Our ★★★★★ Elizabeth and Mary exhibition closes 20 February
Members go free
It was in the depths of winter that Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution warrant was signed by her cousin, Elizabeth I.
A plot had unravelled in the summer of 1586, when Mary was caught conspiring with Anthony Babington in plotting a Catholic uprising, supported by Spain.
Elizabeth did not attend Mary’s trial. Elizabeth did not listen to James VI’s pleas for clemency. Elizabeth never knew that the Babington Plot was a setup to entrap Mary.
Discover the correspondence smuggled in beer barrels. Intercept and decipher the coded letters with Elizabeth’s spies. Witness Mary’s final moments.
Enter the dark side of the 16th century.
