On This Day in Elizabethan History: Queen Elizabeth Signs the Execution Warrant of Mary Stuart

Queen Elizabeth I's signature and seal from Mary Stuart's warrant for execution. Image Marilee Cody.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1587, Queen Elizabeth I reluctantly signed the execution warrant of her cousin, Mary Stuart, the former Queen of Scotland. She could no longer ignore her cousin's plots and schemes now that she had been convicted of treason. Though Elizabethacknowledged her cousin's guilt when she signed her name to the warrant, she gave strict instructions that the execution was not to be carried out without her express permission. There was an understanding between the monarchies of Europe that anointed sovereigns were not to be subject to the laws of one another; they were only expected to answer to God. Politically, the execution of Mary Stuart would set a dangerous legal precedent. And personally, for Elizabeth it would be a traumatic reminder of the death of her own mother. Henry VIII had executed Anne Boleyn who, not royal by birth, had been raised up from her status as a subject by being anointed and crowned Queen of England. Elizabeth loathed the idea of causing the death of a queen.

The evidence against Mary and the legality of the subsequent trial proceedings is still a subject that is hotly debated by 16th century historians. Whether or not you believe that she was "entrapped" by Walsingham and his men, it cannot be denied that Mary did, in fact, send correspondence to Anthony Babington which agreed to his sinister plan, and even offered her suggestions and personal messages of support.  It should be mentioned here that Mary’s conspiracies against Elizabeth and England date back farther than the Babington plot itself, which is one of the reasons why Elizabeth denied her asylum in England.

The cipher code of Mary, Queen of Scots from the Babington plot letters. Image via the UK National Archives. Image public domain.

But, the question of whether an anointed sovereign can be tried, convicted, and executed in a foreign land is a much more difficult thing to determine. Mary had foolishly entered England despite Queen Elizabeth telling her not to cross the border, and therefore she was technically trespassing. The way I see it, Queen Elizabeth’s hand was forced in the matter, (and admittedly, the impulsive and problematic Mary had conveniently delivered herself to Elizabeth on a silver platter) and she then had to detain Mary in England and keep her under surveillance for national security reasons. Mary had entered England willingly, thus putting herself under English law. 

A photo of one of the many pieces of embroidery completed by Mary, Queen of Scots during her captivity. Image Marilee Cody.

From careful analysis of the contemporary evidence, investigations into the related conspiracy theories, and debates with fellow historians and academics, I have come to the conclusion that Mary Stuart was indeed guilty of conspiring with Babington and his men to have Queen Elizabeth I killed, place herself on the throne with the help of a Spanish army, and restore Protestant England to the Roman papacy.

Elizabeth's council knew how dangerous Mary was not just as a traitor, but as a symbol, a figurehead for all Catholic rebellion in England. They were also incredibly frustrated at Queen Elizabeth’s in-action, even now that the warrant was signed. Queen Elizabeth was an expert at procrastination to force political change and to gain support, but her apprehension over the execution of her cousin was something else entirely. The council so desperately wanted Mary dead that they defied their sovereign’s wishes and agreed to endure her inevitable wrath together, all co-signing the legal documents that brought about the former Queen of Scotland’s end. Mary was privately executed on February 8th at Fotheringay Castle. Once it had been done, Queen Elizabeth was informed. She was first beside herself with grief and anguish, and the contemporary sources as well as the nature of Elizabeth’s complicated relationship with her cousin suggest that this reaction was genuine. She then became vengeful, throwing William Davison, the privy councillor who had taken defied Elizabeth's wishes by processing the warrant, in the Tower of London. That being said, Queen Elizabeth was a political genius, and it is entirely possible that the death warrant being processed without her knowledge was her plan all along. In orchestrating the execution in an indirect way, she would not have to take responsibility for the act, much like Henry II’s knights dealt with Thomas a’Becket for him when he cried out for someone to rid him of that “wretched priest”. Our strongest piece of evidence for this theory is that Mr. Davison, after cooling his heels in the Tower, was released. If this was, in fact Elizabeth’s idea all along, her grief over causing the death of her cousin should still be interpreted as genuine.

Elizabethan Privy Council manuscript concerning Mary, Queen of Scots that went up for auction recently. Photo via Paul Fraser Collectibles.

The execution of Mary Stuart provided an acceptable catalyst for Phillip II of Spain to invade England in 1588.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Francis Walsingham Appointed Secretary

A portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham by John de Critz, circa 1597. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1573, Queen Elizabeth I appointed Sir Francis Walsingham as her principal secretary. Though he was a competent statesman, Walsingham's true calling was intelligence and espionage. Through a combination of diplomacy and the use of informants and spies, Walsingham and his men managed to keep Queen Elizabeth safe from several assassination plots. 

