Elizabeth's cousin, had a dynastic claim to the line of succession to the English throne
Mary, Queen of Scots
She was a Catholic and half-French, making her unsuitable as a monarch to the majority of English people
Her life had been filled with dramatic events - she became Queen of Scotland at 6 days old, her first twohusbands died, she was implicated in the second one's murder, she was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned
She managed to escape and fled to England where she sought refuge from Elizabeth in 1568
Mary, Queen of Scots was in England
Her threat to Elizabeth became more immediate
Elizabeth's dilemma
What should she do with Mary, Queen of Scots?
Many English Catholics supported the idea of Mary being named as Elizabeth's successor, if the queen did not marry and have children
Reasons why some Catholics supported Mary replacing Elizabeth as Queen of England
They thought Elizabeth was illegitimate and so felt she had no right to be on the throne
They thought Mary would restore the supremacy of the Catholic Church and reverse Elizabeth's ReligiousSettlement
Mary's connections to France, both through her mother and her first husband, also made her a potentially dangerous threat to England