苏格兰玛丽女王

1 Fotheringhay

My name is Bess Curle but this is not my story It is the story of my lady Mary Queen of Scots She wrote the story and then she gave it to me I am going to give it to her son

She began the story a week ago It was January 1587 and we sat here in our cold room in Fotheringhay Castle in the north of England We couldn't see much from the window One or two houses a river some trees some horses and a road That's all

The road goes to London the home of Queen Elizabeth of England Mary sat with her little dog in her hands and watched it all day long

No one came along the road Nothing happened I watched Mary unhappily

Please Your Majesty come away from that window I said It doesn't help No one is going to come Queen Eliza beth can't do it Queens don't kill Queens

Don't they Bess 'mary said Then why are we here in this prison Why am I not free

Why Your Majesty Because Queen Elizabeth is afraid of you

That's right 'mary said She's afraid of me and she hates me too She hates me because I am beautiful and she is not because I had three husbands and she never married And because many people good Catnolic people in England France Scotland Spain say that I Mary am the true Queen of England not Elizabeth And Elizabeth has no chil dren so when she is dead my son James

She came away from the window and stood in front of me James 'she said quietly my son Does he think about me sometimes He was only ten months old when I last saw him It is nearly twenty years

Of course he thinks about you Your Majesty I said You write to him often How can he forget his mother

Then why doesn't he write to me 'mary asked Does he want me to say here in an English prison

No of course not Your Majesty But he has a lot of work Your Majesty He is the King of Scotland and

He is not the King of Scotland Bess 'she said Not be- fore I am dead Remember that

No Your Majesty of course not But perhaps people tell him things that are untrue You know what people say Per haps perhaps he thinks you killed his father

Mary's face went white She was very angry and for a minute I was afraid She said You know that's a lie Bess It is a lie I did not kill James's father I knew nothing about it

I know that Your Majesty But perhaps James doesn't know it He hears so many lies all the time He needs to know the true story Why don't you write and tell him

Mary sat down slowly She looked old and tired All right Bess 'she said Give me a pen please I'm going to write to James and tell him the true story You can give it to him when I'm dead

Dead Your Majesty Don't say that You aren't going to die

Her old tired eyes looked at me Yes I am Bess You know what is going to happen One day soon a man is going to bring a letter from Queen Elizabeth And then her men are going to kill me But before I die I would like to write to my son James I want to tell him the story of my life So give me a pen please

I gave her a pen This is what she wrote

2 France

Dear James Very soon I am going to die and meet my God Before I die I want to write the true story of my life for you Everything that I write here is true I cannot lie to you or to God Please believe that James It's impor- tant to me

My father died when I was one week old so I was the Queen of Scots when I was a baby At first I lived with my mother in Scotland and then when I was five I went to France My mother was French but she stayed in Scotland and died there

I went to France to marry the King of France's son His name was Francis and he was one year younger than me In 1559 his father died so Francis was King Then I was Queen of France and Queen of Scotland too

I was very happy in France Francis my husband was like a little brother to me I think he loved me bur he was very young and he was often ill And then in 1560 he died He was sixteen years old

When he died I was very unhappy and my life was very different There was a new King and Queen and I wasn't important in France any more But I was still Queen of Scots so I came back to Scotland When I arrived in Scotland I was a young girl of eighteen My mother was dead and there was no one there to meet me I walked off the ship and I slept in a little house near the sea

Next day the Scots lords came from Edinburgh They were pleased to see me and for a week everyone was happy People smiled at me and sang in the streets I think everyone liked me Then that Sunday I went to church

James my son you are a Protestant and I am a Catholic You are a good man and you love God but your church and my church are enemies I was born a Catholic and I am going to die a Catholic I love God too I hope you understand that I'm not going to change now

That Sunday people shouted angrily in the streets Your Majesty 'said the Scots lords Scotland is a Protestant coun-try You can't go to a Catholic church here The Scottish people don't like Catholics

I'm sorry my lords I said But I am your Queen no one tells me what to do I don't hate Protestants and I'm not going to kill them The people can go to their Protestant churches and pray to God there But I'm going to pray with Catholics in my church

