A Brief History
On February 8, 1587, Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots or even Mary I of Scotland, was executed by the order of Queen Elizabeth I of England, her own cousin!
Digging Deeper
Mary, born in December of 1542, was only 6 days old when she inherited the throne of Scotland, and reigned for only 15 years before she was forced to abdicate after the murder of her husband and Mary remarrying the main suspect in her husband’s murder only a month after his acquittal for the murder.
Failing to reclaim her throne, Mary fled to England, presumably to be protected by her cousin, Elizabeth I. Alas, Elizabeth distrusted Mary and saw in the grand-daughter of Henry VII a potential rival for the throne of England, and had Mary kept in confinement for over 18 years until finally accusing Mary of plotting to murder Elizabeth, ultimately having the unlucky woman beheaded.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Simmons, Michael. Mary, Queen Of Scots: White Queen, Red Queen. Make Profits Easy, 2017.
Williams, Kate. Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots. Arrow, 2019.
The featured image in this article, an old engraving of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.
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