0:00:03 > 0:00:06On the night of 13 July 1685,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Anna Scott, the Duchess of Buccleuch,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14was ushered through these gates to the Tower of London.
0:00:14 > 0:00:20Anna knew as she hurried into the Tower that the Scott family's future hung in the balance.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26Just days earlier, she had been on the verge of being crowned Queen of England and Scotland,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29but now, the family were tainted with treason.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Whether they survived, or lost everything, rested on her shoulders.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44In this series, I'm going on a personal journey to reveal
0:00:44 > 0:00:49the extraordinary stories behind the great clan names of history.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53One of the most fascinating of all is that of the Scott family
0:00:53 > 0:00:59whose influence would extend from their home in the Borders to the very heart of the Royal Court.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04And who ultimately owe their success to two remarkable women.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Today, the Scotts of Buccleuch are one of the greatest landowners in Britain
0:01:25 > 0:01:28with hundreds of thousands of acres of land and estates,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30four major castles
0:01:30 > 0:01:35and a vast art collection which is one of the finest in the world.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It may be hard to believe amongst all this wealth and grandeur,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42but the Scotts weren't always quite so respectable.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50For centuries, the borderlands between England and Scotland
0:01:50 > 0:01:52were a lawless war zone
0:01:52 > 0:01:57where riding clans like the Scotts launched horseback raids,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00lifting cattle and property from their neighbours.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Raiding was very much a way of life in this part of the country in the 16th century.
0:02:07 > 0:02:14And there are countless examples of the Scotts taking part in attacks on both sides of the border.
0:02:14 > 0:02:20But in 1596, the head of the Scott family, known as the Bold Buccleuch,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24launched a raid on an English stronghold here in Carlisle
0:02:24 > 0:02:26which would cause a diplomatic crisis
0:02:26 > 0:02:31and, as a result, transform the fortunes of the Scotts of Buccleuch.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35The English, of course, had started it all.
0:02:35 > 0:02:42Their underhand tactics during a truce had led to the capture of one of Buccleuch's men, Kinmont Willie.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Now, the imprisonment of this notorious, cross-border raider,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50or reiver as they were known, led to a storm of protest in Scotland.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Kinmont Willie was held here at Carlisle Castle.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59A stark and impregnable fortress.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02But the Bold Buccleuch was determined to make a point and show
0:03:02 > 0:03:08the English that if they could seize men illegally, then so could he.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16In an incredibly daring move, Buccleuch stormed Carlisle Castle and freed Kinmont Willie.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Now, this prison breakout turned the Bold Buccleuch
0:03:20 > 0:03:24into a local hero, but not everyone was so impressed.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Especially the Queen of England.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Elizabeth I was enraged by Buccleuch's raid and was quick
0:03:33 > 0:03:37to communicate her fury to James VI, King of Scotland.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41James was hoping to be named as Elizabeth's successor, but now,
0:03:41 > 0:03:47thanks to Buccleuch's raid, it looked as if the furious Queen might change her mind.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Storming their way into Carlisle Castle, springing a prisoner,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59it's an attack on the authority of the English Crown,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03it's an act of military aggression, really.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It begins a process of a spiralling out of control.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11There was genuine fears that it might actually
0:04:11 > 0:04:15have resulted in outright warfare between Scotland and England.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22'Buccleuch took shelter from the diplomatic storm he'd unleashed here at Branxholme Tower -
0:04:22 > 0:04:27'his home in the Borders - where I've come to meet historian, Anna Groundwater.'
