Mary Queen of Scots Returns to Peterborough

Mary Queen of Scots Returns to Peterborough

A visit to Peterborough Cathedral brought an unexpected encounter with one of the most dramatic figures in British history, Mary Queen of Scots.

Walking into the Cathedral today, I discovered Mary Queen of Scots: The Exhibition, and naturally the camera came out.

But this exhibition has something that no ordinary museum display can reproduce. It is being staged in the very Cathedral where Mary was originally buried.

Mary was executed at nearby Fotheringhay in 1587 and was subsequently buried at Peterborough Cathedral. She remained there until 1612, when her son James VI of Scotland and I of England had her remains transferred to Westminster Abbey.

That history gives the exhibition a special atmosphere.

Perhaps most fascinating for Peterborough is the Cathedral’s connection with two queens.

While Mary was buried on the south side of the choir, Katharine of Aragon lay across the church. For a period, both queens rested within the same Cathedral. 

Standing there today, surrounded by centuries of history, it struck me that this isn’t simply an exhibition about somewhere else.

Peterborough was part of this remarkable history

For anyone interested in Peterborough’s remarkable past, this is certainly one worth discovering.

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