixty, just a couple of years into their marriage. 74 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 2: Earlier that same year, Marie of Geese had also died, 75 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 2: so suddenly Mary was the Queen of Scotland, the dowager 76 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 2: Queen of France, a widow, and an orphan all at 77 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 2: the same time. She was eighteen. Maria of Geese's death 78 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 2: also meant that Scotland no longer had its regent, and 79 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 2: Mary returned to Scotland to take the throne in fifteen 80 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 2: sixty one, but she immediately ran into all kinds of problems. 81 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 2: Her upbringing and manners and education were all very French, 82 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 2: so some Scots considered her to be an outsider. She 83 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: was also Catholic, but Scotland at that point had become 84 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 2: a Protestant country, and returning to Scotland had amped up 85 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 2: the tension between her and Elizabeth even more since it 86 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 2: meant that Mary and her claim to the end English 87 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: throne were right there on the same island with Elizabeth 88 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 2: instead of somewhat out of the way in France. 89 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: In fifteen sixty five, things got even more dramatic. Mary 90 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: married her cousin Henry Stewart, the Earl of Darnley. Since 91 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: Darnley was both Catholic and a Stewart, Elizabeth was highly 92 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: suspicious of this match and of the motivations for it. 93 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 1: It really was just an impulsive marriage that Mary made 94 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: for love, but it did not go well at all. 95 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: Case endpoint, Darnley and his men murdered David Rizzio, who 96 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: was Mary's secretary and favorite, and they did this in 97 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: front of her at dinner while she was about six 98 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: months pregnant. 99 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 2: Charmers everyone. And then Darnley himself died under very mysterious 100 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 2: and extremely suspicious circumstances. We have a previous podcast on 101 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 2: that as well, but the one sentence version is this. 102 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 2: He was found strangled outside the house he was staying 103 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 2: in after it exploded. Mary then got married again to 104 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 2: James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell, who had been 105 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 2: one of the prime suspects in Darnley's death. There were 106 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 2: also a lot of rumors that Mary and Bothwell had 107 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 2: been having an affair and had conspired together to kill Darnley. 108 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 2: Mary's marriage to Bothwell was also strange. It wasn't totally 109 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 2: clear whether he kidnapped her or whether she willingly eloped 110 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 2: with him, but regardless, immediately before their marriage, he divorced 111 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 2: his wife, Jean Gordon, under very shady circumstances. Mary's sudden 112 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 2: marriage to Bothwell caused her to lose the support of 113 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 2: a lot of the Scottish nobility. Bothwell and his opponents 114 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 2: each raised armies, but the French ambassador arranged peace terms. 115 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 2: Before any of this could actually result in a war, 116 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 2: Mary surrendered on June fifteenth, fifteen sixty seven. After she surrendered, 117 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 2: Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her son James, 118 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 2: making him James the sixth of Scotland. James's father had 119 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,599 Speaker 2: been Lord Darnley, and since James was a little over 120 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 2: a year old, Mary's half brother, James Stuart, Earl of Moray, 121 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 2: was named as the regent as for bothwell. He was 122 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 2: eventually arrested and died after spending five years in solitary confinement. 123 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 2: Mary spent the next eleven months imprisoned at locke Leaving Castle. 124 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 2: After one failed escape attempt, she managed to leave the 125 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 2: island on May second, fifteen sixty eight. Willie and George Douglas, 126 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: ages sixteen and eighteen, were involved in both escape attempts. 127 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 2: In the second, they had a set of fake keys 128 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 2: to the castle made and they swapped those for the 129 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 2: real ones at dinner, taking the real keys right off 130 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 2: the table concealed in a napkin. 131 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: This castle was on an island, and once she was 132 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: free of it, Mary rallied an army. She denounced her 133 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: half brother, and she announced that she had only abdicated 134 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: under duress, she started planning to take back the throne 135 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: of Scotland by force. She didn't succeed, though she was 136 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: defeated by Morey's forces at the Battle of Langside. At 137 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: this point, Mary was really out of options in Scotland, 138 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: so she fled to England. In spite of the ongoing 139 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: layered tensions between the two queens, Mary hoped that she 140 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: could take refuge with her cousin Elizabeth. This wasn't quite 141 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: as far fetched as the two queen's incredibly contentious history 142 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: might make it seem. Elizabeth really was appalled at what 143 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: had happened in Scotland because Mary was, without question the 144 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: rightful ruler of Scotland. This was not how a monarch 145 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: was supposed to be treated, especially not a monarch who 146 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: was her cousin. 