The Secret Letters That Helped Send Mary, Queen of Scots to the Executioner

The Secret Letters That Helped Send Mary, Queen of Scots to the Executioner

The Babington Plot of 1586 was one of the most serious threats Elizabeth I faced during her reign. A group of men were planning to kill the Queen, free Mary, Queen of Scots from captivity and place her on the English throne. At the centre of the story were a series of letters that would eventually help bring the plot down.

Anthony Babington with his accomplices, 17th century / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.

 What makes the story so compelling is the way politics, religion and personal danger became tangled together.

Mary had been in England since 1568, after fleeing Scotland when her rule there collapsed. She had hoped Elizabeth might help her regain the Scottish throne, but instead she found herself kept under increasingly close supervision.

Her presence in England was always awkward for Elizabeth. Mary had royal blood, she was Catholic and she had a claim to the English throne. Some Catholics who opposed Elizabeth’s religious settlement saw Mary as someone who might one day replace her, and during the years she spent in England her name became linked with several plots against the Queen.

By 1586, Mary was being held at Chartley in Staffordshire. Her movements were restricted and her correspondence was closely watched. Contact with supporters outside her household was difficult, so when a secret way of exchanging letters became available, she began using it.

Those messages were smuggled in and out of Chartley, giving Mary a way to remain in contact with people beyond her household. The system, however, was not as secure as she believed.

Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s principal secretary, had built up a network of informers and agents to investigate threats against the Queen. Instead of shutting Mary’s correspondence down as soon as it was discovered, the authorities allowed it to continue. That gave Walsingham’s men the chance to see who was contacting her and what was being discussed.

Among those writing to Mary was Anthony Babington, a young Catholic gentleman from Derbyshire. He supported Mary and became involved with a group whose plans went much further than simply helping her escape. Foreign support was discussed, along with Mary’s release and the assassination of Elizabeth.

In July 1586, Babington wrote to Mary about the proposed conspiracy. His letter referred to six men who were to carry out the killing of Elizabeth and also discussed plans to free Mary.

The message was written in cipher, but that was not enough to protect it. Thomas Phelippes, one of the men working within Walsingham’s intelligence network, was a skilled codebreaker. Babington’s letter could be intercepted, copied and deciphered before it reached Mary.

Mary replied, discussing preparations for her release as well as other parts of Babington’s plan. Elizabeth’s government later used the letter as evidence that she had accepted the conspiracy. Exactly what Mary meant by some of her words, and how far she supported the proposed assassination, has continued to be debated.

Arrests followed soon afterwards. Babington tried to escape but was caught, and other members of the group were also taken into custody. The plot was stopped before any attempt could be made on Elizabeth’s life.

Mary’s own position became much more dangerous from that point. Her papers were seized and in October 1586 she was brought to trial at Fotheringhay Castle. She denied plotting Elizabeth’s death, questioned the evidence against her and argued that, as a foreign queen, she was not an English subject.

The correspondence with Babington formed an important part of the case, and Mary was found guilty.

Elizabeth now faced a decision that she had avoided for years. Mary was a former queen, a relative and an anointed monarch, so ordering her execution was never going to be a simple matter. At the same time, as long as Mary remained alive, there was always the fear that another conspiracy might gather around her.

Elizabeth eventually signed the death warrant, and on the 8th of February 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle, almost nineteen years after she had first arrived in England.

The part that really brings the Babington Plot to life is the correspondence itself. Babington and Mary were trying to communicate in secret, while Walsingham’s men were quietly following what was being said.

Those letters became some of the most important evidence used against Mary.

Do you think Mary, Queen of Scots knowingly supported the plan to assassinate Elizabeth I, or do you think Walsingham allowed the plot to continue until he had enough evidence to use against her?