People were angry because of that A man called John Knox came to see me He was a famous Protestant churchman but I didn't like him He was a big angry man with black clothes He hated the Catholic church and wanted all Catholics to leave Scotland To him the Protestant church was the only true church of God He said Your Majesty you're a young woman like my daughter Women can't understand difficult 10things like God or the church Find a good Protestant husband girl Let him rule this country for you

I was very angry with this man Knox I was a Queen but I was only eighteen He didn't talk quietly he shouted at me I cried because of his angry words I could not understand him he talked so much and he knew so many books But I did not go to his church

He was right about one thing Perhaps I could rule Scotland without a man but I could not have a child without one And every Queen needs a son or daughter to come after her So I began to look for a husband

3 Darnley and Riccio

At first I wanted to marry the son of the King of Spain Don Carlos But he was a Catholic of course and my Scots lords did not like that It was difficult for me James I wanted to please myself I wanted to please my friends and family in France and to please my people too And then there was the Queen of England

At first I wanted very much to be friends with Elizabeth We wrote many letters and talked about a meeting a meet-ing between two sister Queens Elizabeth wrote to me at this time

Our two countries need to be friends You need a husband I need a friend Why not marry my friend Robert Dudley the Earl of Leicester He is a tall strong man I think he could be a good husband for you

I was very angry about this letter There were a lot of sto ries about Elizabeth and Robert Dudley They were good friends he often danced and sang and talked with her Some times people said he stayed in her room all night Dudley had a wife but one day she died very suddenly It was an ac-cident she fell down the stairs they say But then perhaps she was unhappy because of her husband and Elizabeth

And she writes to me about a man like this I thought She wants him to marry me because he is her friend her lover perhaps She wants her lover to be King of Scotland

I found a better man than Dudley James I found Henry Darnley your father

He was nineteen years old and I was twenty three He was a tall man with a beautiful face and big green eyes He talked and sang well and I liked dancing with him He often wore expensive black clothes and he laughed a lot when he was with me He was very young and friendly and I felt happy when I was with him I liked him very much and I thought he loved me too

He was an important man too We were cousins his grandfather was King of Scots and his great-grandfather was Henry VII of England

In July 1565 I married him Elizabeth was very angry and so were a lot of the Scots lords My half brother the Earl of Moray tried to stop the marriage I had to fight him and he ran south to England But I was happy Your father and I laughed every day He was now Henry King of Scots

After one or two weeks the laughter stopped A King has a lot of work James you know that He has to read hundreds of letters talk to people and think about a lot of important things I did those things every day But now I thought I had a man to help me

My lord Henry I said Would you like to read all the letters with me You can sit next to me and you can work with me every day

Your father looked unhappy I'm not interested in work like that he said I don't understand it

Of course not I said You're a young man my love But I can teach you

For one or two days he sat down with me and I tried to teach him But it was true he was not interested in the work and he did not try to understand it

You do it Mary he said I'm going out with my friends We're going to ride and drink and swim

So I did all the work At night too he often went out with his friends in the town They drank a lot and laughed and sang and there were often fights But no one said anything because he was the King my husband What could people say They were unhappy but they were afraid of him Some of them went to England to the Earl of Moray

At this time I was often very tired because I was pregnant You my son James were alive inside me But I did all the work of a Queen and I needed friends too One of these friends was a young Italian David Riccio

Riccio was a little man and he was not tall or beautiful or strong But he was a very clever interesting man He wrote many of my letters for me and helped me He sang well too and I sometimes sang with him in the evenings I liked him very much and at first your father liked him too

But then Moray's friends began to talk about me and Ric cio David Riccio is in the Queen's rooms every night 'they said to your father She laughs and sings and dances with him my lord it is not right He is not a Scotsman and he is not her husband He is always with her

Perhaps they said other things too I don't know A lot of Scots lords listened to them But I tell you James before God I did nothing wrong David Riccio was a good man He worked hard and he helped me so of course I liked him Your father did not work he went out to the town every night with his friends and drank

And then one night your father came home

4 The death of David Riccio

It was a Saturday evening in March 1566 I was in Edin burgh with some friends David Riccio was there with six or seven other people We were in a small room but there was a good dinner on the table and we were happy It was dark outside but inside it was warm and friendly

