Mary vs Elizabeth

• Elizabeth's options for Mary:

  • Help her to regain her throne
  • Hand her over to the Scottish Lords
  • Allow her to go abroad
  • Keep her in England
• Helping Mary regain her throne would anger the Scottish nobility and leave Elizabeth facing a Catholic monarch on her northern border. The Auld Alliance with France could then be revived to threaten her
• Mary was the widow of the French king, Francis II. Her trial, imprisonment and execution by Scottish noblemen with Elizabeth’s permission could provoke France, driving them into alliance with Spain, which could lead both countries into war with England.
• Allowing Mary to go abroad could see her return to France. This could provoke a French plot that aimed to remove Elizabeth from the English throne and replace her with Mary.
• Keeping Mary in England was probably the best option for Elizabeth. However, it carried the risk that Catholic plotters might try to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with Mary.
• A meeting was set up at York to hear the case against Mary between October 1568 and January 1569
• The Scottish lords brought love letters with them, supposedly written by Mary to the Earl of Bothwell, that showed she had plotted to murder Lord Darnley.
• Mary said that she could not be tried because she was an anointed monarch, and would not offer a plea unless Elizabeth guaranteed a verdict of innocence. The conference did not reach any conclusions. Mary, therefore, remained captive in England
• By not handing over Mary, Elizabeth ensured: the Scottish nobility would not imprison or execute Mary, the French would be satisfied and her subjects did not punish an anointed monarch.
• Elizabeth is believed to not have made Mary her heir as it would have upset English Protestants, including those on her privy council.
• Without the support of the privy council, Elizabeth would have little supporters left, as she was also very mistrusted by Catholics. The idea of a Catholic heir may also provoke a civil war