3 February 1587 – Elizabeth I’s Privy Council makes a decision about Mary, Queen of Scots

On this day in 1587, the Privy Council met in William Cecil, Lord Burghley's chambers at Greenwich and agreed to send Mary, Queen of Scots' signed death warrant to Fotheringhay. Burghley appointed the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent to direct the execution, and the council agreed to keep Elizabeth in the dark until the deed was done.

Elizabeth I had called her secretary, William Davison, to her on 1st February 1587, asking him to bring Mary's execution warrant for her to sign. She signed it and later claimed that she had instructed him to not let the warrant out of his hands until he had permission from her. Davison's story differed. He claimed that Elizabeth told him that she wished the execution to take place in the Great Hall of Fotheringhay Castle without delay, for she was disturbed by reports of an attempt to rescue Mary. As instructed, Davison asked Sir Christopher Hatton, the acting Lord Chancellor, to seal the warrant with the Great Seal of England to validate it. Hatton and Davison had then taken the warrant to Lord Burghley, fearing that Elizabeth would change her mind.

The warrant was sent to Fotheringhay on 4th February.

Last year, I did a two-part video series on the fall of Mary, Queen of Scots. Here are the links:

• Elizabeth I and the Fall of Mary, Queen of Scots, Part 1
• Elizabeth I and the Fall of Mary, Queen of Scots, Part 2

(Taken from On This Day in Tudor History by Claire Ridgway)