147 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 2: At the same time, Elizabeth wasn't at all ready to 148 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 2: commit English troops to helping Mary take back her throne, 149 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 2: or to give Mary a pass for all of those 150 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 2: years of animosity between them. Instead, she agreed to allow 151 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 2: Mary to stay in England while she convened a commission 152 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 2: that would hold hearings into the matter of Lord Darnley's death. 153 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 2: If Mary was complicit in Darnley's death, it would have 154 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 2: been out of the question for Elizabeth to help her 155 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 2: at all. This commission ultimately determined that England should not 156 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 2: interfere in what was happening in Scotland, but it also 157 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 2: found that Mary was not involved in Darley's death. Elizabeth, though, 158 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 2: was really sure that if she just freed Mary, the 159 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 2: result was going to be a Catholic uprising against her 160 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 2: in England. So Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned for the next 161 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 2: almost nineteen years. More on that after a sponsor break. 162 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 2: Even though Elizabeth was suspicious of. 163 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: Mary, she didn't really have any legal grounds to imprison her. 164 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: Mary was a monarch of another country. Her son, at 165 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: this point was the King of Scotland. England and Scotland 166 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: were not at war with each other, and for one 167 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: monarch to just imprison another one during peacetime wasn't really 168 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: within the bounds of international law, so Elizabeth's treatment of 169 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: Mary was more like keeping her under house arrest. Mary 170 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: spent her first night in England in Workington Hall, and 171 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: from that point on she was kept under guard at 172 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: a series of manors and castles. At first, many of 173 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: them were owned by George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury. 174 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: He was Mary's custodian or jailer for much of her confinement. 175 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: He and his wife, Bess of Hardwicke acted as Mary's 176 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: keepers and Elizabeth's informants for most of those nineteen years. 177 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: During those years of imprisonment, the Reformation and Counter Reformation 178 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: were playing out in Europe, leading to ongoing religiously motivated violence. 179 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: Just as one example, the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, in 180 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: which French Catholics murdered thousands of Huguenots, was in fifteen 181 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: seventy two while Mary was captive at Sheffield Castle. Religious 182 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: strife also escalated in England during this time, some of 183 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: it connected directly to Mary and Elizabeth, because many Catholics 184 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: didn't consider Elizabeth to be a legitimate monarch at all. 185 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: She was the daughter of Henry the Eighth and his 186 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: second wife, Anne Boleyn. They had become secretly married in 187 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 1: fifteen thirty three while Henry was still married to Catherine 188 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: of Aragon. Henry had asked the Pope to annul his 189 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: marriage to Catherine, and when he didn't, Henry declared himself 190 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: head of the English Church and appointed an archbishop who 191 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: would do the annulment for him. Anne was already pregnant 192 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 1: with Elizabeth when Henry's marriage to Catherine was annulled, and 193 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: an archbishop, not the Pope, had done that annulment. So 194 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: a lot of people, Catholics especially, did not consider Elizabeth 195 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: a legitimate successor to the throne. They thought of her 196 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 1: as the illegitimate child of a king's concubine. In addition 197 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: to all of that, on April twenty seventh, fifteen seventy, 198 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: Pope Pious the fifth had issued a bull that excommunicated 199 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: Elizabeth and called her a heretic and quote the pretended 200 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: Queen of England and the servant of crime. The bull 201 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: also absolved the nobles, subjects, and people of the said 202 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,559 Speaker 1: Realm of any oaths and duties toward Elizabeth, and made 203 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: obedience to Elizabeth punishable by excommunication. The papal bull combined 204 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: with the existing questions about Elizabeth's legitimacy to spawn a 205 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: whole series of plots to depose or assassinate her and 206 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: replace her with Mary. The Ridolphie plot of fifteen seventy 207 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: one was named for one of the conspirators Italian merchant 208 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 1: Roberto Ridolphi. This plot was connected to a Catholic uprising 209 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: called the Northern Rising, as well as to King Philip 210 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: Icond of Spain. Then there was the Throckmorton plot of 211 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: fifteen eighty three, named for Francis Throckmorton, who was working 212 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: with agents from France. It's possible that Mary was connected 213 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:40,839 Speaker 1: to the Throckmorton plot, or at least knew about it. 214 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: Throckmorton was writing a letter to her in code when 215 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: he was arrested. And then there was the Perry plot 216 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: of fifteen eighty five, which was named for Welsh spy 217 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,839 Speaker 1: and doctor William Perry. None of these plots was particularly 218 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: likely to be successful, and it's not clear whether Perry 219 00:12:58,120 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: really ever plotted. 