February 8 - Execution of Mary Queen of Scots

This Day in History: 8 February 2020

 

8 February 1587

 

433 years ago, today, Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded, after 19 years of imprisonment, for the involvement in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. When Mary was just six days old, her father, King James V, died, resulting in her ascension to the throne. She was sent by her mother to be raised in the French court and married the French dauphin who would become King Francis II of France in 1559. However, he died the following year, but after his death, Mary returned to Scotland, and assumed her role as the country's monarch.

 

In 1565, Mary married her English cousin, Lord Darnley, to reinforce her claim to the English throne if Elizabeth was to die, but he was mysteriously killed in an explosion. Mary's love, the Earl of Bothwell, was the key suspect, and the nobles were not happy when he married Mary in the same year. In retaliation, Mary brought an army against them but was defeated, forcing her to abdicate and go into imprisonment, although she escaped in 1568. She was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth, but shortly after, Mary became the focus of many plots to overthrow Elizabeth and was put under house arrest. 19 years later, a major plot to murder Elizabeth was reported, so Mary was brought to trial, and was convicted for complicity and sentenced to death. She was beheaded, but her son, King James VI of Scotland, calmly accepted his mother's death. After Elizabeth's own death in 1603, James became the king of England, Scotland and Ireland.

 

Want to find out more about the life and death of Mary? Click here to find out more, or watch the 2019 film 'Mary Queen of Scots', starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.