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Anna, the whole thing seems to be coming quite a dangerous international incident?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Well, Elizabeth is absolutely furious.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38It was an affront to her honour and she wasn't going to back down
0:04:38 > 0:04:41until some recognition of that had been made.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43And James seems to have been in quite an awkward position
0:04:43 > 0:04:49because his honour's been affronted, yet he needs Elizabeth and she's pulling the strings.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Yes, Elizabeth had two holds over him.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Firstly, she hadn't yet confirmed who the succession would be to her throne
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and he was quite desperate to get that confirmation.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And secondly, and perhaps more importantly at this moment,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05she controls his pension and he's desperately in need of it.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09And he held out for at least 18 months, but I think really in the end,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15the combination of the succession question plus just he needed the cash
0:05:15 > 0:05:18meant that in October '97
0:05:18 > 0:05:23he basically ordered Buccleuch to surrender himself to the English.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Buccleuch was sent south to the Royal Court
0:05:27 > 0:05:31to deliver an apology in person to the Queen.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35What happens when Buccleuch eventually arrives in London?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38He was summoned before Elizabeth and she asked him,
0:05:38 > 0:05:43"How is it that you dare such an act so presumptuous, so desperate?"
0:05:43 > 0:05:47And he turns to her and he says, "What is it that a man dare not do?"
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And she said, "Well, with 10,000 such men as these, my brother, Scotland,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55"might shake the firmest throne in Europe".
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So, in a sense, he, she was bowled over by the Bold Buccleuch.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01She was very much bowled over. He wasn't a courtly person.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04He was very upfront, but he certainly charmed Elizabeth.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10So instead of being sent home with a flea in his ear, he goes home with a feather in his cap.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15He certainly does. He returns to Scotland and James' complete approval
0:06:15 > 0:06:21and he really establishes, I think, the basis for the future fortunes of the Buccleuch family.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27The Bold Buccleuch's audacity had won the Scotts the royal seal of approval.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31In the following decades, the position as Crown favourites
0:06:31 > 0:06:36allowed the Scotts to buy up vast swathes of land in the Borders.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45By the time the Bold Buccleuch's grandson, Francis Scott, became the Second Earl of Buccleuch,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48the family had put their raiding days firmly behind them
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and become very much part of the establishment.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The Scotts were now one of the wealthiest families in the land.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00And left behind their rough and ready home on Branxholme Tower
0:07:00 > 0:07:04for a more refined residence in Dalkeith.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08But no matter how much land and money the family possessed,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11to survive and to prosper,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16they still had to deliver one vital thing - a male heir.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25But tragically, Francis Scott's only son died aged just one-year-old.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29And a year later, Francis himself died leaving two young daughters.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Potentially, this had dire implications for the Scotts.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Without a male heir, there would be no-one to carry the family name on.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And it seemed inevitable that the vast Buccleuch estates
0:07:42 > 0:07:45would be swallowed up and the two young girls
0:07:45 > 0:07:47married into other families.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56The daughter will obviously get married, that entire estate goes with her on her marriage to a new family.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01And your own family's heritage really disappears.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Females led to splitting of estates.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Males preserved the succession.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08That's really the difficulty if you have only daughters.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Throughout history, many great families and even royal dynasties,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17had died out because of the failure to produce a male heir.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22But the story of the Scott family would be very different.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Before he died, Francis Scott drew up a shrewd legal document
0:08:26 > 0:08:30to guarantee the future of the Scott family.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Not only did he take the extraordinary step
0:08:32 > 0:08:39of giving his daughters the same rights of inheritance as male heirs, he also made it a legal requirement
0:08:39 > 0:08:44that whoever married either one of them would have to take on the Scott name.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Francis Scott had ensured the survival of his family name,
0:08:50 > 0:08:57but he could do nothing to stop his young daughters becoming the prey of greedy and ambitious nobles.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Wherever these little girls go,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01their wealth is going to go with them
0:09:01 > 0:09:02and whomever they marry,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06it will make that person enormously, enormously wealthy.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10The richest men in the land, the most powerful men in the land,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13they want them and they want control of them.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20The man who would emerge as the most determined of all to get control of the Scott heiresses was their uncle,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24the wealthy and powerful Earl of Tweeddale.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30He is very much cast as the wicked uncle and he does seem to be doing
