They Just Opened Mary, Queen Of Scots’ Forbidden Vault — And The Condition Of Her Remains Shocked Historians
Mary, Queen of Scots, met a brutal fate after years as a prisoner in England. Suspected of plotting against Queen Elizabeth I, Mary was executed in 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle.
Her death was grim: the executioner’s axe missed on the first blow, and only after several attempts was Mary’s head finally severed. Even her appearance defied expectations—her hair, thought to be red, was revealed to be a wig, exposing short, gray hair beneath. The scene was so disturbing that it haunted witnesses for generations.
After her execution, officials worried that Mary’s remains would become a rallying point for Catholics. To prevent this, they burned her bloodstained clothing and concealed her internal organs within the castle walls.
Her embalmed body was sealed in a heavy lead coffin, left at Fotheringhay while authorities debated her burial. Mary had wished to be buried in France, but Elizabeth refused, fearing her grave would incite unrest. Instead, Mary was given a formal Protestant funeral and buried in Peterborough Cathedral, far from her homeland.
For decades, Mary’s grave became a quiet symbol for Catholics, who saw her as a martyr. When her son, James VI of Scotland, became King James I of England, he sought to honor her legacy. In 1612, he ordered Mary’s body moved to Westminster Abbey, the heart of English royalty, where a grand marble tomb was built for her in the Lady Chapel. The tomb was placed opposite that of her rival, Elizabeth I, symbolizing their enduring conflict.
Beneath the ornate monument, Mary’s body remained sealed in the lead coffin, placed in a brick vault known as the Stuart vault. Over centuries, the vault filled with the coffins of James’s descendants and relatives, including princes, queens, and numerous children who died young. The chamber became crowded and confusing, with burials squeezed in as needed and records growing unreliable.
By the 19th century, the vault had lain undisturbed for over 250 years. Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley of Westminster, driven by historical curiosity and concern for the abbey’s structure, led an inspection of the royal vaults in the 1860s. When the Stuart vault was finally opened, historians and church officials expected to find orderly royal burials. Instead, they were shocked.
Inside, the vault was cramped and chaotic. Many coffins were crushed, shifted, or broken, with bones exposed to view. But Mary’s coffin stood out—it was shaped to the contours of her body, unlike the simple boxes of her relatives. The shell-like lead casket remained sealed, preserving her remains after centuries of movement and decay around her.
The condition of the vault and the remains inside left historians speechless. The reality of royal burial was far removed from the dignity and order of the monuments above. Mary’s story, marked by violence, secrecy, and political intrigue, continued even in death. Her body, moved, hidden, and finally rediscovered, remains a powerful symbol of the turbulent history she lived—and the enduring fascination she inspires.
The opening of the forbidden vault revealed not just the physical remains of a queen, but the layers of history, myth, and sorrow that surround her legacy.
