To Kill A Queen Read online

  And then Her Majesty took my hand in her own! “Catherine Lumsden. You are a member of a family that has proved truly loyal to the crown. We must make sure that, when the time comes, you marry another loyal Englishman, so that your children continue the family tradition. Yes?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” I said. Actually, I don’t like the thought of getting married at all, but you do not argue with the Queen.

  Suddenly, she was gone!

  And now we are home. I am so proud that my Father’s service to his queen – although we still don’t know exactly what he does – is so valued by her that she wished to honour his family. For honoured we are, Father says. He is to be given a large house in the country, Mother has on her second finger a ring with an emerald the size of a hazelnut (that was the Queen’s token), I am to have the Queen’s interest in my marriage (Mother is thrilled, though I am not), and – best of all – Joseph will leave Lincoln’s Inn. He is to become Sir Francis Walsingham’s special messenger – a job he can do well.

  I have almost filled my book. Maybe the Queen will send me a diary on my birthday. But first, I must find a way to let her know when it is. . .

  Historical note

  Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

  When Henry couldn’t persuade the Pope to agree to an annulment of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he broke away from the Roman Catholic church, and established the Church of England. As he also made himself Supreme Head of the new church, he was able to arrange matters to suit himself. He divorced Catherine and married Anne.

  When Henry died he was succeeded by Edward VI, his son by his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was a staunch Protestant who provided churches with Bibles in the English language so that all the people could understand it, and he declared that the Roman Catholic Latin church service was illegal.

  Edward died while still in his teens, and was succeeded briefly by the Protestant Lady Jane Grey, and then by his half-sister, Mary Tudor. She was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and was a devout Catholic. Mary restored England to the Roman Catholic church, and set about trying to stamp out Protestantism. She burned alive many people who might stand against her, and even imprisoned her Protestant half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, for a time, believing her to be a threat. Her severity earned her the nickname Bloody Mary. Many people wanted an end to Mary’s reign, and Elizabeth, as her obvious successor, was a focus for Protestant plots.

  In 1558, Mary Tudor died, and the throne passed to Elizabeth. At first hers was a more tolerant reign. As long as Catholics made no attempt to force their religion on her people, they were allowed to go about their lives in peace. There were so many Catholic plots, however, that Elizabeth became afraid for her life. She was forced to become tougher, making it illegal for priests to be in England, and for ordinary people to help or hide priests. Those who refused to attend the English, or Anglican, church were charged huge monthly fines – well over £3,000 in today’s money.

  Mary, Queen of Scots was a constant worry. While she lived, she was a focus for those who were intent on restoring the country to Roman Catholicism. If Elizabeth could be removed, and Mary put on the English throne, their ambitions would succeed.

  The anti-Catholic Sir Francis Walsingham was constantly on the lookout for such plots, and formed a great network of spies both in England and abroad. It was well known that plotters would depend on help from an invading force, and his “ears” in other countries soon learned of invasion plans.

  Thanks to such loyal servants, many plots were exposed, but all the time Walsingham knew that they would not stop until Mary, Queen of Scots was dead. Elizabeth was unwilling to harm her own cousin – a fellow queen – so Walsingham knew that Mary had to be implicated in a plot beyond a shadow of doubt if she was ever to be convicted and executed.

  The Babington plot gave Walsingham just what he needed: letters to and from Mary, showing that she approved of a scheme to assassinate Elizabeth, and of Babington’s plan to put her on the throne of England. Walsingham set a trap for Mary, and eventually succeeded in bringing her to trial.

  In October 1586, Mary conducted her own defence in the Great Hall at Fotheringhay Castle, and protested her innocence throughout the two days of the trial.

  For four months, Elizabeth couldn’t bring herself to sign the warrant for her cousin’s execution. Finally, in February 1587, she was persuaded to. Even then, she called back William Davison, the secretary who had taken the warrant, to ask if perhaps the matter might be dealt with by someone else. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for Mary’s death, and would rather the lady was quietly murdered.

  But the warrant was delivered to Fotheringhay and, on 8 February, Mary was taken once again to the Great Hall, this time to face her executioner. She died bravely, with the words “Into your hands, O Lord” on her lips. When men came to remove her body, Mary’s faithful little dog was found hiding beneath her skirts.

  As soon as Elizabeth heard the news of the execution, she flew into a violent rage, swearing that she had never meant the warrant to be sent. Others had to take the blame. William Davison was sent to the Tower of London, and the Lord Treasurer banished from her presence.