Suddenly a door opened behind me In the door was Henry Darnley my husband I stood up and smiled

Good evening my lord I said Please come in Would you like something to eat

No thank you he said I'm not hungry But I want to sit next to you wife Please tell that man to move

A man got out of the chair next to me and Darnley sat beside me Then he put his arms round me I did not like it His face was hot and his eyes looked unhappy But I smiled and said I'm happy to see you my lord

Are you Mary He laughed Are you really

Yes of course my lord But

Then the second door opened and his friend Lord Ruthven stood there He had a knife in his hand His face was red and he looked very angry

Af first no one moved Then Ruthven said Your Majesty send David Riccio out of this room now I want him

I looked at Riccio He was afraid Why I said Why do you want him

He is a bad wicked man Ruthven said Send him out

No I said You want to kill him David Riccio is my friend He stays here with me

He goes out woman Lord Ruthven said King Henry hold your wife please

I stood up but Darnley held my arms and I could not move David Riccio ran behind me and held my dress My friends in the room stood up too and moved towards Ruthven angrily But he had a knife in his hand

Get back he said angrily Don't touch me

Then five men with knives ran into the little room and there was a fight One man held a knife in my face and an other man hit David Riccio behind me Then they pulled him out of the room

Help me he screamed Help me my Queen please They're going to kill me Don't aaaaaargh

I couldn't help him because Darnley had me in his arms But I could hear David Riccio's screams I think he fell down the stairs and he screamed for two or three minutes Then it was quiet

What are you doing I asked Darnley angrily Riccio is a good man why are you doing this

Darnley laughed You are my wife Mary not David Ric cio's he said so why are you with him every evening You never talk to me

I don't talk to you because you are never here I said You are always drinking with your friends You aren't a king you're a stupid boy

He laughed again It was not a nice laugh Well he said Perhaps I am a boy but that is better than David Riccio now Do you want to go and see him

I did see him five minutes after that He was very dead and there was blood all over the floor Poor David Riccio He sings to God now not me

I looked at Henry Darnley my husband He had a stupid smile on his face But I think he was afraid of me I looked at him a long time and the smile went away

Remember this night husband I said to him Remem ber it well Think about it when you look into my eyes and before you go to sleep David Riccio was my friend and you killed him in front of me I'm never going to forget that Henry Darnley Never

5 My son is born

Next morning Darnley came to see me He was afraid What's the matter husband I said Why are you crying

Oh Mary Mary he said I'm sorry I was wrong I helped those men to kill Riccio and now the Earl of Moray is back here with them He hates me I am afraid they're going to kill me and you too Think of our child Mary here inside you

He took me in his arms again I was very angry I am sorry James that this man was your father He was a stupid boy not a man He was tall and strong and beautiful but he could never think like a man or a king

I said You know these men Henry What do they want

They they want our child Mary They don't want us They're going to put you in prison They don't want you to be Queen they want your child to be King or Queen I I don't know what they want to do with me

Perhaps they want you to be King too without me I said quietly Then you can do what they say like a little boy

Perhaps Mary They said that yesterday But now that Moray's here I don't know I'm afraid Please help me He began to cry again What can we do

We can run away I said We can leave Edinburgh quick ly and quietly before Ruthven and his men stop us Be quiet for a minute I want to think

I walked up and down for two or three minutes then I said Henry go back to these men Tell them

No Mary please I can't I'm afraid of them

Listen to me Henry And try to be a man Go and tell them I'm ill because of the child Say I'm not angry with them Tell them anything lie to them Then tonight bring some men and horses here behind the castle

He went and did it All day I waited in my rooms and lis tened Then at one o'clock in the morning Darnley and I went quietly down the stairs behind the castle Some of my friends were there with horses for us Quickly we rode away into the night

That was a very bad night It was dark and cold I was ill and Darnley was afraid Come on he said Ride faster woman You're too slow

But I was pregnant and it was cold and dark We rode for five bours in the rain I can't Henry I said I'm ill Think of the baby I don't want it to die

Why not he said We can always make another one

I'm sorry but it is true Your father said things like that James Then he rode away in front of me into the dark I rode slowly behind with my good woman Bess Curle

