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On 6 July 1586, Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland (for England), and Francis Stewart, Earl Bothwell (for Scotland) secured a mutual defensive alliance between the two countries guaranteeing aide and support should either be invaded.Seen by some as a forerunner to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots - only after the treaty was signed did Walsingham \'discover\' a plot by Anthony Babington against Elizabeth - its more important purpose was to secure the English succession.
Although nothing is said in the treaty concerning this, an appendix was agreed whereby James VI, King of Scots, would receive an annual pension of £4,000 from the English state. James, rightly or wrongly, perceived this \'pension\' as recognition of his rights in England.
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 1587
On 8 February 1587, at Fotheringhay Castle, Elizabeth\'s heir, Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed for treason after becoming involved in the Babington Plot. Mary had been in English custody since her escape from Scotland in 1568. At the age of forty-four, she was no longer the dazzling beauty she had once been - disease had filled out her frame and she had lost her strong auburn hair.As Mary went to the block, she revealed that she was wearing a scarlet smock - the colour symbolised Catholic martyrdom.
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