0:09:30 > 0:09:33his absolute utmost to get control of the girls.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38He becomes enormously desirous of getting a hold of one of those little girls
0:09:38 > 0:09:43to marry his son so that money can come back into his family
0:09:43 > 0:09:45where he believes it actually should sit.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The Earl set his sights on the young and vulnerable Mary,
0:09:52 > 0:09:59who, at the tender age of four, had become the head of the Scott family and one very desirable heiress.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02But standing between Mary's fortune and her uncle
0:10:02 > 0:10:06was a woman determined to stay in control of the Buccleuch estates.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Mary's mother, the formidable Margaret Leslie.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Margaret Leslie is a cunning, determined woman
0:10:13 > 0:10:19and she has occasionally, I think, been painted as a rather sort of grasping woman
0:10:19 > 0:10:22that she's trying to ensure that she retains control over her daughters.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25But, I think, wouldn't any mother try and do that?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Margaret hates the Earl of Tweeddale.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30There's a massive rivalry between them.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33She absolutely wants to ensure that he doesn't get his hands on little Mary.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39On 9 February 1659,
0:10:39 > 0:10:46aged just 11-years-old, Mary Scott walked down the aisle to be married.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48But it was not the wedding that everyone expected.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It had been hastily arranged and there were no guests.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56In fact, hardly anyone knew that the wedding was even taking place.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01I'm meeting historian Kathy Callaghan
0:11:01 > 0:11:04to find out about the cloak-and-dagger marriage
0:11:04 > 0:11:06that Margaret Leslie had masterminded
0:11:06 > 0:11:13to ensure that she, and no-one else, kept control of the Scott fortune.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15But Kathy, can you explain how Margaret Leslie
0:11:15 > 0:11:19was able to get this marriage off the ground so successfully and so secretly?
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Certainly, she was a very cunning woman
0:11:22 > 0:11:25and she worked very diligently to plan in the background
0:11:25 > 0:11:27without letting people know - very secretly.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31She worked to make sure the people around her were people that she could control.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And there would have been grounds to oppose this marriage, presumably?
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Oh, absolutely. First of all, Mary's age.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40She was clearly under-age, not yet reached the legal age of 12.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Also, there was the fact that the bridegroom
0:11:43 > 0:11:48was not someone who brought anything to the marriage.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50He had nothing. He was impoverished.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53He was beneath her, in other words.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Margaret had struck a deal with a lower-status family.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03The Scotts of Highchester who were more than willing to allow her to call the shots.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07But when news broke that Mary had married aged just 11
0:12:07 > 0:12:11people were scandalised, especially the Earl of Tweeddale
0:12:11 > 0:12:17who was furious that Mary and the Scott fortune had slipped through his fingers.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20He wanted his son to marry Mary.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22He wanted the control of the Buccleuch money
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and so, as a consequence, he begins to launch investigations
0:12:26 > 0:12:29including "I'm going to the church and filing a protest"
0:12:29 > 0:12:33so that the challenges began almost after the "I do's".
0:12:35 > 0:12:38As Mary had married below the legal age of 12,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42the Earl of Tweeddale tried to have her wedding declared unlawful.
0:12:44 > 0:12:51Mary now became the central character in a world of murky intrigue and political manoeuvring.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55But after a bitter legal struggle,
0:12:55 > 0:13:01Margaret Leslie was triumphant and Mary's marriage was recognised as legitimate.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05It was soon clear, however, that this was a hollow victory.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09In the Spring of 1661, aged just 13,
0:13:09 > 0:13:14Mary lay dying at the Scott family home in Dalkeith.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20It seems that she probably had bone cancer in her arm.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Her mother spared no expense
0:13:22 > 0:13:26in trying to make sure that Mary survived this.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30She spent thousands and thousands of pounds in an effort to make life better for her daughter,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33but, unfortunately for Mary, the cancer won.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41On 12 March 1661, Mary Scott died.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Her 10-year-old sister Anna was now the new Countess of Buccleuch.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50And the Earl of Tweeddale had a second chance to try and secure the Scott fortune
0:13:50 > 0:13:55by forcing through a marriage between his son and Anna.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59But incredibly, once again, Margaret Leslie pulled a move
0:13:59 > 0:14:03which would leave even the shrewdest political operator standing.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Here in The National Archives of Scotland
0:14:07 > 0:14:11is remarkable evidence of Margaret's audacity.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13This time, she decided to change tactics.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17In fact, she aimed much, much higher.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19She wrote to the King.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24This is a letter written by Charles II.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Now, he's written this in response to a letter he'd received from Margaret Leslie,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32in which she'd offered her daughter, Anna, as a potential bride
0:14:32 > 0:14:35to his illegitimate son, James.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Now, Charles is very quick to respond.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42He seems delighted at the possibility of this marriage going ahead.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48He says to Margaret, "I am very sensible of the affection which you showed to me in the offer
0:14:48 > 0:14:52"you make concerning the Countess of Buccleuch".