Walsingham's finest hour was also to be his most controversial: exposing Mary Stuart's approval and support of the well-organized Babington Plot. Anthony Babington and his co-conspirators sought to have Elizabeth I deposed and killed, and then liberate the imprisoned Queen of Scots and place her on the English throne. Mary Stuart, with the help of Philip II, would restore Catholicism in England and bring the country back under papal influence. Walsingham's methods for obtaining proof of Mary Stuart's guilt may be considered entrapment by modern standards, but the fact remains that Mary did give her consent in no uncertain terms.

The Babington letter. Photo courtesy of by Barb Alexander, the Tudor Tutor.

The cipher code used by Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to correspond with Anthony Babington and, unknowingly, Walsingham and his men. UK National Archives.

Mary Stuart, the former Queen of Scots, was executed for her crimes at Fotheringay on Febrary 8th, 1587. Walsingham served as Queen Elizabeth I's secretary in an official capacity, and her "spymaster" in an unofficial capacity, until his death on April 6th in 1590.


For further reading, we recommend:

Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen Budiansky.

The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford

Also, to learn more about Sir Francis Walsingham and his family, please visit our Walsingham Family board on Pinterest.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Mary, Queen of Scots is Convicted of Treason

A portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots by an unknown artist, c.1575. Glasgow Art Gallery. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Elizabethan history, October 25th, 1586 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots was found guilty of treason, due to her involvement in the Babington Plot.

The Babington Plot was an elaborate Catholic plot, created by King Philip II of Spain and Don Bernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in England; Mendoza had recently been banished from the English court because Queen Elizabeth I was growing suspicious of his motives. There would never be another Spanish ambassador in England during Elizabeth I's reign. 

In England, the representative of the plot was Anthony Babington, a Catholic nobleman. Babington and his co-conspirators (of which there were few of any importance, since most powerful Catholics were loyal to the Queen, to whom they owed their fortunes) planned to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a "heretic" Queen, and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots as a Catholic monarch. King Philip II of Spain would invade England and help to restore Catholicism to the country, thus securing Mary's new regime.

A portrait of King Philip II of Spain, by Sofonisba Anguissola. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

While Mary Stuart was not the instigator of this plot, once informed of Philip II's plan by Babington, she gave her consent in writing. An imprisoned Queen without a country, Mary was tempted by this offer of liberation and a kingdom to rule. Sir Francis Walsingham, who was tired of simply waiting for Mary to condemn herself through her other correspondances, orchestrated a ruse in order to obtain just cause to have her arrested. Under Walsingham's orders,  Mary Stuart was led to believe that her letters in support of the Babington plot were being smuggled out of the castle securely in wine barrels, when in reality the letters were delivered directly to Walsingham. Today, most modern legal systems would consider Walsingham's methods entrapment, but even so, Mary made the decision to commit her compliance to paper. Had she rejected Babington's plan entirely, she would have been clear of treason. 

A portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham by John de Critz, circa 1587. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

Babington described to Mary Stuart his plans in such great detail that there would be know way that Mary could have misinterpreted the message:

"First, assuring of invasion: Sufficient strength in the invader: Ports to arrive at appointed, with a strong party at every place to join with them and warrant their landing. The deliverance of your Majesty. The dispatch of the usurping Competitor. For the effectuating of all which it may please your Excellency to rely upon my service.... Now forasmuch as delay is extreme dangerous, it may please your most excellent Majesty by your wisdom to direct us, and by your princely authority to enable such as may advance the affair; foreseeing that, where is not any of the nobility at liberty assured to your Majesty in this desperate service (except unknown to us) and seeing it is very necessary that some there be to become heads to lead the multitude, ever disposed by nature in this land to follow nobility, considering withal it doth not only make the commons and gentry to follow without contradiction or contention (which is ever found in equality) but also doth add great courage to the leaders. For which necessary regard I recommend some unto your Majesty as fittest in my knowledge for to be your Lieutenants in the West parts, in the North parts, South Wales, North Wales and the Counties of Lancaster, Derby and Stafford: all which countries, by parties already made and fidelities taken in your Majesty's name, I hold as most assured and of most undoubted fidelity." (Pollen)

He also explained his intent to rescue Mary and have Queen Elizabeth murdered:

"Myself with ten gentlemen and a hundred of our followers will undertake the delivery of your royal person from the hands of your enemies. For the dispatch of the usurper, from the obedience of whom we are by the excommunication of her made free, there be six noble gentlemen, all my private friends, who for the zeal they bear to the Catholic cause and your Majesty's service will undertake that tragical execution." (Pollen)


After this letter was deciphered and read by Walsingham, it was re-sent to Mary, who received it on the 14th of July. Mary gave her enthusiastic consent:

