Editing Mary, Queen of Scots (section)

== Escape and imprisonment in England ==

{{Location map+|United Kingdom|AlternativeMap=United_Kingdom_relief_location_map.jpg|alt=Map of the UK with location of Mary's places of imprisonment|caption=Mary's places of imprisonment|float=right|width=300|places=
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=56.20|long=-3.39|position=top|label=[[Lochleven Castle]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=54.64|long=-3.54|position=left|label=[[Workington Hall]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=54.90|long=-2.94|position=top|label=[[Carlisle Castle]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=54.32|long=-1.95|position=right|label=[[Bolton Castle]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=52.86|long=-1.69|position=right|label=[[Tutbury Castle|Tutbury]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=53.38|long=-1.46|position=top|label=[[Sheffield]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=53.09|long=-1.44|position=right|label=[[Wingfield Manor|Wingfield]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=53.23|long=-1.61|position=left|label=[[Chatsworth House|Chatsworth]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=53.26|long=-1.91|position=right|label=[[Buxton]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=52.85|long=-1.99|position=left|label=[[Chartley Castle|Chartley]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=52.80|long=-2.03|position=bottom|label=[[Tixall Gatehouse|Tixall]]}}
{{Location map~|United Kingdom|lat=52.52|long=-0.44|position=bottom|label=[[Fotheringhay Castle|Fotheringhay]]}}
}}

On 2 May 1568, Mary escaped from [[Lochleven Castle]] with the aid of George Douglas, brother of [[William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton|Sir William Douglas]], the castle's owner.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=357–359}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=367}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=432}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=172}}</ref> Managing to raise an army of 6,000 men, she met Moray's smaller forces at the [[Battle of Langside]] on 13 May.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=368}}; {{Harvnb|Hunter|2022|p=229}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=433}}</ref> Defeated, she fled south. After spending the night at [[Dundrennan Abbey]], she crossed the [[Solway Firth]] into England by fishing boat on 16 May.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=369}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=433–434}}: {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=173}}</ref> She landed at [[Workington]] in [[Cumberland]] in the [[north of England]] and stayed overnight at [[Workington Hall]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=368–369}}</ref> On 18 May, local officials led by [[Richard Lowther (1532–1608)|Richard Lowther]] took her into protective custody at [[Carlisle Castle]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=369}}; {{Harvnb|Scott|2024|p=75}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=435}}</ref>

Mary apparently expected Elizabeth to help her regain her throne.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=369}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=435}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=434}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=174}}</ref> Elizabeth was cautious, ordering an inquiry into the conduct of the confederate lords and the question of whether Mary was guilty of Darnley's murder.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=430}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=445}}</ref> In mid-July 1568, English authorities moved Mary to [[Bolton Castle]], because it was farther from the Scottish border but not too close to London.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=444}}</ref> Mary's clothes, sent from Lochleven Castle, arrived on 20 July.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bain|1900|p=460}}; {{Harvnb|Hunter|2022|p=233}}</ref> A commission of inquiry, or conference, as it was known, was held in York and later Westminster between October 1568 and January 1569.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=385–390}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=174}}</ref> In Scotland, her supporters fought a [[Marian civil war|civil war]] against Regent Moray and his successors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=184}}</ref>

=== Casket letters ===

{{main|Casket letters}}

As an anointed queen, Mary refused to acknowledge the power of any court to try her. She refused to attend the inquiry at York personally but sent representatives. Elizabeth forbade her attendance anyway.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=447}}; Mary later requested to attend the conference at Westminster, but Elizabeth refused permission. In response, Mary's commissioners withdrew from the inquiry ({{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=461–463}}).</ref> As evidence against Mary, Moray presented the so-called [[casket letters]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=432}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=464}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=175}}</ref>—eight unsigned letters purportedly from Mary to Bothwell, two marriage contracts, and a love sonnet or sonnets. All were said to have been found in a silver-gilt casket just less than {{convert|1|ft|cm|spell=in}} long and decorated with the monogram of King Francis II.<ref>For the list of documents see, for example, {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=397}} and {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=176}}; for the casket description see {{cite book |author=Robertson, Joseph |author-link=Joseph Robertson (historian) |title=Inventaires de la Royne d'Ecosse |publisher=Bannatyne Club |location=Edinburgh |year=1863 |page=lviii}} and {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=432}}.</ref> Mary denied writing them and insisted they were forgeries,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=435}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=446–447}}</ref> arguing that her handwriting was not difficult to imitate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=407}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=221}}</ref> They are widely believed to be crucial as to whether Mary shared the guilt for Darnley's murder.<ref>e.g., {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=395}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=453, 468}}</ref> The head of the commission of inquiry, the [[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk|Duke of Norfolk]], described them as horrible letters and diverse fond ballads. He sent copies to Elizabeth, saying that if they were genuine, they might prove Mary's guilt.<ref>[[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk|Norfolk]], [[Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex|Sussex]] and [[Ralph Sadler|Sadler]] to Elizabeth, 11 October 1568, quoted in {{Harvnb|Bain|1900|p=527}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=451–452}}</ref>