220 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: To kill the queen at all, but Elizabeth's advisers did 221 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 2: encourage her to take them seriously. Added to all this 222 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 2: stress was the assassination of William the Silent or William 223 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 2: the First Prince of Orange in fifteen eighty four, who 224 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 2: had led the Netherlands against Spanish rule and was ultimately 225 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 2: assassinated by a Catholic fanatic. In the face of all 226 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 2: of this, in fifteen eighty five, Mary was moved to 227 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 2: Chartley Castle and assigned a new custodian, Sir Amiya Poulet. 228 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 2: The move and the changing custody are widely reported to 229 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 2: have been the work of Sir Francis Walsingham, that was 230 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 2: Elizabeth's Secretary of State and spymaster. The move to Chartley 231 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 2: let Walsingham keep a closer eye on Mary, it let 232 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 2: Poulet completely cut her off from communication with the outside world. 233 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 2: Parliament also passed a new law related to all of this. 234 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 2: It had started with an informal agreement known as the 235 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 2: Bond of Association in fifteen eighty four, which was formalized 236 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 2: as an Act for the Security of the Queen's Royal 237 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 2: Person and the Continuance of Peace in the Realm, which 238 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:03,760 Speaker 2: was past the following year. 239 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: Under this Act, if a person conspired in a plot 240 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: against the Queen, or if a plot against the Queen 241 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:15,479 Speaker 1: was concocted on a person's behalf, that person was prosecuted. 242 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:17,960 Speaker 1: Whether they knew about the plot or not. It was 243 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: considered treason and it was punishable by execution. The Act 244 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: also specified that anybody participating in such a plot or 245 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: having such a plot carried out on their behalf was 246 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: permanently and irrevocably barred from ever ascending to the throne 247 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: of England. 248 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 2: The bond of Association and the law that followed were 249 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 2: clearly crafted because of Mary. They set up a legal 250 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 2: framework to prosecute her if her supporters plotted to put 251 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 2: her on the throne, regardless of whether she was involved 252 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 2: or even knew about any of it. 253 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: Okay, they might as well have just called it the 254 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: law to make it so wea can behead Mary Stuart. Thanks, Yeah, 255 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: because otherwise there's a logic breakdown to it. 256 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 2: There are several logical breakdowns. 257 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. That all brings us finally to the Babington plot. 258 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: Named for Anthony Babington. He was Catholic, very well off, 259 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: and connected to several other people who had been involved 260 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: in previous plots to try to depose or assassinate Elizabeth 261 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: and replace her with Mary. He had also served as 262 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: a page to George Talbot's sixth Earl of Shuebury, who 263 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: had been Mary's custodian, and during that service he had 264 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: become quite fond of her. One of his connections was 265 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: to a Catholic priest named John Ballard, who also wanted 266 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: Elizabeth off the throne and helped put him in touch 267 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: with even more people who had similar goals. Babington and 268 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: several co conspirators started plotting in early fifteen eighty six, 269 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: using an inn as their meeting place, and they were 270 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: not all that discreet about. 271 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 2: Any of this. They even commissioned portraits of themselves, either 272 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 2: because they thought that they would live and be famous 273 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 2: for it, or because they thought they would die but 274 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 2: be remembered as martyrs. Either way, portraits of themselves were 275 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 2: going to come in very handy. It's like they were 276 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 2: writing their own history books before they did the thing 277 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 2: that was going to become historically significant. Yeah, they are 278 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 2: often described as being arrogant and full of hubris, as 279 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 2: sort of a pattern among them all. So meanwhile, Walsingham 280 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 2: learned about this plot pretty quickly, and he saw it 281 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 2: as an opportunity. He concluded reasonably that as long as 282 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 2: Mary was alive, there were going to be ongoing attempts 283 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 2: to get rid of Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. 284 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 2: Just as reasonably, he concluded there was no way Elizabeth 285 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 2: was going to sign off on Mary's execution without some 286 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 2: real concrete proof that she was involved in a plot 287 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 2: to kill the monarch and take the throne for herself. 