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| Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots by Lionel Wijesiri Mary, Queen of Scots was one of the most fascinating and controversial monarchs of 16th century Europe. She was born on December 7, 1542 as the daughter of King James V of Scotland. Six days after her birth her father died, and she became Queen of Scotland.
From her infancy, Scotland's rival pro-English and pro-French factions plotted to gain to control of Mary. Her French mother was chosen as regent, and she sent Mary to France in 1548. Mary married the Dauphin in Paris on April 24, 1558. He succeeded his father's throne in 1559, making Mary Queen of France as well as Scotland, but his reign was brief for he died of an ear infection in 1560. The following year, despite the warnings of her friends, Mary decided to go back to Scotland, now an officially Protestant country after religious reforms led by John Knox. She was a Roman Catholic, but her half-brother, Lord James, later Earl of Moray, had assured her that she would be allowed to worship as she wished. In August 1561 she returned to England, to an unexpectedly warm welcome from her Protestant subjects. Mary did not try to force her subjects to return to the Roman Catholic Church. But she refused to give up her own Catholic faith, and as time went by, some of her subjects found this unacceptable. For the next few years Mary tried to placate the Protestants and befriend her protestant cousin - Elizabeth 1, who was the Queen of England, Elizabeth 1 had succeeded her mother to the throne in November 1558. Her mother was a Catholic. Four years after she came back to England, Mary married her first cousin, Lord Darnley. This marriage was unacceptable to the Protestants, and her half-brother, with the aid of other nobles, raised a rebellion, which Mary quickly suppressed. Her marriage with Darnley soured before long and she refused him the right to succeed if she died without issue. Alone and disappointed, Mary turned to her Italian secretary, David Rizzio, for comfort and advice. The Protestant Lords disliked Rizzio's influence because they suspected him of being a papal agent. On March 9, 1566 a group of Protestant Lords, acting with the support of Darnley, murdered Rizzio in Mary's presence at Holyrood Palace. Mary, who was six months pregnant, survived the ordeal. In Edinburgh Castle on June 19, 1566, estranged from her husband and his allies, she gave birth to a son James (later James I of England). Plot By November 1566 Mary had befriended James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and was seeking a way to dissolve her marriage with Darnley. It seems unlikely, however, that Mary was aware of the actual plot to eliminate her husband. On February 10, 1567 Darnley was murdered; the circumstances of his death to this day remain a mystery. At the time, Bothwell was believed to be the chief instigator. Nevertheless he was acquitted after a brief trial. On May 15, 1567 he and Mary were wed according to the Protestant rite. These events alienated even some of Mary's closest Catholic supporters. The nobles, many of whom disliked Bothwell, banded together to face Mary and her new husband at Carberry. The Queen was forced to surrender and Bothwell fled. Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle and on July 24, 1567, she was compelled to abdicate in favour of her son who became King James VI of Scotland. Since the new king was too young to rule, Mary's half-brother was appointed regent. With the help of a few friends, Mary escaped from the castle and immediately rallied a large force behind her. They engaged in battle at Langside on May 13, 1568, and were beaten by the army led by the Protestant Lords. At this point Mary decided to leave Scotland and go to England to beg support from her cousin Elizabeth. When Queen Elizabeth learned of Mary's arrival, she wasn't sure how to react. Elizabeth was a Protestant, and she did not want to go to war to restore her Catholic cousin to Scotland's throne. Nor did she welcome Mary's presence in England, since Mary had long claimed that she was England's rightful queen. But now that this dangerous rival had fallen into Elizabeth's hands, Elizabeth was not going to let her go free. She decided that the Queen of Scots would remain in England - as a prisoner. While she was incarcerated in England, a number of plots by English Roman Catholics evolved around her. First they decided to conduct an inquiry into Darnley's death. Evidence As evidence against Mary, her brother Moray produced a collection of documents, including letters allegedly written by Mary to Bothwell. These document, which had supposedly been seized from Bothwell's tailor, came to be called the Casket Letters. Mary was found not guilty but she remained Elizabeth's prisoner for the rest of her life. And despite Mary's pleas, the two queens never met. In 1586, Mary became embroiled in what is known as 'Babington Plot.' Anthony Babington, a young Catholic man, was a pageboy for one of Mary's jailers. He joined a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary.However, the plot was revealed and Babington and his co-conspirators were arrested, tried, and executed. And for Mary too there was no escape. In October 1586, Mary went on trial. She insisted that she had not plotted against her cousin - Elizabeth. But Elizabeth's commissioners did not believe her, and Mary was found guilty. Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle on 8th February 1587. She was buried at Peterborough; in 1612, after he had ascended the English throne, her son James had her interred in Westminster Abbey. The modern British royal family is descended from Mary, Queen of Scots. |
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