In the morning we arrived at Dunbar Castle Darnley slept and I wrote letters to my friends Next day Lord Bothwell came to help me I liked him he was a good strong man Soon I had an army of 8 000 men Bothwell and I rode back to Edinburgh with the army Lord Ruthven died and some of his friends ran away But the Earl of Moray stayed

All that summer I ruled the country and waited for the ba-by My husband stayed outside my rooms I did not want to see him No one did Perhaps he drank with his friends I don't know

And then on 19th June in a small room in Edinburgh Cas tle my baby was born It took a long time but at last you were in my arms James my son

I asked your father to come in My Lord Henry I said This is our baby Look at him my Lord Take him in your arms He is your son isn't he beautiful

But your father did not love me James Very often after you were born he slept with other women I know that be cause he talked to everyone about it I think he wanted people to know And I am sorry but I do not think he loved you James When I took you to church and gave you your name he did not come He wasn't interested

But because of him David Riccio was dead I could never forget that Never

6 Kirk O Field

I had a new man to help me now The Earl of Bothwell a strong clever man He was older than me he was not a boy like Darnley He worked hard and he could think He was a good fighter and he was not afraid of other men Per haps you are like him James my son

In January your father Darnley was ill in Glasgow I went to see him and took him back to Edinburgh He was unhappy and afraid of people He saw enemies behind every door Poor stupid boy He said he loved me again I was an gry but I felt sorry for him too He was very ill

It's not far now Henry I said You can sleep in the castle

No not there please Mary he said I don't want to go into the castle I'm afraid of it

But where do you want to go I asked

Find me a little house outside the town and stay with me there he said We can be happy there

So I found him a small house called Kirk o Field outside Edinburgh He stayed there in a room upstairs and some times I slept in a room downstairs Darnley was often afraid and I visited him every day Slowly he got better

On Sunday 9th February there was a big wedding in Ed inburgh After the wedding Bothwell and I walked out to Kirk o Field to see Darnley and talk to him Everyone sang and laughed and was very happy

At ten o'clock I was tired Good night my lords I said

I'm going downstairs to bed

Lord Bothwell put his hand on my arm Your Majesty he said You can't sleep here now Don't you remember Peo ple are dancing and singing in town tonight everyone wants you to go

Oh yes I forgot I said Of course people want to see me there So good night Henry Sleep well

Darnley was very unhappy Please Mary my love don't go he said Don't leave me here

But I did not love him now I remembered the night when Riccio died So I smiled and said Good night Henry Be a man now don't be afraid of the dark

Then I went downstairs with Lord Bothwell Outside the house we met one of Bothwell's men He looked afraid and there was something black on his face and hands

Jesus man how dirty you are I said Don't come near me with those hands

No my lady of course not he said He looked at Both well for a minute and then ran away quickly I laughed got on my horse and forgot about it

I tell you before God James I did not kill your father It was not me I knew nothing about it nothing

I sang and danced in town and then went to bed in Edin burgh Castle Then at two o'clock in the morning there was a sudden noise a very big BANG Everybody heard it all through the town

My God I said What's that

Everyone ran out of their rooms Lord Bothwell was down stairs Don't be afraid ladies he said My men are out side they're going to see what it is

After an hour he came to see me Please sit down my lady he said I have some unhappy news

Yes my lord What is it

It's your husband Lord Darnley He is dead

But how How did he die Who killed him

I don't know my lady That bang that was his house Kirk o Field It's not there any more

What And Darnley was inside

Well no my lady Bothwell said slowly My men found him in the garden not in the house He is wearing only night clothes and there is no blood on him But he is dead I am sorry

Take me out there I want to see him now

Yes my lady

I went out to Kirk o Field in the early morning There was no house now no walls no doors no windows nothing And there in the garden a long way from the house was that poor dead boy my husband

I did not love him but I cried then He was your father James and I did not kill him I don't know who killed him but he had many enemies in Scotland

I was very afraid I too had enemies and I often slept there Perhaps someone wanted to kill me too

7 Bothwell

Soon everyone in Europe heard the news The Queen of France and the Queen of England wrote angry letters to me Who killed the King they asked I was very unhappy at this time James We looked for the killers but we could not find them Please believe me James The Scots lords are difficult men Some were friends some were enemies but they changed all the time