288 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 2: So he allowed the Babbington conspirators to continue with their plotting, 289 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 2: and even took steps to allow them to do it. 290 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 2: When Gilbert Gifford, an English Catholic who had been in France, 291 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 2: returned to England, Walsingham arrested him and got him to 292 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 2: work as a double agent. Now, in some accounts Gifford volunteered, 293 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 2: and in others this is more of a situation where 294 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 2: Walsingham convinced him, and we're using the ear quotes around 295 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 2: Convince threatened maybe yeah. 296 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 1: Uh. 297 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 2: Gifford's mission wasn't just to gain the conspirator's trust and 298 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 2: provide intelligence back to Walsingham. It was also to actively 299 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 2: encourage and enable this entire plot. 300 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: At Walsingham's instruction, Gifford went to Babington and told him 301 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: he had learned about this plot from another of the conspirators, 302 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: a man named Thomas Morgan. Gifford said he had worked 303 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: out a way to get messages to and from Mary, 304 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: even though all that communication with the outside world had 305 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: been cut off for months. He said he had a 306 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: friend who was a brewer and that they could smuggle 307 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: messages into and out of Chartley Castle in beer barrels 308 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: with false bottoms. At this point, we don't know who 309 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,959 Speaker 1: this brewer might have been. He was always referred to 310 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: only as the honest Man. Babington approved of this plan, 311 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: but he did not entirely trust Gifford with his secret correspondence, 312 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: so he used to cipher to encode all his letters. 313 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: Mary already had the codebook she'd need to decipher the 314 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: letters and encode her reply, apparently thanks to an emissary 315 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: from France. But Gifford didn't take these letters straight to 316 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: his brewer friend. He took them to Walsingham, who was 317 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,719 Speaker 1: working with a forger to replicate the seals that were 318 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: used on all the letters. So Walsingham and his forger 319 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: would open up the letter, make a copy of it, 320 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: reseal the original, and send it on his way, and 321 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: then keep the copy. Walsingham would take that copy to 322 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: his codebreaker, Thomas Phillips, to try to work out the code, 323 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: and at one point he even had Philips housed at 324 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: Chartley Castle to do this work more efficiently, right there 325 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: where Mary also was. Babington's cipher included replacing letters of 326 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 1: the alphabet with symbols and using other symbols to represent 327 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 1: specific words and phrases. And he thought this cipher was secure, 328 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: so he wrote a clear account about what he was doing. 329 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: But Philips quickly cracked this code, or more likely, they 330 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: had actually already intercepted the key and Philips was just 331 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: using it to decipher what was in front of him. 332 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: Mary and Babington exchanged a few letters that were mostly 333 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: about Mary getting access to all the mail that had 334 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: been withheld from her, and then Babington sent her a 335 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: letter that referenced, quote a great preparation by the Christian Princes, 336 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: your Majesty's allies for the deliverance of our country from 337 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: the extreme and miserable fate wherein it hath too long remained. 338 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: That letter went on to describe a plan to be 339 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: carried out in the wake of such a deliverance. When 340 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: these other Christian princes invaded, they would dispatch the usurping competitors, 341 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 1: being Elizabeth, and then quote myself, with ten gentlemen and 342 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,879 Speaker 1: one hundred of our followers, will undertake the delivery of 343 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 1: your royal person from the hands of your enemies. For 344 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: the dispatch of the usurper from the obedience of whom 345 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: we are by the excommunication of her made free. There 346 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: be six noble gentlemen, all my private friends, who for 347 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 1: the zeal they bear to the Catholic cause, and your 348 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 1: Majesty's service will undertake that tragical execution. Mary's response to 349 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: this letter, which was intercepted, is dated July seventeenth, and 350 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: it was also intercepted, and it said, in part quote, 351 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 1: when all is ready, the six gentlemen must be set 352 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: to work, and you will provide that on their design 353 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: being accomplished, I may be myself rescued from this place 354 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: and be in safe keeping till our friends arrive. It 355 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: will be hard to fix a day for the execution. 356 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: You must have a party therefore in readiness to carry 357 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: me off, and you will keep four men with horses 358 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: saddled to bring word when the deed is done, that 359 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: they may be here before my guardian. 