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Now, that's Anna. "Which I do accept most willingly".
0:14:57 > 0:15:02The news of Anna's engagement to the King's favourite, albeit illegitimate, son
0:15:02 > 0:15:03sent shockwaves through Scottish society.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09The Scotts had gone from reivers to royalty in three generations.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11No-one can believe Margaret was smart enough to do this.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17Here was this woman operating behind the scenes with this great plan that she apparently hatched on her own
0:15:17 > 0:15:21and, as a consequence, people were dumbfounded.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23And now she is answerable only to the King.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35In the Spring of 1663, Anna and her mother arrived in London.
0:15:37 > 0:15:44Anna's husband to be was James Croft, born after the King's affair with his mistress, Lucy Walters.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Crucially, although he was illegitimate,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52Charles had acknowledged James and had made it very clear that he was his favourite child.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00The young couple were married in the King's private chambers
0:16:00 > 0:16:03in the building behind me here at Whitehall.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09It was the wedding of the season and was even mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his famous diary.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Now, following tradition,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15the young couple were seen to bed by the wedding party,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17but they were quickly separated on account of their ages.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22James was just 14 and Anna merely 12 years of age.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30The young and inexperienced Scottish heiress was thrust into
0:16:30 > 0:16:34the glamorous and racy world of Charles II's Court.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40In celebration of the marriage, the King showered the couple with gifts and honours.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43He made James Duke of Monmouth.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45And Anna became a Duchess.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The young couple enjoyed all the trappings of royal privilege.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51The King lavished the pair with gifts.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57They have beautiful houses, they have jewels, they have servants, they have carriages.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00They are the envy of the Court.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07I've come to meet historian, Richard Oram to get an insight into Anna and the man she'd married.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10This must be Anna Scott.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- Yes. - How old do you think she is there?
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Probably in her early 30s. She had her first son when she was 21.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20What kind of woman do you think she was?
0:17:20 > 0:17:26We first come across her, she's very much a controlled and manipulated individual.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31She's pushed forward, put into a marriage really by her mother's design.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34So this is not a marriage of love and romance.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- This is a strategic marriage, a marriage of convenience.- Yes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And this is the greatest marriage that they could have hoped for.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44You're bringing together the greatest heiress in Scotland
0:17:44 > 0:17:47with the King's favourite illegitimate child.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50James has been built up and built up by his father,
0:17:50 > 0:17:56showered with offices, showered with titles, great marriage arranged
0:17:56 > 0:18:02and Anne is brought into the royal family, effectively, through this marriage.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08Yeah, this lady is the nearest there is to a princess in waiting.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Their children,
0:18:10 > 0:18:16as children of the acknowledged royal bastard, have royal blood,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20so prince and princess by default.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25And she is beginning to emerge as a self-confident woman in the glittering Royal Court.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30To all accounts, Anna was a rather wonderful character.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Different diarists talk about her
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and they all talk in terms of prudence and sagacity.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38A woman of wit and intelligence.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Being daughter-in-law to the King certainly had its advantages,
0:18:42 > 0:18:47but Anna soon realised her marriage was no fairytale.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Monmouth was a 17th century playboy.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53He knew how to have a good time
0:18:53 > 0:18:56and no-one was going to stop him from having a good time.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Monmouth begins to be serially unfaithful to her.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01He's constantly choosing mistresses.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Spending, of course, he has huge amounts of money
0:19:04 > 0:19:07to lavish presents on any pretty girl who might catch his eye.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13She spends the first few years really having to come to terms with the fact that
0:19:13 > 0:19:16the dashing young Duke of Monmouth is a philanderer,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18a scoundrel, a rogue,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23a conspirator and not an altogether pleasant individual.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But Monmouth's most dangerous quality was his ambition.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32His greed for power would bring Anna within a heartbeat of becoming Queen.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38But also place her and the Scott family on the brink of complete ruin.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48Charles indulged James, Duke of Monmouth, so much over his life that
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I think James felt that anything he wanted he was going to get.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57And as a consequence, when his father died, he believed that he should have the throne.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02But the fact remained that Monmouth was illegitimate.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08So when Charles II died in 1685, he was succeeded by his brother, James.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Scotland and England, both Protestant countries,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14now had a Catholic on the throne -
0:20:14 > 0:20:20a situation that not only caused much unrest across the country,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22but further fuelled Monmouth's ambition.