Many people in Scotland said Bothwell killed Lord Darn ley I heard them outside the castle and in the town But I never believed it People in Edinburgh sold horrible stories and pictures of Bothwell the same day that Darnley died It was too soon Perhaps Darnley's killers wrote these stories about Bothwell before they killed Darnley

I don't think Lord Bothwell killed your father James He was a good friend to me in difficult times He was a good strong clever man and he worked hard I liked that A lot of women liked him I think

Three times that spring he asked me to marry him He had a wife and I could not marry again so soon I asked him to wait

Then on24th April I rode out of Edinburgh to the north I had five or six friends with me Six miles outside the town Lord Bothwell met us with an army

Why are you here my lord I said

He smiled Because I want to meet you Mary he said I want you to come with me to my castle He rode next to me and his men rode between me and my friends

I was afraid and a little excited too But my lord you can't do this I said I don't want to come with you now

But I want you Mary he said Your friends can't stop me I love you and I want to marry you What's wrong with that

I said nothing What could I say I liked him and he had an army I had only six friends So I rode with him to his cas tle in Dunbar and stayed there two weeks And then He was a strong man and I was only a woman And I did like him James I liked him very much

After two weeks in Dunbar Bothwell and I rode back to Edinburgh His wife did not want him and was happy to di vorce him So on 15th May 1567 I married him

He was a good man James A much better man than your father I needed a strong man to help me rule the country

But I was wrong I understand that now All the Scots lords were afraid of Bothwell and many of them were his ene-mies They had an army and on 15th June Bothwell and I rode out to fight them

We met them at Carberry Hill It was a hot day and the two big armies stood and looked and waited Their army had a big flag with a picture of your poor dead father Darnley on it Under the picture there were the words Find my killers oh God

Come on my lord I said to Bothwell Our army is bet ter than theirs let's fight them

Both well rode up and down and talked to his men But they didn't want to fight They talked and looked at the flag and waited Then some of them walked home

At five o'clock that evening Lord Kirkcaldy rode from his army to talk to us He said to me My lady leave your hus-band and come with us We don't want men to die

And so because our men didn't want to fight I went with him It was a very bad day for me They took me back to Ed inburgh and people in the streets screamed at me Kill the woman She sleeps with her husband's killer We want James to be King Kill her now

I was unhappy and afraid and I was pregnant again They took me to Lochleven Castle and put me in a room like a prison There I did not eat for two weeks and Bothwell's children there were two babies wer born dead I nearly died too I was so angry and tired and ill Then one day after the babies died Lord Lindsay gave me a letter It said

I Mary Queen of Scots give the kingdom of Scotland to my son James From today James is the new King of Scots But because he is a child the Earl of Moray my half brother can rule the country for him

Because I was afraid and tired and ill I wrote my name on the letter Mary But it is not important James it doesn't change anything I am Queen of Scots not you That letter changes nothing

Bothwell went over the sea and died in a prison in Denmark I was a prisoner in Lochleven for a year A lot of people in Europe were angry about that Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Earl of Moray You cannot keep a Queen in prison 'she said It is very wrong I was pleased about that But Moray didn't listen

Lord Douglas lived in the castle and his young son William liked me One day there was a wedding in the castle People sang and danced and drank William Douglas gave me some old women's clothes I put the clothes on and walked quietly out of the castle with him He shut the castle door behind us to keep his father's friends in Then we got on some horses and rode away through the night

All my friends came back to me Soon I had a big army Mary is our Queen again people said Give her back her son You were in Earl Moray's castle James so I came to fight him I rode with my army to Langside near Glasgow And there

There James

There my son I lost the fight I am so sorry I had many good strong men in my army but Earl Moray's men were stronger Many of my men died and some ran away After the fight I ran away too

I did not want to go to prison again So I rode south to England Queen Elizabeth wants to help me I thought She understands She wrote to Moray and she is a Queen like me I can come back to Scotland with her army kill Moray and find my baby son James I am in England but I am free I can try again

I was wrong about that too Very wrong

8 England

Elizabeth didn't give me her army She put me in prison You know this James it is the story of your life not mine I was twenty five years old when I came to England and I am forty five now Twenty years in English prisons