"For divers great and important considerations (which were here too long to be deduced) I cannot but greatly praise and commend your common desire to prevent in time the designments of our enemies for the extirpation of our religion out of this realm with the ruin of us all. For I have long ago shown unto the foreign Catholic princes—and experience doth approve it—the longer that they and we delay to put hand on the matter on this side, the greater leisure have our said enemies to prevail and win advantage over the said princes (as they have done against the King of Spain) and in the meantime the Catholics here, remaining exposed to all sorts of persecution and cruelty, do daily diminish in number, forces, means and power. So as, if remedy be not thereunto hastily provided, I fear not a little but they shall become altogether unable for ever to rise again and to receive any aid at all, whensoever it were offered them. For mine own part, I pray you to assure our principal friends that, albeit I had not in this cause any particular interest (that which I may pretend unto being of no consideration unto me in respect of the public good of this state) I shall be always ready and most willing to employ therein my life and all that I have or may ever look for in this world." (Pollen)

The Babington Plot letter. Photo acquired through Pinterest courtesy of Barb Alexander. Image public domain.

This statement from Mary alone could have had her convicted of treason; there was no additional evidence needed. But, since Walsingham and his associates would leave no room for error in building their case to get Queen Elizabeth to believe in her cousin's guilt, Walsingham's man Phellipes made a copy of the original letter, adding an incriminating post-script. Phellipes than made another copy of the letter for Walsingham, doodling an ominous gallows on the paper. Mary was doomed.

The key to the Babington Plot cipher code, circa 1586. UK National Archives. Image public domain.

Despite Mary, Queen of Scots being convicted of treason and sentenced to death on October 25th, 1586, Queen Elizabeth I hesitated to sign her death warrant, despite pleas from Walsingham, her Privy Councillors and Parliament. To kill an annointed sovereign was taboo; monarchs were supposed to be subject to the laws of God, but not to the laws of one another. Furthermore, Elizabeth likely had an emotional reaction to the idea of killing a Queen; her mother, Anne Boleyn, had been callously disposed of in the exact same way.

A composite image of Queen Elizabeth I and her mother, Queen Anne Boleyn. Image courtesy Inor19.

Queen Elizabeth knew if she did not kill Mary, her life, her throne, and the security of her realm would always be in question. She also knew that when the axe fell on Mary's head, Philip II would invade England, though he had been planning to do that anyway.The next two years would be dark ones indeed for Queen Elizabeth I; on February 8th, 1587 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, and in 1588, England faced the Spanish Armada.

A 17th century interpretation of the execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Image acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Sources
Pollen, J.H. "Mary Queen of Scots and the Babington plot," The Month, Volume 109. 1907. Online.

Elizabethan Fact Of The Day: Protecting the Queen

Queen Mary I had reigned directly before her sister Elizabeth I for a brief and disastrous five years, bequeathing her a bankrupt Treasury, along with a myriad of other problems. One of the ways Elizabeth cut costs and thus expedited replenishing the Treasury was by choosing not to keep a standing army during her reign. The costs of employing a standing army were astronomical, as the powers on the Continent who kept them had demonstrated. Standing army's with nothing to do also bred anxiety in the population, especially when they caused disturbances of the peace, as they were known to do. The immediate safety of England fell to the local magistrates, who were entrusted with ensuring peace within their own districts (Palliser). And the overall safety of Elizabeth and her realm would be ensured by a network of spy's and informants, overseen by Elizabeth's "spymaster" Sir Francis Walsingham.

A detail of a 16th century portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's "spymaster".Walsingham's ability to protect the Queen was never doubted, although sometimes she greatly disliked his methods. Elizabeth nicknamed him her "Moor". Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth prided herself on being accessible to all of her subjects; her practice of walking amongst throngs of people when she exited and entered buildings, often stopping to speak with them, was something that made her Councillors fear for her, and they often told her so. On Elizabeth's progresses throughout her realm, which we know she very much enjoyed, she would always stop and speak with villagers and tradesmen, without a retinue of guards to protect her. Like her mother Queen Anne Boleyn had done so many years before, Good Queen Bess would distribute coins in exchange for poesy's of meadow flowers from village children (Denny).

An Elizabethan Maundy, a miniature by female court painter Leevina Teerlinc depicting Queen Elizabeth I meeting with her subjects. Image public domain.

Elizabeth had good faith in her subjects, and they in her. These were her people, who along with God she believed had preserved her and guided her to become Queen of England. Unlike her father, whose paranoia in the latter half of his reign compelled him to order the locks of his personal apartments changed every time he moved his court to a new castle, Elizabeth would remain tangible to her people up until her death at age 69 in 1603.

Queen Elizabeth used her image (clothes, appearance of perpetual youth due to heavy makeup) and the good faith she demonstrated with her people  to build nationalism and loyalty to the crown. This "Cult of Gloriana" made Elizabeth semi-divine, and thus her people invincible.


A painting of Queen Elizabeth en route to the wedding of Lady Anne Russell, c.1600. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.