0:20:22 > 0:20:29He became increasingly obsessed with the idea that he, and not his Uncle James, was the rightful heir.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32And with his Protestant faith as a selling point,
0:20:32 > 0:20:38he became the focus for those determined to overthrow the Catholic King.
0:20:41 > 0:20:47In May 1685, Monmouth and his supporters launched a rebellion to overthrow James.
0:20:47 > 0:20:54Monmouth declared himself to be the rightful monarch and was crowned King by his followers.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58His actions would have enormous significance for Anna and her family.
0:20:58 > 0:21:05The Scotts were on the verge of becoming the new royal dynasty.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09In the event of Monmouth's rebellion actually working in 1685,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13and the Coronation that he pronounced
0:21:13 > 0:21:16when he was in Taunton, that he had become King,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Anna would of course become his Queen.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21But Anna was under no illusions.
0:21:21 > 0:21:27She realised the folly of Monmouth's actions and the potential danger to her and her family.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31OK, if it succeeded she would have been Queen.
0:21:31 > 0:21:38But she sees it as ruinously dangerous because if this misfires, you're talking about
0:21:38 > 0:21:44the fall of the family of Scott and she sees what Monmouth's doing as basically a recipe for disaster.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49In the end, Monmouth's rebellion failed to secure the support he'd hoped for.
0:21:49 > 0:21:56He stood little chance of success and after just one battle, he and his followers were defeated.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Monmouth was captured and sent here to the Tower of London.
0:22:02 > 0:22:09With a husband now in prison for treason, the fortunes of Anna Scott and her family hung in the balance.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19This is treason, where the penalties are forfeiture and execution.
0:22:19 > 0:22:26The loss potentially of life and limb, but certainly of all their landed property and possessions.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28So you're looking at utter ruination.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32This could spell disaster for Anna. She could lose everything.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37Her children, her fortune, her power, her prestige and her life.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Anna's life was unravelling before her eyes.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The King sent her children to the tower to ensure that they could not
0:22:49 > 0:22:53be used as pawns in any further rebellion.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59With Anna's husband facing almost certain death and her children imprisoned,
0:22:59 > 0:23:04the Scotts were on the brink of losing everything that generations of the family had built up.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09The marriage that had elevated them from wealthy landowners to royalty
0:23:09 > 0:23:13had become an albatross around their neck.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Anna's only hope was to prove that she was not involved in the ill-fated plot.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Just days before Monmouth was due to be executed,
0:23:25 > 0:23:30Anna made a desperate trip to the Tower of London to try and save her family from ruin.
0:23:30 > 0:23:38And it's here that I'm meeting historian Kate Williams to find out why this was such a crucial visit.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42That night in the tower was the most important night of Anna's life.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48She had to get Monmouth to say that she had nothing to do with the conspiracy. It was utterly vital.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50So she was really desperate?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Everything was riding on this.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57Her future, her children's future, her family's future. He was going to be executed and she would be tainted.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03She would be seen as a traitor's wife and their children, worst of all, would be traitor's children.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07They would have traitor's blood and they would not be allowed to inherit the estates.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Anna persuaded one of the King's most important officials,
0:24:12 > 0:24:17the Lord Privy Seal, to come with her to witness Monmouth's statement.