360 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 2: Here's of it. Mary's response didn't really get into the 361 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 2: idea of assassinating Elizabeth. It rested on the idea of 362 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 2: a foreign invasion. If that invasion were successful, she might 363 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 2: logically become queen, But she really left the question of 364 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 2: who should be Monarch of England in the hands of 365 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 2: God and the invasion's outcome. Her letter expressed clear support 366 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 2: for the conspirators freeing her from her confinement, but not 367 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 2: for the idea of assassinating the Queen. Yeah, people hang 368 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 2: on the word execution a lot, but in the context 369 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 2: of this, she was talking about executing the plan. 370 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 1: Yes, in the sense of to do a thing right, 371 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,439 Speaker 1: not to assassinate the monarch. So, of course Walsingham intercepted 372 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 1: this letter and all of these other letters, and even 373 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: though he had Babbington's outline of the plot and Mary's 374 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: support for at least part of it, he didn't have 375 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: the names of all the conspirators or a clear statement 376 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: that Mary hoped for or planned the assassination of Queen Elizabeth. 377 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: So before passing Mary's letter on to Babbington, Walsingham had 378 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: his forger at a PostScript. So in this fake PS, 379 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: Mary asked to know the names of the six men, 380 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: under the grounds that she might have some information about 381 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: one or more of them that could let her give 382 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: him further advice. His hope with adding this fake PS 383 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: was that Babbington would reply and name more names, But before. 384 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 2: His correspondence with Mary got much further. Babington learned that 385 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 2: Walsingham had discovered the plot. He fled, but was captured 386 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,479 Speaker 2: on August fourth. In his confession, he implicated all his 387 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 2: other co conspirators and also said he had gotten a 388 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 2: letter from Mary saying that she had supported the entire plot. 389 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 2: Here's the thing about those letters. 390 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: Though the originals don't exist, and this is not a 391 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,959 Speaker 1: recent development, by the time the case came to trial, 392 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: all the originals had been burned or otherwise destroyed, as 393 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: is common practice when you get some secret correspondence from somebody. 394 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: So all that was left of the letters were copies 395 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,480 Speaker 1: copies made by a forger employed by Walsingham while trying 396 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,439 Speaker 1: to ferret out a plot to overthrow the queen. So 397 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: this raises some questions about their authenticity. In fact, Walsingham 398 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: laid such a key role in all of this that 399 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: the Babbington plot has been described as a double conspiracy, 400 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: with Walsingham conspiring against Mary and Babbington and his crew 401 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: conspiring against Elizabeth. Each plot could only exist in conjunction 402 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: with the other. The conspirators had no way to communicate 403 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: with Mary without Walsingham's double agent and that honest man 404 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: with the beer barrels, and Walsingham had no plot to 405 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: use against Mary without Babbington and his crew. 406 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 2: Okay. 407 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: One of the articles that I read about this was 408 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: basically like, this whole thing is so convoluted that even now, 409 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 1: hundreds of years later, it's sometimes. 410 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 2: Hard to tell who is tricking who. 411 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: At which point we will talk about the trials of Babbington, 412 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 1: his co conspirators, and Mary. After another sponsor break. Based 413 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,160 Speaker 1: on his confession and the copies of all this correspondence, 414 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: Anthony Babington and twelve co consin inspirators were put on 415 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: trial on September thirteenth through fifteenth, fifteen eighty six. Initially, 416 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: the men all pleaded guilty to everything except plotting to 417 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: kill Elizabeth, although they all changed their not guilty please 418 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: on that charge to guilty under pressure from the prosecution. 419 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: Those portraits that they'd commissioned of themselves were also brought 420 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:21,640 Speaker 1: up as part. 421 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 2: Of the evidence. The method of execution was gruesome. Babbington 422 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 2: and the first seven conspirators were executed on September twentieth, 423 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 2: fifteen eighty six. They were hanged, cut down while still alive, 424 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 2: and then again while still living, disemboweled and castrated in 425 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 2: front of throngs of spectators. Queen Elizabeth decided that this 426 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 2: method of execution was excessively cruel, so when the rest 427 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 2: of the co conspirators were executed the next day, they 428 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,199 Speaker 2: were hanged until they were dead, and then their bodies 429 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 2: were disemboweled and castrated. Mary was arrested on August eleventh, 430 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 2: fifteen eighty six, while she was out riding. She was 431 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 2: taken to Fotheringay, cast where she was held prisoner until 432 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 2: her own trial, which took place on October fourteenth and 433 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 2: fifteenth of fifteen eighty six. It was held before an 434 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 2: assembly of forty six Commissioners, as had been outlined in 435 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 2: the law that had been passed the year before. 