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 GoodDigital Content Producer, HistoryExtra

Lauren Good is the digital content producer at HistoryExtra. She joined the team in 2022 after completing an MA in Creative Writing, and she holds a first-class degree in English and Classical Studies.

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