Mary, Queen of Scots was born in 1542, daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise.

A fervent Roman Catholic and a claimant to the English Crown, Mary was a great danger to Elizabeth I.
She was captured in 1568 and after 19 years of confinement, executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587.

She was first buried in Peterborough Cathedral with great solemnity by Elizabeth’s orders but James I brought the remains to Westminster in 1612.
He had erected a magnificent marble tomb for her in the south aisle of the Lady Chapel on which there is a fine white marble effigy under an elaborate canopy.

She wears a close-fitting coif, a laced ruff, and a long mantle fastened by a brooch.
At her feet is the Scottish lion crowned.