Decoding Mary, Queen of Scots

Jade Scott examines the deciphered letters of Mary, Queen of Scots and explores what they reveal about her time in captivity

Published: November 4, 2024 at 7:00 AM

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How might cryptic messages written from within a political prison bring us closer to understanding a captive queen? Historian Jade Scott has studied the letters Mary, Queen of Scots wrote in captivity, and describes them as "her weapons, her armour, her battle strategy". Speaking to Lauren Good, she reveals what we can learn from these coded missives – from the huge varieties of cipher they contained to how the Queen of Scots smuggled them past her captors.

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Jade Scott is the author of Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots (Michael O'Mara Books, 2024).

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Authors

Lauren GoodSenior content producer

Lauren Good is a senior content producer at HistoryExtra

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