The authenticity of the casket letters has been the source of much controversy among historians. It is impossible now to prove either way. The originals, written in French, were possibly destroyed in 1584 by Mary's son.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bingham|1995|p=193}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=465}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=176}}</ref> The surviving copies, in French or translated into English, do not form a complete set. There are incomplete printed transcriptions in English, Scots, French, and Latin from the 1570s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=392}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=466–467}}</ref> Other documents scrutinised included Bothwell's divorce from Jean Gordon. Moray had sent a messenger in September to Dunbar to get a copy of the proceedings from the town's registers.<ref>{{Harvnb|McInnes|1970|p=145}}</ref>

Mary's biographers, such as [[Antonia Fraser]], [[Alison Weir]], and [[John Guy (historian)|John Guy]], have concluded that either the documents were complete forgeries,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=400, 416}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=465–474}}</ref> or incriminating passages were inserted into genuine letters,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=396–397}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=400–404, 408–412, 416}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=465–474}}</ref> or the letters were written to Bothwell by a different person or written by Mary to a different person.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=404, 410, 420–426}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=287, 396–401}}</ref> Guy points out that the letters are disjointed and that the French language and grammar employed in the sonnets are too poor for a writer with Mary's education<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=399, 401–417}}</ref> but certain phrases in the letters, including verses in the style of [[Ronsard]], and some characteristics of style are compatible with known writings by Mary.<ref>{{cite book |first=George Malcolm |last=Thomson |author-link=George Malcolm Thomson (1899–1996) |year=1967 |title=The Crime of Mary Stuart |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |isbn=978-0-09-081730-6 |pages=148–153, 159–165}}</ref>

[[File:Mary Queen of Scots portrait.jpg|thumb|left|A portrait of Mary from the latter half of the 16th century]]

The casket letters did not appear publicly until the Conference of 1568, although the Scottish privy council had seen them by December 1567.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=352}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|pp=171, 176}}</ref> Mary had been forced to abdicate and held captive for the better part of a year in Scotland; the letters were never made public to support her imprisonment and forced abdication. Historian [[Jenny Wormald]] believes this reluctance on the part of the Scots to produce the letters and their destruction in 1584, whatever their content, constitute proof that they contained real evidence against Mary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=470}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|pp=177–178}}</ref> In contrast, Weir thinks it demonstrates that the lords required time to fabricate them.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=471}}</ref> At least some of Mary's contemporaries who saw the letters had no doubt that they were genuine. Among them was the Duke of Norfolk,<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|1964|pp=137–139}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=453}}</ref> who secretly conspired to marry Mary in the course of the commission, although he denied it when Elizabeth alluded to his marriage plans, saying "he meant never to marry with a person, where he could not be sure of his pillow".<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=459}}; {{Harvnb|Williams|1964|p=141}}</ref>

The majority of the commissioners accepted the casket letters as genuine after a study of their contents and a comparison of the penmanship with examples of Mary's handwriting.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=475–476}}</ref> Elizabeth, as she had wished, concluded the inquiry with a verdict that nothing was proven against either the Confederate lords or Mary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=390}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=481}}</ref> For overriding political reasons, Elizabeth wished neither to convict nor to acquit Mary of murder. There was never any intention to proceed judicially; the conference was intended as a political exercise. In the end, Moray returned to Scotland as regent and Mary remained in custody in England. Elizabeth succeeded in maintaining a Protestant government in Scotland, without either condemning or releasing her fellow sovereign.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=481}}</ref> In Fraser's opinion, it was one of the strangest "trials" in legal history, ending with no finding of guilt against either party, one of whom was allowed to return home to Scotland while the other remained in custody.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=391}}</ref>