  With the Catholic queen dead and buried, the Protestant population could feel that the English throne was safer than it had ever been. But the death of Mary, Queen of Scots was always to weigh heavily on the mind of Queen Elizabeth.

  Timeline

  11 June 1509 Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother, at Greenwich.

  18 February 1516 Henry and Catherine’s daughter, Princess Mary, is born.

  1527 Henry asks the Pope, in Rome, to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

  11 February 1531 Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church of England.

  January 1533 Henry and Anne Boleyn marry in a secret ceremony.

  7 September 1533 Birth of Henry and Anne’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, at Greenwich Palace.

  19 May 1536 Anne Boleyn is executed at the Tower of London.

  Henry marries Jane Seymour.

  1537 Jane Seymour gives birth to Prince Edward.

  8 December 1542 Mary Stuart is born. Within a week, she becomes Queen of Scots.

  1547 Death of Henry VIII.

  Prince Edward becomes King Edward VI.

  1548 Mary Stuart moves to France.

  1553 Death of Edward VI.

  Henry’s daughter, Mary Tudor, becomes queen.

  1555 Queen Mary begins persecuting Protestants in earnest.

  1558 Death of Queen Mary.

  Princess Elizabeth becomes queen.

  Mary Stuart marries the Dauphin of France, the future Francis II.

  1560 Francis dies, leaving Mary a widow.

  1561 Mary returns to Scotland.

  Anthony Babington is born, the third son of a wealthy Derbyshire family.

  1565 Mary marries Lord Darnley.

  1566 Mary gives birth to a son, the future King James VI of Scotland and James I of England.

  1567 Murder of Lord Darnley.

  Mary marries the Earl of Bothwell, who was involved in Darnley’s murder.

  Mary is imprisoned by her own people and forced to abdicate in favour of her son.

  1568 Mary flees Scotland and arrives in England, seeking protection from Queen Elizabeth, but is imprisoned.

  1570 Mary receives the Pope’s support in her claim for the English throne.

  Queen Elizabeth is excommunicated by the Pope.

  1571 Discovery of the Ridolfi Plot to free Mary Stuart, marry her to the Duke of Norfolk, put her on the throne, and to restore Catholicism to England.

  1572 The Duke of Norfolk is executed.

  1577 Anthony Babington serves in the household of the Earl of Shrewsbury, where Mary Stuart is imprisoned.

&n
bsp; 1579 Babington marries Margaret (or Margery) Draycot.

  1580 Babington is studying law in Lincoln’s Inn, London.

  Babington goes to France for several months.

  Edmund Campion, a Jesuit priest, arrives in England.

  1581 People can be fined £20 a month for not going to church.

  Campion is accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Elizabeth, and is executed.

  Any Catholic priest discovered can be executed, by law.

  1583 Discovery of the Throckmorton plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth in favour of Mary Stuart.

  1584 Spanish ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, is accused of involvement in the Throckmorton plot, and expelled from England.

  William, Prince of Orange is assassinated.

  1585 Anthony Babington travels overseas for several months.

  1586 The Babington plot, which implicated Mary Stuart, is discovered.

  September 1586 The conspirators in the Babington plot are executed.

  October 1586 Mary is taken to Fotheringhay Castle and tried for treason.

  1 February 1587 Queen Elizabeth signs Mary Stuart’s death warrant.

  8 February 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed.

  1603 Queen Elizabeth dies, and is succeeded by James I of England and VI of Scotland, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

  Picture acknowledgments

  The Art Archive/Musée du Château de Versailles/ Dagli Orti

  The Art Archive/Victoria and Albert Museum London/ Sally Chappell

  Mary Evans Picture Library

  Topham Picturepoint

  Topham Picturepoint

  Bridgeman Art Library/Private Collection

  The Art Archive

  The young Mary, Queen of Scots.

  A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

  Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary of State.

  A view of London Bridge and the City of London.

  The Tower of London and the River Thames.

  A drawing of Sir Anthony Babington and his co-conspirators.

  A contemporary illustration showing the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

  While the events described and some of the characters in these books may be based on actual historical events and real people, Kitty Lumsden is a fictional character, created by the author and her diary is a work of fiction.

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2005

  (as The Queen’s Spies)

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2013

  Text copyright © Valerie Wilding, 2005

  Cover illustration © Richard Jones, 2008

  eISBN 978 1407 13346 1

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