Morris 1

Taylor Morris

Dr. Kotlik

SSE 370

30 April 2019

Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots: The Family Feud

Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I... a couple whose story has certainly gone

down in history. A large and complicated story for sure. So, let’s start with a little background

and trace back to the very beginning. Mary’s grandmother was Margaret Tudor, who was Henry

VIII’s older sister. Margaret’s son was Mary’s father, James V. Henry VIII, who is of course

Elizabeth’s father, was therefore Mary’s (great) uncle.1 So, basically, Mary, Queen of Scots, or

Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I, or Elizabeth Tudor were cousins. Now, with that out of the way,

let’s begin on the great, long and complex story regarding these two notable women, and how

their differences in their upbringing, their personal beliefs and more led to a great deal of

conflicts that would ultimately lead to the execution of dear old, Mary, Queen of Scots.

From the very beginning, even the childhoods of Mary and Elizabeth were drastically

different. Mary became queen of Scotland basically upon her birth, as her father, James V died

shortly after. Mary had a very affluent lifestyle. She had the luxury of spending her childhood in

France where she also had the privilege of learning among other royals.2 She lived a “pampered”

childhood, as one might say. Furthermore, she was raised with a sense of entitlement. She grew

up with instillment that she was the rightful, lawful heir to the british throne. While her lifestyle

wasn’t entirely different than that of Elizabeth’s, she was certainly raised to a different mindset,

1 "Mary Stuart 1542–1587 Queen of Scots." In Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students,

edited by Paul F. Grendler, 53-54. Vol. 3. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Gale
Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 28, 2019).
2 Ibid, 54.
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and had things greatly simpler for her than did Elizabeth. Elizabeth on the other hand lived a

difficult childhood, or at least as difficult as one’s can be as a wealthy and privileged child. It

begins with her father and mother, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII left his wife (who

was greatly respected in England), Catherine of Aragon, for Anne. This obviously created a great

upset of the peoples. Then, when the Catholic church wouldn’t validate his marriage to Anne, he

of course broke with the Church.3Therefore, when Elizabeth was born, not as male and as a result

of the two, it was not viewed as a particularly favored thing. Then, at a young age her mother

was executed and she was distanced from her father, she was raised to gain respect and love in

this sense, already defining her greatly different than her cousin. She did however, (like I said, it

can’t be too difficult of a childhood as royal) receive superior education, despite her loneliness. It

should also be noted, before we move on, that from a young age it was said that Elizabeth would

never marry (hence, “Virgin Queen) 4 and oppositely, from the young age of 13, Mary was

already a figure of love as she was engaged to be married. 5 So, on one hand, we have a young

girl living a fun and breezy life in France, educated by the best and who is viewed as a figure for

romance. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Elizabeth who led a lonely, (yet educated)

childhood in which she lacked the endearment of parents and love, and who was declared to

never marry. Strikingly different. These early, defining differences would lead to great disparity

that would last a lifetime between the two young royals.

It is evident that these differing childhoods would lead to grand conflicts between the two

as adults. As we know, especially in the sense of who was the “rightful” heir to the English

3 "Elizabeth I 1533–1603 English Queen." In Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited

by Paul F. Grendler, 44-47. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Gale Virtual
Reference Library (accessed April 28, 2019).
4 Ibid, 46.
5 Reid, Herbert J. Notes upon Passages in the Life of Mary Stuart during Her Captivity in
England, 1569-1571. 1895. http://www.jstor.org/stable/60216461.
 Morris 3

throne, their personalities and, as we will come to see, their differences in religion. Although the

two never met, we can grab this from the background of their lives and the many letters which

would be exchanged between them. Ok, so let’s begin. Mary was considered in many people’s

eyes as the lawful heir to the English throne. Mary, as we have mentioned was the daughter of

James V which also gave her great claim to the throne, and was raised to believe just so.6 Years

later, when Mary had a son, James, he posed an even larger threat to Elizabeth as a man in the

family lineage. This created immense tension between the two as Elizabeth felt threatened by

this notion and pressure of a different rightful heir. Their religious differences only added fuel to

the fire. In England, there was a large divide religiously, as they had recently departed from the

Catholic church. Elizabeth led England in the restoration of the Protestant faith. Mary was

Catholic.7 Given the religious divide, those remaining Catholics supported Mary indefinitely,

despite Elizabeth’s leniency towards their religion and practices.8 These Catholic factions, who

obviously would have been supported by her dear cousin, Mary, and who rallied for her,

threatened Elizabeth’s long lasting and powerful reign.

