Accused of planning the assassination of her cousin Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots stood trial for treason on 14th October, 1586.

Mary’s coded letters, delivered to her co-conspirators in beer barrels, had been intercepted by Sir Francis Walsingham, who had deciphered and copied them and built a case against the former Scottish monarch.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Mary had come to be exiled in not one, but two, palaces; consider her pleas of innocence, in the light of her apparent propensity for plotting; and paint a memorable picture of her decapitation at the hands of the State… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Mary, Queen of Scots: Life Story (The Babington Plot)’, (Tudor Times, 2017): https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/mary-queen-of-scots-life-story/the-babington-plot

• ‘Facts about the execution of Mary Queen of Scots’ (History Scotland, 2020):

https://www.historyscotland.com/history/facts-about-the-execution-of-mary-queen-of-scots/

• ‘The Babington Plot’ (Russel Tarr, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siZxHuzkdU

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

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