the casket letters affair

• a meeting was set up in York to hear the case against Mary between October 1568 and January 1569
• to the meeting Scottish lords brought love letters with them supposedly written by Mary to the earl of Bothwell that shows she had plotted to murder lord Darnley
• Mary said she could not be tried as she was an anointed monarch and would not offer a plea unless Elizabeth guaranteed a verdict of innocence
• the meeting did not result in any conclusions therefore Mary remained captive in england
• by not handing over Mary Elizabeth ensured that

  • the Scottish nobility would not imprison to execute Mary
  • the French would be satisfied