=== Plots ===

[[File:Mary, Queen of Scots - A catte - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|"A•CATTE". Embroidery done by Mary in captivity (now in the [[Royal Collection]])<ref>{{Royal Collection|28224|A catte|Mary, Queen of Scots}}</ref><ref>[[Oxburgh Hangings|Embroideries]] by Mary are also kept in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] ([https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O137608/the-marian-hanging-hanging-mary-queen-of/ Marian Hangings], [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?listing_type=&offset=0&limit=15&narrow=&extrasearch=&q=Oxburgh+Hangings&commit=Search&quality=0&objectnamesearch=&placesearch=&after=&after-adbc=AD&before=&before-adbc=AD&namesearch=&materialsearch=&mnsearch=&locationsearch= Oxburgh Hangings]) and [[Hardwick Hall]].</ref>]]

On 26 January 1569, Mary was moved to [[Tutbury Castle]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=484}}</ref> and placed in the custody of the [[George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury|Earl of Shrewsbury]] and his formidable wife [[Bess of Hardwick]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=410–411}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=441}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=184}}</ref> Elizabeth considered Mary's designs on the English throne to be a serious threat and so confined her to Shrewsbury's properties, including Tutbury, [[Sheffield Castle]], [[Sheffield Manor Lodge]], [[Wingfield Manor]], and [[Chatsworth House]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=442}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=484}}</ref> all located in the interior of England, halfway between Scotland and London and distant from the sea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=440–441}}</ref>

Mary was permitted her own domestic staff, which never numbered fewer than 16.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=438}}</ref> She needed 30 carts to transport her belongings from house to house.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=439}}</ref> Her chambers were decorated with fine tapestries and carpets, as well as her [[cloth of state]] on which she had the French phrase, ''En ma fin est mon commencement'' ("In my end lies my beginning"), embroidered.<ref>It had been her mother's motto ({{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=443–444}}).</ref> Her bed linen was changed daily,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=443}}</ref> and her own chefs prepared meals with a choice of 32 dishes served on silver plates.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=444–445}}</ref> She was occasionally allowed outside under strict supervision,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=453–454}}</ref> spent seven summers at the spa town of [[Buxton]], and spent much of her time doing embroidery.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=448–450, 518}}</ref> Her health declined, perhaps through [[porphyria]] or lack of exercise. By the 1580s, she had severe [[rheumatism]] in her limbs, rendering her lame.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=443–446, 511}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=447, 458}}</ref>

In May 1569, Elizabeth attempted to mediate the restoration of Mary in return for guarantees of the Protestant religion, but a convention held at [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] rejected the deal overwhelmingly.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=179}}</ref> Norfolk continued to scheme for a marriage with Mary, and Elizabeth imprisoned him in the [[Tower of London]] between October 1569 and August 1570.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=415–424}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=487}}</ref> Early the following year, Moray was assassinated. His death occurred soon after an unsuccessful [[Rising of the North|rebellion in the North of England]], led by Catholic earls, which persuaded Elizabeth that Mary was a threat. English troops then intervened in the Scottish civil war, consolidating the power of the anti-Marian forces.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=496}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=180}}</ref> Elizabeth's [[Secretary of State (England)|principal secretary]] [[William Cecil, Lord Burghley]], and [[Sir Francis Walsingham]] watched Mary carefully with the aid of spies placed in her household.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=469}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=451}}</ref>

[[File:Mary Queen of Scots by Nicholas Hilliard 1578.jpg|thumb|Mary in captivity, by [[Nicholas Hilliard]], ''c.'' 1578]]

In 1571, Cecil and Walsingham (at that time England's ambassador to France) uncovered the [[Ridolfi Plot]], a plan to replace Elizabeth with Mary with the help of Spanish troops and the Duke of Norfolk. Norfolk was executed and the English Parliament introduced a bill barring Mary from the throne, to which Elizabeth refused to give royal assent.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=464–470}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|pp=492–494}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=183}}</ref> To discredit Mary, the casket letters were published in London.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=467}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=493}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=184}}</ref> Plots centred on Mary continued. [[Pope Gregory XIII]] endorsed one plan in the latter half of the 1570s to marry her to the governor of the [[Low Countries]] and illegitimate half-brother of [[Philip II of Spain]], [[John of Austria]], who was supposed to organise the invasion of England from the [[Spanish Netherlands]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=446}}</ref>

Mary sent letters in cipher to the French ambassador, [[Michel de Castelnau]], scores of which were discovered and decrypted in 2022–2023.<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2024|p=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/01611194.2022.2160677 |title=Deciphering Mary Stuart's lost letters from 1578-1584 |year=2023 |last1=Lasry |first1=George |last2=Biermann |first2=Norbert |last3=Tomokiyo |first3=Satoshi |journal=Cryptologia |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=101–202 |s2cid=256720092 |doi-access=free|issn=0161-1194 }}</ref> After the [[Throckmorton Plot]] of 1583, Walsingham (now the queen's principal secretary) introduced the [[Bond of Association]] and the [[Safety of the Queen, etc. Act 1584|Act for the Queen's Safety]], which sanctioned the killing of anyone who plotted against Elizabeth and aimed to prevent a putative successor from profiting from her murder.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=473}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=474–476}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=506}}</ref>

