Summary
Overview
This episode chronicles the final dramatic chapter of Mary Queen of Scots' life, from her entrapment in the Babington Plot through her trial and eventual execution at Fotheringay Castle in 1587. The episode reveals how Elizabeth I's spymaster Francis Walsingham orchestrated an elaborate sting operation using double agents and code-breaking to obtain irrefutable evidence of Mary's involvement in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, ultimately leading to her conviction for treason and her carefully staged martyrdom on the scaffold.
The Babington Plot Letter and Mary's Fateful Decision
In July 1586, Mary Queen of Scots made the decision that would seal her fate, responding to Anthony Babington's letter proposing the assassination of Elizabeth I. After seventeen days of deliberation in her captivity, Mary's secretary composed a coded reply that gave approval to "set the six gentlemen to work" - a clear endorsement of the assassination plot. Unbeknownst to Mary, her entire correspondence network had been penetrated by Elizabeth's intelligence network, and this letter would become the evidence her enemies had been waiting decades to obtain.
- Mary's letter written on July 17, 1586, gave the green light to an assassination plot against Elizabeth I, referring to 'six gentlemen' who would undertake 'that tragical execution'
- The letter was written in secret code and included a postscript instructing the recipient to 'fail not to burn this present quickly'
- Mary had spent 17 days mulling over her response to Babington's proposal before finally authorizing the plot
- The conspiracy combined an armed uprising in England, Mary's release from captivity, and a coordinated invasion from France
" Then shall it be time to set the six gentlemen to work, taking order that on the accomplishing of their design, I may be suddenly transported out of this place. "
" Fail not to burn this present quickly. "
Mary's Conditions in Captivity and Her Character
By 1586, the 43-year-old Mary was far from the glamorous young queen of popular imagination. Nearly two decades of captivity had taken their toll - she suffered from serious health issues including swollen legs, constipation, and stooped shoulders from lack of exercise. Yet she maintained the full royal protocol, demanding elaborate meals and proper deference even as her jailer, the austere Puritan Sir Amias Paulett, worked to isolate her from the outside world and prevent any contact with sympathizers.
- Mary at 43 was overweight, stoop-shouldered, with swollen legs 'wrapped in gross matter' and suffering from severe health issues
- Despite captivity, Mary maintained royal protocol with two courses at dinner and supper, each with 16 dishes - 64 dishes per day
- By 1586 her conditions were harsher: reduced to 20 meals a day with only 48 servants, surrounded by two moats at Chartley Manor
- Sir Amias Paulett, her Puritan jailer, was chosen specifically because he would not succumb to Mary's considerable charm
" This will be the last trouble I shall give you and the most agreeable service you have ever done me. "
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