Royal Road to Fotheringhay

She was in urgent need of that courage now. Her two women had come forward to help her prepare herself. She kissed them and blessed them, but they could do little to help her remove her gown; their fingers trembled, but the Queens were steady. She stood calm and brave in her camisole and red velvet petticoat, while Jane Kennedy fumbled with the gold-edged handkerchief which she tied over her mistress’s eyes.

Now Mary was shut away from the hall of tragedy; she could no longer see the faces of those who loved her, distorted with grief; she was shut in with her own courage.

Jane had flung herself at her mistress’s feet and was kissing her petticoat. Mary felt the soft face and knew it was Jane.

“Weep not, dear Jane,” she said, “but pray for me.”

She knelt there on the cushion provided for her, murmuring: “In thee, Lord, have I hoped. Let me never be put to confusion.”

Groping, she felt for the block; the executioner guided her to it. She laid her head upon it saying: “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

Bulle, the executioner, hesitated. This was his trade; his victim had forgiven him, knowing this; yet never before had he been called upon to wield the ax for one who affected him so deeply with her grace and dignity.

Every eye in the hall was upon him. He faltered. He dealt a blow. There was a gasp from the watchers, for the ax had slipped and though the blood of Mary Stuart gushed forth, she was merely wounded.

Trembling, Bulle again raised his ax; but his nerve was affected. Again he struck, and again he failed to complete his work.

It was with the third stroke that he severed the Queen’s head from her body.

Then he grasped the beautiful chestnut hair, crying: “God save Queen Elizabeth! So perish all her enemies.”

But the head had rolled on to the bloodstained cloth which covered the scaffold, and it was a wig which the executioner held up before him.

There was silence in the hall as all eyes turned to the head with the cropped grey hair—the head of a woman grown old in captivity.

And as they watched, they saw a movement beneath the red velvet petticoat, and Mary little Skye terrier, who unnoticed had followed his mistress into the hall, ran to the head and crouched beside it, whimpering.

The silence was only broken by the sounds of sobbing.

The Queen of Scotland and the Isles had come to the end of her journey—from triumph and glory to captivity, from joy to sorrow, from the thrones of France and Scotland to the ax in the hall of Fotheringhay Castle—and to peace.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From the time she was a child, Mary Stuart knew she was Queen of Scotland—and would someday rule as such. But before she would take the throne, she would spend her childhood in the court—and on the throne—of France. There she would fall under the influence of power-hungry relatives, develop a taste for French luxury and courtly manners, challenge the formidable Queen of England and alienate the Queen-Mother of France, and begin to learn her own appeal as a woman and her role as a queen.

When she finally arrived back in Scotland, Mary’s beauty and regal bearing were even more remarkable than they had been when she left as the child-queen. Her charming manner and eagerness to love and be loved endeared her to many, but were in stark contrast to what she saw as the rough manners of the Scots. Her loyalty to Catholicism also separated her from her countrymen, many of whom were followers of the dynamic and bold Protestant preacher John Knox. Though she brought with her French furnishings and companions to make her apartments into a “Little France,” she would have to rely on the Scottish Court—a group comprised of her half brother, members of feuding Scottish clans, and English spies—to educate her in the ways of Scottish politics. However wise or corrupt her advisors, however, Mary often followed the dictates of her own heart—to her own peril.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1  What do you think of her mother’s decision to send Mary to France? Were her childhood there and her marriage to François useful in strengthening her claim to Scotland and England’s throne or detrimental to it? Did the power of Guise and Loraine help her in Scotland? How do you think Mary—as a queen and as a woman—would have been different had she remained in Scotland as a child?

2  After the death of her young husband François, Mary realizes “love which she only knew went so deep since she had lost him.” Is this feeling brought about by the end of a romantic love and soulmate, or the loss of an old and dear friend? Is she more moved by the change in her stature in the Court and her uncertain future, or by the end of the relationship that had sustained it?

3  François once complained, “My mother loves me because I am the King; she loves Charles because, if I die, he will be King.” Mary tried to comfort him, but there is some truth to his understanding of the Court’s affection for power over people. Is Mary mindful of this in her own court in Scotland? Who do you think is truly loyal to Mary, and who only interested in her power?

4  Do you think that the Cardinal’s relationship with Mary ever crossed a line of impropriety? How did he maintain control over Mary?

5  What do you make of Mary’s three husbands: the weak but kind François, the deceptive and romantic Darnley, and the rough and virile Bothwell? What do the differences between them say about Mary’s changing understanding of herself, her role as Queen, and the role of love in her life? Does she ever understand true love?

6  There are a number of strong women in Mary’s life: her own mother, Catherine de Medici, Diane, Queen Elizabeth. What does Mary learn from them, if anything? Why does she rely so heavily on men for guidance?

7  Why does Mary refuse to renounce her claims to the English throne when she has so little interest in governing? Is this pride or ignorance?

8  During her time in Scotland, it is always uncertain to what degree Mary can trust the men around her, who seem foremost driven by their own ambitions. With whom do you think she should have allied herself in the Scottish Court?

9  Is John Knox correct that Mary’s weakness is tolerance? Discuss the way she dealt with Knox’s challenges. Was she strong enough in her response? Should she have tried to work closely with him? Exiled him from Scotland? How does she understand his role in Scotland?

10  Is there a guiding principle to Mary’s reign in Scotland? How does her rule there relate to her reign as Queen of France? What could she hope to gain by ruling England, as well?

11  Plaidy writes that Elizabeth was ruled by ambition and Mary by emotion. If they had met at the border as Mary wished, how would this meeting have played out? Why was Elizabeth reluctant to meet her?

12  In cases of torture or harsh punishments—such as when traitors are hanged in France or slaves on her ship are whipped—Mary sometimes strongly objects and makes a bold stand to stop it. But when traitors are drawn and quartered in Scotland, Plaidy writes that Mary “could not prevent it.” Why could she not prevent it? Is this a sign of her growing ineffectuality as she falls deeper in love with Bothwell, or is she beginning to see the truth of Catherine’s warning: “Your Majesty will never know how to reign if you do not learn how to administer justice”?