Where was Elizabeth I when told of Mary, Queen of Scots death?
The Queen had spent Christmas at Greenwich and, I believe, may still have been there in February when the execution took place. Because it was such a dreadful thing for Elizabeth to permit the execution of not only a relative but also another Queen sanctified by God (two accounts tell the story of how the signing of the warrant happened), it seems that probably a contingent of councillors faced Elizabeth to tell her. From Alison Weir’s book, “Elizabeth the Queen”: ‘When news of the execution [which had taken place in the morning of 8 February] reached London the people went wild with joy… But the Queen did not rejoice: when news of Mary’s execution was broken to her at nine am on 9 February, her reaction was almost hysterical. According to Camden, ‘Her countenance changed, her words faltered, and with excessive sorrow she was in a manner astonished, insomuch as she gave herself over to grief, putting herself into mourning weeds and shedding abundance of tears.’ She erupted, not only
