Pros and cons

• Marriage could create an alliance with a foreign country
• Marrying a foreign prince could lead to England falling under their control
• Most of the suitable candidates are catholic
• Marrying an englishman could unbalance the different groups at Court and cause problems
• Marriage hadn’t worked out for Elizabeth’s sister Mary. Her marriage to king Philip caused rebellion and failed to produce an heir
• A foreign marriage might make enemies of other countries who feel rejected
• Marriage could win the support of a powerful English family
• Remaining unmarried would mean that Elizabeth could keep her independence and would not have to share power with her husband
• Marriage and children would prevent Mary queen of scots from ruling England after elizabeths death
• Giving birth was risky for women at this time
• Elizabeth’s father’s marriages worked out badly. Henry VIII killed two of his wives including Elizabeth’s mother
• By marrying, Elizabeth could produce an heir to succeed her and continue the Tudor line
• Elizabeth’s hesitated for years - she kept people guessing who she would choose and whether she would marry at all
• Her privy council became annoyed, repeatedly pressing her to marry to solve the issue of succession
• Her parliament also tried to pressure to marry