William FitzWilliam (Lord Deputy) William FitzWilliam (Lord Deputy) Sir William FitzWilliam (1526–1599) was an English Lord Justice of Ireland and afterwards Lord Deputy of Ireland. In 1587, as Governor of Fotheringhay Castle, he supervised the execution of the death sentence on Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the Member of Parliament for Peterborough and represented County Carlow in the Irish House of Commons. He lived at Gainspark, Essex, and Milton Hall. FitzWilliam was born at Milton Hall, Northamptonshire, the eldest son of Sir William (d. 1576) and grandson of William Fitzwilliam, Sheriff of London, who had been treasurer and chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey and
Mary, Queen of Scots the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterwards, he held her head aloft and declared, "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair. Cecil's nephew, who was present at the execution, reported to his uncle that after her death "Her lippes stirred up and downe a quarter of an hower after her head was cut off" and that a small dog owned by the