436 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: The evidence against Mary included the confessions of Anthony Babington 437 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: and John Ballard. Confessions from her secretaries, Gilbert Curle and 438 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 1: Jacques Now were included as well, but both of the 439 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: secretaries made their confessions under duress. 440 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 2: They were deceived. 441 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: Into thinking that the prosecution had copies of letters that 442 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,000 Speaker 1: they had written and ciphered, which was not true. The 443 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: letters between Mary and Babington were also part of the evidence, 444 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,879 Speaker 1: but as we noted before, these were the copies, not 445 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:48,200 Speaker 1: the originals. But Mary consistently and stridently denied all involvement 446 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: in this plot. She said she had never spoken to Babington, 447 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: had never written or dictated those letters. Mary said these 448 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:00,160 Speaker 1: copied letters used as evidence were forgeries in their entirety. 449 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: She also made the point that it was not possible 450 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: for her, the Queen of Scotland, to be charged with 451 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,120 Speaker 1: treason against England, a nation of which. 452 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,160 Speaker 2: She was not a citizen. She said, quote, it seemeth 453 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 2: strange to me that the Queen should command me, as 454 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 2: a subject, to appear personally in judgment. I am an 455 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 2: absolute queen and will do nothing which may prejudice either 456 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 2: mine own royalty, or other princes of my place and rank, 457 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 2: or my son. The laws and statutes of England are 458 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,399 Speaker 2: to me most unknown. I am destitute of counselors, and 459 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,879 Speaker 2: who shall be my peers? I am utterly ignorant. My 460 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 2: papers and notes are taken from me, and no man 461 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 2: dareth step forth to be my advocate. I am clear 462 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 2: from all crime against the Queen. I have excited no 463 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,360 Speaker 2: man against her, and I am not to be charged 464 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 2: but by mine own word or writing, which cannot be 465 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 2: produced against me. Yet I cannot deny that I have 466 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 2: commended myself and my cause to foreign princes. She also 467 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 2: argues that the power of a monarch came directly from God, 468 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 2: something that she and Elizabeth both believed. If Elizabeth's power 469 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 2: was bestowed by God, then so was Mary's, and that 470 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 2: meant that these proceedings were under God's jurisdiction, not the 471 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 2: jurisdiction of a bunch of men, who, while prominent and powerful, 472 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 2: were mere mortals. Although by all accounts, Mary bore herself 473 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 2: well and argued her own case impeccably, even though she 474 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 2: was denied her papers and any advisers or representation, and 475 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 2: then she was found guilty. She was convicted on October 476 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 2: twenty fifth, fifteen eighty six, without being present, without having 477 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 2: any further chance to be heard, and without even being 478 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 2: told that these proceedings were concluding that day after the conviction, 479 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 2: though it took Elizabeth months to sign Mary's death warrant. 480 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: In spite of the law that England had passed, it 481 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 2: would set a dangerous precedent for one monarch to execute another, 482 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:58,920 Speaker 2: especially a relative in this way, but elizabeth' knew Secretary 483 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,920 Speaker 2: of State William Davis did finally get her to sign 484 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 2: the warrant on February first, fifteen eighty seven, although she 485 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 2: told her counselors not to carry out the order until 486 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 2: she gave the final word. Her Privy Council ignored that instruction, though, 487 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 2: and decided to proceed with the execution without waiting for 488 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:20,200 Speaker 2: her to finally okay it. Mary got word. 489 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: That she was to be executed on February seventh, fifteen 490 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: eighty seven. She responded, quote, as for the death of 491 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: the Queen, your sovereign, I call to God to witness 492 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 1: that I never imagined it, never sought it, and never 493 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: consented to it. She asked for some more time to 494 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: put her affairs in order, but that was denied, so 495 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: she spent most of her remaining time that night writing 496 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: letters to loved ones, arranging gifts for her servants, and praying. 497 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: One of her final letters was to Henri, the third 498 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: brother of her late first husband, which said, in part quote, 499 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 1: tonight after dinner, I have been advised of my sentence. 