Today in 1586 the trial of Mary Queen of Scots began. At first, she had refused to take part in any trial saying that it didn’t apply to her because she was the Queen of Scotland and the laws of England weren’t applicable. But she was told by Cecil that it would take place with or without her, and so she showed up in a black velvet gown. She was not allowed a lawyer, nor was she allowed to call witnesses. She was also not allowed to look at the documents that were used against her. The trial began with a recap of the Babington Plot, and Mary claimed that she had never known Babington, and had no knowledge of the plot at all. But Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, had put together some damning evidence including copies of the ciphers and letters. When Mary saw all this evidence she burst into tears, but still claimed that they were all false. The trial lasted another day, and Mary said she should seen before Parliament and the Queen, but she was fighting a losing battle. Within six months she would be dead.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 085: Tudor Times on Mary Queen of Scots
How Mary Queen of Scots was almost murdered…
Mary Queen of Scots: Mermaid
Mary Queen of Scots’ Cipher, and the art of hiding messages
From the shop:
Mary Queen of Scots Collection
Featuring: Mary Queen of Scots “Coffee, because family reunions go better when you’re fully caffeinated.” Mug
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.