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The distressing public shaming of Mary, Queen of Scots

24 January 2019

Mary Stuart’s turbulent life is once again under scrutiny due to the cinema release of Mary Queen of Scots.

It’s one of many screen adaptations focusing on the rivalry between the Scottish queen and her cousin, England’s Elizabeth I.

Perhaps less well known in Mary’s story is her dramatic fall from grace in Scotland and the harrowing punishment meted out to her in front of her subjects.

When Mary Queen of Scots was taken prisoner in Edinburgh in June 1567

What might an someone have seen when Mary Queen of Scots was taken prisoner in Edinburgh

Implicated in murder

Many believed Mary was involved in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley.

Her marriage to Lord Bothwell, chief suspect in Darnley’s demise, prompting Scottish Lords to rise against her.

She surrendered to them in June 1567 and was taken to the Provost’s House on Edinburgh’s High Street where she was to be held overnight before being taken to Lochleven Castle.

But en route to this very public building, Mary was surrounded by an angry mob.

Shouts of “Burn the whore!” and “Burn the murderer!” were aimed at the distressed and dishevelled queen, who defiantly shouted back.

Mary could have been held overnight at her palace, but the central location was chosen specifically. Her last hours in Edinburgh were spent in this public space where she could be shamed and pilloried, regardless of her position as Scotland’s queen.