In 1584, Mary proposed an "[[Association of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI|association]]" with her son, James. She announced that she was ready to stay in England, to renounce the Pope's bull of excommunication, and to retire, abandoning her pretensions to the English Crown. She also offered to join an offensive league against France. For Scotland, she proposed a general amnesty, agreed that James should marry with Elizabeth's knowledge, and accepted that there should be no change in religion. Her only condition was the immediate alleviation of the conditions of her captivity. James went along with the idea for a while, but eventually rejected it and signed an alliance treaty with Elizabeth, abandoning his mother.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=458–462}}</ref> Elizabeth also rejected the association because she did not trust Mary to cease plotting against her during the negotiations.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=458–462}}</ref>

In February 1585, [[William Parry (spy)|William Parry]] was convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, without Mary's knowledge, although her agent [[Thomas Morgan (of Llantarnam)|Thomas Morgan]] was implicated.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=472}}</ref> In April, Mary was placed in the stricter custody of [[Sir Amias Paulet]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=457}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=507}}</ref> At Christmas, she was moved to a moated manor house at [[Chartley Castle|Chartley]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=479}}</ref>

=== Trial ===

[[File:Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots - Documents relating to Mary, Queen of Scots (1586), f.569* - BL Add MS 48027.jpg|thumb|A drawing of the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, 14–15 October 1586, in the great hall of [[Fotheringhay Castle]], Northamptonshire, where she was later beheaded.]]

On 11 August 1586, after being implicated in the [[Babington Plot]], Mary was arrested while out riding and taken to [[Tixall Hall]] in Staffordshire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=484–485}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=493}}</ref> In a successful attempt to entrap her, Walsingham had deliberately arranged for Mary's letters to be smuggled out of Chartley.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=482–483}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=477–480}}; {{Harvnb|Scott|2024|p=212}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=507}}</ref> Mary was misled into thinking her letters were secure, while in reality they were deciphered and read by Walsingham.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=482–483}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=477–480}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=507}}</ref> From these letters it was clear that Mary had sanctioned the attempted assassination of Elizabeth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=483–485}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=507}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=185}}</ref>

Mary was moved to [[Fotheringhay Castle]] in a four-day journey ending on 25 September. In October, she was put on trial for treason under the Act for the Queen's Safety before a court of 36 noblemen,<ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=508}}</ref> including Cecil, Shrewsbury, and Walsingham.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=509}}</ref><ref>Two of the commissioners were Catholics ({{Harvnb|Lewis|1999|p=22}}).</ref> Spirited in her defence, Mary denied the charges.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyd|1915|pp=59–65, 143–145, 309–314}}; {{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=506–512}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=488–489, 492}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=508}}</ref> She told her triers, "Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the whole world is wider than the kingdom of England."<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=488}}</ref> She protested that she had been denied the opportunity to review the evidence, that her papers had been removed from her, that she was denied access to legal counsel, and that as a foreign anointed queen she had never been an English subject and therefore could not be convicted of treason.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=506–512}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=489–493}}</ref>

She was convicted on 25 October and sentenced to death with only one commissioner, [[Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche|Lord Zouche]], expressing any form of dissent.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=517}}</ref> Nevertheless, Elizabeth hesitated to order her execution, even in the face of pressure from the English Parliament to carry out the sentence. She was concerned that the killing of a queen set a discreditable precedent and was fearful of the consequences, especially if, in retaliation, Mary's son, James, formed an alliance with the Catholic powers and invaded England.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=521–522}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=508}}</ref>

Elizabeth asked Paulet, Mary's final custodian, if he would contrive a clandestine way to "shorten the life" of Mary, which he refused to do on the grounds that he would not make "a shipwreck of my conscience, or leave so great a blot on my poor posterity".<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=529}}</ref> On 1 February 1587, Elizabeth signed the death warrant, and entrusted it to [[William Davison (diplomat)|William Davison]], a [[privy councillor]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=528}}</ref> On 3 February,<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=519}}</ref> ten members of the [[Privy Council of England]], having been summoned by Cecil without Elizabeth's knowledge, decided to carry out the sentence at once.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=496}}</ref>