Moray told lies about me Mary and Bothwell killed Darn ley he said Mary slept with Riccio and Bothwell and killed her husband But it's not true They're all lies James wicked lies They only said these things because I am a woman and a Catholic and they don't want a Catholic queen in Scotland they want a Protestant king

A king like you James Why James my son don't you help me Why are you friendly with Elizabeth my enemy You don't want me back in Scotland do you You believe these lies don't you You talk to Moray and his friends every day But they lied about me James Moray and his friends killed Riccio Then killed your father too They stole my husband Bothwell stole my son

Stole my son's love

I am sorry James Forgive me Sometimes I get very angry It is difficult not to be angry when you are in prison for twenty years

Elizabeth didn't know what to do Sometimes she believed Moray sometimes she didn't She was afraid to kill me be-cause I was a Queen She was afraid to let me go free bcause I have friends in England The English Catholics want me to be Queen of England not her And she is a woman with no husband and no son so she hates me too

Sometimes the English Catholics write to me and ask me for help and sometimes I write to them Sometimes Elizabeth's men find these letters The English Protestants want to kill me because of these letters You are a wicked woman 'they say You killed your husband Darnley and now you want to kill our Queen Elizabeth You're going to die

I did not kill my husband I said And when l came to England I did not want to kill your Queen I asked her for help I wanted to go back to Scotand But my lords she put me in prison for twenty years Twenty years my lords I want to be free don't you understand that when men write to me and try to help me then yes sometimes I write back Why not Is that wicked do you think

They didn't listen Of course not They want to kill me And so they wrote to Queen Elizabeth And now I sit here in Fotheringhay Castle and wait for her to answer I do not want to die James my son but I do not want to live all my life in an English prison I am old and tired of life Think well of me James my son and

9 A death

Queen Mary stopped writing then Yesterday afternoon 7th February 1587 we heard a horse outside our win-dow Mary looked out There was a man there on the road from London He had a letter from the Queen of England

In the evening an Englishman Lord Shrewsbury came to see Mary I am sorry my lady he said But I have a letter from my Queen You're going to die tomorrow

Mary did not move When 'she asked quietly

At half past eight in the morning he said I am very sorry my lady He went away

We did not sleep much that night We talked and prayed to God and she gave me her letter to her son James Give it to him Bess please 'she said And tell him how I died

Yes my lady I said And so now I am going to tell you King James This is how your mother died

At six o'clock she got up prayed and dressed She put on a red petticoat first then a black dress and a white veil over the dress The veil came from her head to her feet she could see out through it but we could not see her face She looked like a woman on her wedding day

When the Englishmen came we went downstairs with her Her little dog walked beside her under the veil but the Eng lishmen didn't see that Six of us went into a big room with her A hundred people stood and watched

A Protestant churchman came to talk to her My lady he said Pray with me

No 'she said Thank you but no I was born a Catholic and I'm going to die a Catholic I think God understands that 'she prayed for five minutes and then stood up The executioner came towards her He was a big strong man with an axe and something black over his face

I am sorry my lady he said I don't hate you but this is my work Please forgive me

Of course I forgive you 'mary said I am old and tired and you're going to open my prison doors for me I am going to see God Do your work well

Then she looked at me and her friends Don't cry for me ladies 'she said Please don't cry now

She could not walk to the block so the executioner helped her He took off her white veil and then he took off her black dress and put it on the floor She stood there in her red pet-ticoat with a smile on her face Then the executioner put something over her eyes Very slowly Mary put her head on the block

The Lord my God is my one true friend 'she said I give my life oh God into your hands

Then the executioner lifted his axe once twice oh God three times and her head her poor poor head fell on the floor

It was very quiet in the room after that It is a little thing a head a very little thing But there was so much blood blood on her red petticoat blood on her black dress and her white veil blood on the executioner's shoes blood all over the floor Blood blood everywhere

We all looked and said nothing The executioner put down his axe and stood quietly And then Mary's little dog came out from under her bloody dress and veil and walked slowly un-happily through the blood towards her head

My lord the story of your poor mother's life finishes here We her friends cry for her but that is how your mother died She died like a Queen A good lady and a famous Queen

Mary Queen of Scots