Mary vs Elizabeth

• Mary, Queen of Scots

  A monarch who had a tense relationship with Queen Elizabeth I of England
• Relations between Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I

  Remained tense, as Elizabeth became increasingly concerned about the presence of Mary in England between 1568 and 1569, and the threat she posed to her throne
• Elizabeth's options with Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1568-69


  • Help Mary to regain her throne
  • Hand Mary over to the Scottish lords
  • Allow Mary to go abroad
  • Keep Mary in England
• Helping Mary regain her throne

  • Would anger the Scottish nobility and leave Elizabeth facing a Catholic monarch on her northern border, potentially reviving the Auld Alliance with France to threaten her
• Handing Mary over to the Scottish lords

  • Could provoke France, driving them into alliance with Spain, which could lead both countries to war with England
• Allowing Mary to go abroad

  • Could see her return to France, provoking a French plot to remove Elizabeth from the English throne and replace her with Mary
• Keeping Mary in England

  • Carried the risk that Catholic plotters might try to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with Mary
• The Casket Letters Affair

  1. A meeting was set up at York to hear the case against Mary between October 1568 and January 1569

  2. 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 Darley

  3. 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

  4. The conference did not reach any conclusions, so Mary 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
• Mary remained a threat to Elizabeth, because any plots against her, especially those involving Catholics, would seek to replace Elizabeth with Mary
• Why did Elizabeth not make Mary her heir?

  To do so would upset English Protestants, including those on her Privy Council, and the prospect of a Catholic heir would result in civil war in the event of Elizabeth's death