0:24:19 > 0:24:25But with death staring him in the face, her husband had little interest in Anna's plight.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Monmouth is exhausted, he's terrified of dying.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32And she says to him, "Tell him we had nothing to do with it".
0:24:32 > 0:24:35He kinds of says, "Well, you know, you were always a dutiful wife
0:24:35 > 0:24:37"and you told me to be dutiful to the King".
0:24:37 > 0:24:40And that's all she can get out of him.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Monmouth's grudging acknowledgment of Anna's innocence
0:24:43 > 0:24:45was communicated to the King.
0:24:45 > 0:24:51While she and her family's future was still to be decided,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Monmouth's fate was already sealed.
0:24:57 > 0:25:03On 15 July 1685, Monmouth left the Tower of London to meet his death.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Now, not many executions went terribly smoothly in those days,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09but Monmouth's must go down in history
0:25:09 > 0:25:11as one of the most botched ever.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17It's claimed it took up to eight blows of the axe to sever his head
0:25:17 > 0:25:18and make Anna Scott a widow.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22It was not, however, the end of Anna's ordeal.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28A few weeks later, her daughter aged 10, who was still being held in the tower, died.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34This was surely the lowest point in Anna Scott's life.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38She'd lost her home, her husband and her position.
0:25:38 > 0:25:45But Anna would use all her skills of diplomacy and charm to regain her status.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52In May of the following year, the King made his decision.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54In his words,
0:25:54 > 0:26:00Anna's exemplary loyalty, unblamable deportment and constant duty
0:26:00 > 0:26:07meant she should be allowed to keep all of the Scott estates and remain the Duchess of Buccleuch.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Anna's desperate trip to the tower had paid off.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Somehow, she manages to claw her way back to a position of respect,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24get her titles back, get the credibility back
0:26:24 > 0:26:25and essentially she gets her status back.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I mean, this is amazing.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29She's a survivor.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34She recognises how power is made and how to hang on to it.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40In 1701, Anna came back to Scotland.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46Aged 50, she was returning for the first time to Dalkeith - the family home
0:26:46 > 0:26:49she'd left when she was just a child.
0:26:49 > 0:26:56And she returned determined to build on the wealth and power that she'd fought so hard to protect.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02To get a personal insight into the extraordinary life of Anna Scott,
0:27:02 > 0:27:08I've come to Drumlanrig Castle to meet her direct descendent, the current Duke of Buccleuch.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12She was a remarkable woman, was she not, Duchess Anna?
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Yes, I think Anna was absolutely pivotal to the happy
0:27:15 > 0:27:18outcome at least from the Scotts of Buccleuch's points of view.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21And it was because of her
0:27:21 > 0:27:24that the disaster which her husband brought not only on himself
0:27:24 > 0:27:29but many other innocent people did not lead to the downfall of the House of Buccleuch.
0:27:29 > 0:27:36Amazingly, Anna Scott lived for more than 40 years after her husband's failed rebellion.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40And it's largely thanks to her that today the Scotts of Buccleuch
0:27:40 > 0:27:43are the largest private landowners in Scotland.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48I can't but look at portraits of her
0:27:48 > 0:27:55and see in her the person who really, after all the reiving and everything else that had gone in the past,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00she was in many ways the one who really laid the foundations for the future.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Anna died in 1732 just before her 81st birthday.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11For me, what makes her life so unique is that at a time
0:28:11 > 0:28:14when men still very much called the shots,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17she was clearly a single-minded, determined and shrewd woman
0:28:17 > 0:28:20who deserves her place in history.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Despite her royal connections and vast fortune,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Anna Scott chose to be buried here in Dalkeith.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Instead of an imposing mausoleum,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34this unassuming churchyard of St Nicholas
0:28:34 > 0:28:40is the final resting place of the woman who so very nearly became Queen.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:46 > 0:28:49E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk