Inside Mary, Queen of Scots' Execution | How the Tudors Lost their Heads | National Geographic UK

On the 1st of February, 1587, Elizabeth signed Mary's death warrant. Cecil had finally got his way. After all the violence and wars, marriages and betrayal, and almost two decades, nearly half her life in captivity, Mary's fate was finally decided. There's one last piece of evidence I want to check out. Something so delicate and important that it's kept here at the National Library of Scotland under lock and key, protected from daylight. Wow. In here is the last letter Mary ever wrote, written shortly before she died. Look at that. It's been out of public view for almost a decade. That is amazing. Thank you. Wow. I always find it completely thrilling to have these encounters with documents like this because the last person who wrote on it, more or less, was Mary herself. It's written to her brother-in-law, Henri III, King of France. Monsieur, mon beau frère, it was by God's will for my sins that I threw myself entre le bras, into the arms of this queen, and je suis enfin, I am at last, by her and by her states condemned to death. And she goes on to say that she receives death innocent of all crimes. The only crime that she could be found guilty of is la religion catholique, that she is Catholic. This is the truth that she's trying to get out in this letter, that she's dying as a Catholic martyr, but the English won't allow her to say that because c'est pour la crainte, so because of their fear of damage to their faith. And then, at the end here, it says, ce mercredi à deux heures après minuit, this Wednesday at two o'clock after midnight. So that's two o'clock in the morning. So she wrote this six hours before her death. She signs it off, Marie, and then an R for Regina. You know, I am struck by the fact that she is writing something that is so emotional, so heartfelt and sincere, but it's also so strategic. She's very much shaping this narrative that she dies as a Catholic martyr innocent of all crimes, and it's not quite true. I mean, you know, she has plotted Elizabeth's death, but in her version of events, she is innocent and she's dying for her faith, and that is what comes out so powerfully from this document, that she's choosing the story that will be told about her after her death. After everything we've discovered, it's time to meet up, and where better than here? This is Burley House in Lincolnshire, built by Lord Burley, also known as William Cecil. What an extraordinary house. It is, and can you believe it? This is actually Cecil's smaller house. Really? Yeah. His amazing mansion was completed the very same year Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed. Wow, look at this. What a room, my goodness me. Isn't it wonderful? That is extraordinary, isn't it? That ceiling is from the 1580s. So, Susie, where have you ended up? Is she pretty much innocent, is she a victim, is she passive, or did she bring this on herself? I don't think she's involved in Darnley's murder. I think that it's coercion and rape when it comes to Bothwell. But then, in the end, she does sign her name to a document that is acting against Elizabeth, and so it's on that basis that she's executed. I do think it could have turned out differently if she and Elizabeth hadn't met. Yeah, it's amazing they never meet. I think they would have had so much in common. They've been pitted against each other throughout history as one being unmarried, one being much married, one Protestant, one Catholic, but actually they're both very strong. They're formidable women, and they probably could have worked something out between them if they got the men out of the room. I've ended up in a slightly strange place, which I wonder if it was inevitable. When you get two crowned monarchs inside one kingdom, if you look at other periods, other places, surprise, surprise, one of those monarchs is dead pretty quick. So the amazing thing actually is that Elizabeth lets her live that long. Elizabeth bends over backwards not to kill her, but it feels like there's just so many forces pushing them both towards conflict, a conflict that only one of them can survive. With all that we've learned, it's time to look again at Mary's final moments. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Mary is led into the Great Hall at Fotheringhay Castle. Inside, nobles are gathered, here to bear witness to the execution of an anointed queen. The executioner begs her forgiveness. I forgive you with all my heart. For now, I hope you shall put an end to all my troubles. Cecil wasn't there, but he'd carefully choreographed the scene, or so he thought. Never have I had such grooms to make me unready, nor ever put off my clothes before such a company. Mary had planned one last bold statement. The reveal of a red gown, the colour of Catholic martyrdom. As her final letter declared, she was dying for her faith. This was Mary reclaiming control, writing her own story. She may not have won in life, but in death, she would triumph.