On January 12th, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, wrote from Fotheringay Castle in Northumberland to her cousin, Elizabeth of England: "I require you, Madame, not to keep me longer in this miserable suspense, which is more cruel than any certainty."
Born in 1542, Mary had succeeded her father, James V of Scotland, when only a week old. She was reared in France and returned to Scotland at the age of 19, where during a short and rather tragic reign, she was accused of numerous plots to capture the English throne, and of promoting the invasion of England by the Spaniards. She became eventually, for 18 years, the prisoner of that same Elizabeth.
And as regards the letter, Elizabeth obliged. Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringay by her cousin's warrant 413 years ago today, on February 8th that same year. Defiant to the last, she raised her voice in Latin, even as the axe was falling, to drown the prayers of her English chaplains.
Some said her fate could have been foreseen in the events of her arrival in Scotland on August 19th, 1561. According to John Knox, the Protestant reformer, "In the memory of man, that day of the year has never seen a more dolorous face of the heavens than was at her arrival. That forewarning God gave to us". He was referring to the "haar".
The haar is a sea fog peculiar to the eastern coast of Scotland. In an easterly airflow in summer, it often happens that a body of warm moist air with a temperature of 25 Celsius or more over northern Europe is carried westwards across the North Sea. As it moves towards Britain, its temperature falls steadily by contact with the cold water - down to perhaps 13 or 14 .
At this relatively low temperature, the air is overburdened with the moisture it was able to hold effortlessly when it was warmer; condensation takes place, and a haar forms in the easterly breeze playing on the Scottish coast.
One of Mary's aides described the happening: "On the fourth day of the voyage, as the galleys neared the port of Leith, they entered fog. Borne up the Firth of Forth on a fresh east wind, it settled for miles along the shoreline, heavy and impenetrable. All night long the ships floundered outside the harbour, announcing their positions by the beat of drums, until at last the pall lifted slightly with the dawn, and the three vessels crept silently into port to drop anchor."
It was a bad omen for the young Mary, Queen of Scots, as she took possession of her inhospitable kingdom.