=== Execution ===

{{Main|Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots}}

[[File:ExecutionOf MaryQueenOfScots DrawingBy RobertBeale 1587.png|thumb|The execution scene, drawn by eyewitness [[Robert Beale (diplomat)|Robert Beale]]]]

At Fotheringhay, on the evening of 7 February 1587, Mary was told she was to be executed the next morning.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=531}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=498}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=508}}</ref> She spent the last hours of her life in prayer, distributing her belongings to her household, and writing her will and a letter to the King of France.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=533–534}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=500}}</ref> The [[Scaffold (execution site)|scaffold]] that was erected in the [[Great Hall]] was draped in black cloth. It was reached by two or three steps, and furnished with the block, a cushion for her to kneel on, and three stools for her and the earls of [[George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury|Shrewsbury]] and [[Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent|Kent]], who were there to witness the execution.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=537}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=4}}</ref>

The executioner Bull and his assistant knelt before her and asked forgiveness, as it was typical for the executioner to request the pardon of the one being put to death. Mary replied, "I forgive you with all my heart, for now, I hope, you shall make an end of all my troubles."<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Lewis|1999|p=118}}</ref> Her servants, [[Jane Kennedy (courtier)|Jane Kennedy]] and [[Gilbert Curle|Elizabeth Curle]], and the executioners helped Mary remove her outer garments, revealing a velvet petticoat and a pair of sleeves in crimson brown, the [[liturgical colour]] of martyrdom in the Catholic Church,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=538}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=209}}; {{Harvnb|Wormald|1988|p=187}}</ref> with a black satin bodice and black trimmings.<ref>Morris, John (ed.) (1874). [https://archive.org/details/letterbooksofsir00poulrich ''Letter Book of Amias Paulet''], pp. 368–369</ref> She was blindfolded by Kennedy with a white veil embroidered in gold, knelt down on the cushion in front of the block on which she positioned her head, and stretched out her arms. Her last words were, ''In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum'' ("Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit").<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|pp=7–8}}</ref>

Mary was not beheaded with a single strike. The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head. The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterwards, he held her head aloft and declared "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=539}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=8}}</ref> Cecil's nephew, who was present at the execution, reported to his uncle that after her death, "Her lips stirred up and down a quarter of an hour after her head was cut off" and that a small dog owned by the queen emerged from hiding among her skirts<ref name="Fraser540">{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=540}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=9}}</ref>—though eyewitness Emanuel Tomascon does not include those details in his "exhaustive report".<ref name=fugger>{{cite book |last=Tomascon |first=Emanuel |chapter=79. Execution of Mary Stuart |editor-last=von Klarwill |editor-first=Victor |title=The Fugger Newsletters |publisher=John Lane The Bodley Head |location=London |year=1924 |pages=97–105}}</ref>

[[File:Tomb effigy of Mary, Queen of Scots (copy).jpg|thumb|A copy of Mary's effigy, [[National Museum of Scotland]]. The original, by [[Cornelius Cure]], is in [[Westminster Abbey]].]]

When the news of the execution reached Elizabeth, she became indignant and asserted that Davison had disobeyed her instructions not to part with the warrant and that the Privy Council had acted without her authority.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=541}}</ref> Elizabeth's vacillation and deliberately vague instructions gave her [[plausible deniability]] to attempt to avoid the direct stain of Mary's blood.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=497}}</ref> Davison was arrested, thrown into the [[Tower of London]], and found guilty of [[Misprision#Positive misprision|misprision]]. He was released nineteen months later, after Cecil and Walsingham interceded on his behalf.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hutchinson |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hutchinson (historian) |year=2006 |title=Elizabeth's Spy Master: Francis Walsingham and the secret war that saved England |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-84613-0 |pages=196–201}}</ref>

Mary's request to be buried in France was refused by Elizabeth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=532}}</ref> Her body was embalmed and left in a secure lead coffin until her [[Funeral of Mary, Queen of Scots|burial in a Protestant service]] at [[Peterborough Cathedral]] in late July 1587.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|pp=542, 546–547}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=509}}</ref> Her entrails, removed as part of the embalming process, were buried secretly within Fotheringhay Castle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=541}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=9}}</ref> Her body was exhumed in 1612 when her son, [[James VI and I]], ordered that she be reinterred in [[Westminster Abbey]] in a chapel opposite the tomb of Elizabeth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=504}}; {{Harvnb|Weir|2008|p=509}}</ref> In 1867, her tomb was opened in an attempt to ascertain the resting place of her son, James I of England. He was ultimately found with [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]. Many of her other descendants, including [[Elizabeth of Bohemia]], [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]] and the children of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain]], were interred in her vault.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1994|p=554}}</ref>