The Spymaster and the Exiled Queen: Was Mary Queen of Scots Framed?

In 1586, a coded letter was intercepted that proved Mary Queen of Scots was plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. The discovery led directly to Mary's execution by beheading. But when you look closely at the letter—and at the decades of espionage that preceded it—the evidence starts to fray. The letter was written in a cipher that English spymasters had already cracked. A known double agent handled the message before it reached its destination. And the man who decoded it also added a postscript, then destroyed the original. The question is not whether Mary was a threat to Elizabeth's throne—she was, by blood and by religion. The question is whether the evidence used to kill her was real or manufactured.

The Queen Who Wrote in Code

Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scotland at six days old. She was sent to France as a child, married the French dauphin, and became queen of France at sixteen. When her husband died of an ear infection, she returned to Scotland to rule alone. But within five years, Scottish lords staged a coup, forced her to abdicate in favor of her infant son, and imprisoned her. She escaped by dressing as a washerwoman and fled to England, hoping her cousin Queen Elizabeth I would help her retake the throne.