Mary Queen of Scots

• Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth’s cousin
• Mary’s life had been filled with dramatic events. She had become Queen of Scotland in 1542 when she was just six days old.
• Her first two husbands died 
• Mary was implicated in her second husbands murder - so was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned
• Mary managed to escape Scotland and fled to England where she sought refuge from Elizabeth in 1568
• Mary’s threat to Elizabeth suddenly became more immediate now that she was in the country
• In the short term, Elizabeth allowed Mary to live in Carlisle Castle as a closely guarded ‘guest’.
• Mary Queen of Scots was a threat to Elizabeth's rule as she had 2 claims to the throne:?

  • Many people believed Elizabeth to be illegitimate and so felt she had no right to be on the throne. (Her father, Henry VIII, had divorced his first wife. Catholics didn’t recognise divorce and so viewed his second marriage to Elizabeth’s mother as illegal.)
  • Elizabeth had converted England’s official religion to Protestantism, leaving many Catholics disgruntled. Mary was a Catholic and many viewed her as their figurehead and a rightful replacement to the throne
• Mary was a clear threat to Elizabeth, and potentially England, but Elizabeth had to think carefully about what to do, weighing up the potential political consequences of each option
• What were the potential political consequences of getting Mary Queen of Scots out of the country?

  Sending Mary back to Scotland or France could backfire , allowing her to gather more support to challenge Elizabeth.
• What were the potential political consequences of keeping Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned?

  This would reduce the risk of Mary gathering more support back in Scotland or France and allow Elizabeth to keep tight control . But unlawfully imprisoning Mary could provoke international outcry and attacks anyway
• What were the potential political consequences of executing Mary Queen of Scots?

  Whilst this would remove the figurehead for Catholic challengers, it could also provoke international attacks and set a precedent for killing a queen
• Alongside Mary’s challenge, Elizabeth faced many challenges and plots against her - Most of them were led by Catholics aiming to get Mary on the throne and return England to Catholic rule
• By 1572 MPs were pressurising Elizabeth to have Mary executed in order to keep England secure
• Mary was put on trial, found guilty of treason and was executed on 8 February 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle. The executioner held up her severed head and shouted “God save the Queen”.
• Elizabeth had always believed that executing Mary would lead to bigger problems, such as an international backlash, which is why she held off executing her for so long
• When Mary was found guilty of treason, Elizabeth hesitated to sign her death warrant. When she eventually did sign, she refused to submit it, but her secretary secretly took it
• When Elizabeth found out, that her secretary secretly submitted Mary Queen of Scots' death warrant, she was furious and he was put in the Tower of London for 18 months. Elizabeth wrote to King James apologising for the death of his mother, Mary.
• The consequences of Mary's execution were not as serious as Mary had feared:

  • France - fearing the might of Spain, they wanted to maintain their alliance with England.
  • Spain - were already at war with England due to the action of the ‘Sea Dogs’ and events in the Netherlands.
  • Scotland - King James VI was on the throne of Scotland, he was Elizabeth’s heir and so he took no action.
  • English Catholics - remained loyal to Elizabeth