Looking back, I think I might have preferred an aegrotat. This is "an honours degree without classification or a pass degree without classification, awarded under the presumption that, had a candidate who is unable to undertake his or her exams due to illness or even death actually sat those exams, he or she would have satisfied the standard required for that degree" (Wikipedia).
Incidentally, did you know that first-class honours, referred to as a "first,", is also informally known as a "Geoff," after Geoff Hurst, or a "Damien," after Damien Hirst? At least I didn't get a Douglas (Hurd).
As for Mary Stuart, I looked up the meaning of "chested" in the sentence "When I am dead and chested you will find Calais written on my heart." I used my two-volume New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary for virtually the first time since I bought it and sure enough the verb to chest means "to place in a coffin". In which case, Mary should have said "When I am dead but BEFORE I am chested you will find Calais written on my heart", or perhaps "When I am dead and FOR A SHORT TIME AFTER I am chested you will find Calais written on my heart"
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