For the sake of time, we will skip over some of the long and complicated details that

entailed these two’s relationship. Let’s begin with a quick summation. So, Mary and Elizabeth

are born, they live immensely different childhoods and dislike each other from an early age,

despite having never met. They are both possible heirs to the English throne, this creates tension

between the two. Furthermore, there is a religious divide in England, and it just so happens that

Mary is Catholic and Elizabeth is Protestant, the two major religions in conflict at the time. This

6 Steuart, Francis, ed. Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots.

7 Beemer, Cristy. "God Save the Queen: Kairos and the Mercy Letters of Elizabeth I and Mary,
Queen of Scots." Rhetoric Review 35, no. 2 (March 15, 2016): 75-90.
doi:10.1080/07350198.2016.1142803.
8 Steuart, Francis, ed. Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots.
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further adds tension between the two. This strain among the two will eventually lead to the

imprisonment and execution of Mary on behalf of Elizabeth. Now, let’s turn the tables to discuss

just that. Skipping over some details, Mary was forced to abdicate the throne in Scotland and fled

to England in hopes of getting help from Elizabeth to reclaim her throne.9 However, when she

arrived in England in 1568, as a threat (and legally), Elizabeth imprisoned Mary. I mean, that

was really her best option as she had few choices: imprison her in England or send Mary back to

Scotland or France.10 Upon this, Mary’s dear friends, the English Catholics rallied for her cause.

During this time, Elizabethans, or Elizabeth’s supporters found letters, supposedly to have been

written by Mary herself. These letters that had been brought to attention were essentially plots

against Elizabeth and the crown, as they plotted to assassinate the powerful english queen.11

Mary then faced treason, and stood trial. Through this, she was found guilty and was to be

beheaded.12 After initial hesitation, for moral reasons (like killing a cousin, perhaps), Elizabeth

signed the paperwork to commence Mary’s execution. It was a moving and never forgotten

English event as the people's surrounded the platform on which Mary would soon be beheaded.
13
It was momentful and tragic, yet just in the English law. The tension, the conflict and the

disparity of these two young queens was so grand, so great that it came to this moment; the

moment where one cousin would execute the other and stand to watch. A moment, or timeline, in

9 "MARY STUART, QUEEN OF SCOTS." Pall Mall Gazette, November 19, 1889. British
Library Newspapers (accessed April 28, 2019).

10 "Why did Elizabeth I execute Mary Queen of Scots?" In The Hutchinson Unabridged
Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon. Helicon, 2018.

11 Letters of Mary, Queen of Scots. 1542-1547

12 Steuart, Francis, ed. Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots.
13 "The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots: A Contemporary Pen-And-Ink Sketch of the
Arrangements, from the Papers of Robert Beale, Who Was Sent by Queen Elizabeth I. To
Arrange the Trial Execution at Fotheringhay." Illustrated London News, July 25, 1953,
145. The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 (accessed April 28,
2019).
 Morris 5

history that will ever be remembered. They certainly had a complex, difficult and problematic

relationship and the culmination of it all led to the end. From one throne to another: watch out.

Bibliography

Beemer, Cristy. "God Save the Queen: Kairos and the Mercy Letters of Elizabeth I and Mary,

Queen of Scots." Rhetoric Review 35, no. 2 (March 15, 2016): 75-90.

doi:10.1080/07350198.2016.1142803.

"Elizabeth I 1533–1603 English Queen." In Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited

by Paul F. Grendler, 44-47. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Gale

Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 28, 2019).

Letters of Mary, Queen of Scots. 1542-1547

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"Mary Stuart 1542–1587 Queen of Scots." In Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited

by Paul F. Grendler, 53-54. Vol. 3. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Gale

Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 28, 2019).

"MARY STUART, QUEEN OF SCOTS." Pall Mall Gazette, November 19, 1889. British

Library Newspapers (accessed April 28, 2019).

Reid, Herbert J. Notes upon Passages in the Life of Mary Stuart during Her Captivity in

England, 1569-1571. 1895. http://www.jstor.org/stable/60216461.

Steuart, Francis, ed. Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots.

"The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots: A Contemporary Pen-And-Ink Sketch of the

Arrangements, from the Papers of Robert Beale, Who Was Sent by Queen Elizabeth I. To

Arrange the Trial Execution at Fotheringhay." Illustrated London News, July 25, 1953,

145. The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 (accessed April 28,

2019).

"Why did Elizabeth I execute Mary Queen of Scots?" In The Hutchinson Unabridged

Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon. Helicon, 2018.
Morris 7