500 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: I am to be executed like a criminal at eight 501 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: in the morning. I have not had time to give 502 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: you a full account of everything that has happened. But 503 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: if you will listen to my doctor and my other 504 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: unfortunate servants, you will learn the truth. And how thanks 505 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 1: be to God. I scorn death and vow that I 506 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,160 Speaker 1: meet it innocent of any crime, even if I were 507 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: their subject. In this letter, she also described how her 508 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: chaplain had been taken away from her and she'd been 509 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: refused permission to have him come back and give her 510 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: the last sacrament. She also asked Henri to pay all 511 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,240 Speaker 1: of her servants for any wages that were still owed 512 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: to them, and towards the end of the letter she wrote, 513 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: as for my son, I commend him to you in 514 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: so far as he deserves, for I cannot answer for him. 515 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 1: She had actually been prevented from keeping in touch with 516 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: him in any way during her imprisonment. Mary was beheaded 517 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: in the Great Hall of Fatheringay Castle on February eighth, 518 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: fifteen eighty seven, in front of an assembly of at 519 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: least three hundred people. She was forty four, As was 520 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 1: the case with her trial. In the last days of 521 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: her imprisonment, she's consistently described as going to her execution 522 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: with a stoic and graceful perseverance in the account of 523 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: Pierre de Bordailla quote. After kissing her women once more, 524 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: she bade them go with her blessing. As she made 525 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: the sign of the Cross over them. One of them 526 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: was unable to keep from crying, so that the queen 527 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: had to impose silence upon her by saying she had 528 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: promised that nothing of the kind would interfere with the 529 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: business at hand. They were to stand back quietly, pray 530 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 1: to God for her soul, and bear truthful testimony that 531 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: she had died in the bosom of the Holy Catholic religion. 532 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: One of the women then tied the handkerchief over her eyes. 533 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: The queen quickly and with great courage, knelt down, showing 534 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: no signs of faltering. So great was her bravery that 535 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 1: all present removed, and there were few among them that 536 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: could refrain from tears and their hearts. They condemned themselves 537 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,960 Speaker 1: for the injustice that was being done. Walsingham had Mary's clothing, crucifix, 538 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: and prayer book from the execution destroyed so they wouldn't 539 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: be made into relics of a religious martyr. Her body 540 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 1: was placed in a lead coffin and buried in Peterborough Cathedral. 541 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,960 Speaker 1: After this execution, Elizabeth really started to distance herself from it. 542 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: She was outraged that Davison and her counsel had carried 543 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: out this execution without waiting for her order, and she 544 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 1: actually had Davison sent to the tower. She also expressed 545 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: that the manner of the execution was sacrilegious, and she 546 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: knew that Catholic monarchs of other countries were going to 547 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: see it as a sacrilege as well. 548 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 2: For a time, Elizabeth's behavior was interpreted in a pretty 549 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 2: cynical way, as though she were just trying to cover 550 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 2: herself with a show of anger over an execution that 551 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 2: she had actually secretly been eager for. But letters unearthed 552 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 2: in the nineteen sixties suggest that England's nobility was truly 553 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 2: alarmed at her displeasure, which seemed very genuine and not 554 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 2: something that she was just performing for the sake of appearances. 555 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: Almost immediately, this whole affair became part of Little Richer 556 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: and art. There are so many paintings of the trial 557 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: and the beheading. There were ballads written about the execution 558 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: in the weeks immediately after it happened, and from there. 559 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: They have been plays and novels and poems and TV 560 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: shows and movies, and many of them approached Mary as 561 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: a very doomed and romantic heroine. There are certainly accounts 562 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,080 Speaker 1: and versions that do not take that perspective, but she's 563 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:28,400 Speaker 1: very frequently depicted with like a stoic grace and a 564 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: sense of impending destruction that she couldn't really control. And 565 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:36,520 Speaker 1: of course Mary's son James, became James the sixth of 566 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: Scotland and first of England on March twenty fourth, sixteen 567 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,719 Speaker 1: oh three. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in sixteen twelve, 568 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: he had Mary's body exhumed and placed in Henry the 569 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 1: Seventh's chapel in Westminster Abbey. He also had a white 570 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 1: marble tomb constructed that has an effigy of Mary on 571 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: the lid. Her hands are folded in prayer and there 572 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,480 Speaker 1: is a crowned Scottish lion at her feet. And then 573 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 1: at the opposite end of that chapel there's the tomb 574 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: of her cousin Elizabeth. I thanks so much for joining 575 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. Since this episode is out of 576 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:15,480 Speaker 1: the archive. If you heard an email address or a 577 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: Facebook RL or something similar over the course of the 578 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:22,120 Speaker 1: show that could be obsolete now. Our current email address 579 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:27,240 Speaker 1: is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 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