Page 31 - All About History - Issue 72-18

Vs

MARY

Thetaleoftwoqueens,onedrivenbyambition,another

blighted by insecurity, and their fight to the bitter end

Written by Jessica Leggett

he bloody death of Mary, Queen of Europe, perceived Elizabeth to be a bastard and charm offensive, she sent her cousin countless
Scotsendedtherivalrythathad a pretender to the throne. In their eyes it was affectionate letters and gifts to her “dearest
consumed both her and her cousin, Mary, as a great-granddaughter of King Henry sister and cousin” as well as an ambassador
QueenElizabethIofEngland,for VII, who was the rightful Queen of England. to England, hoping to encourage Elizabeth to
almost three decades. Pitted against Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth’s Privy Council name her heir.
each other as female rulers in a man’s world, and in particular her chief advisor, Sir William Understanding that Mary was a rival but not,
the once seemingly affectionate relationship Cecil, were disturbed to hear that Mary had at this stage, an enemy, Elizabeth also indulged
betweenthetwoqueenssouredasscheming incorporated the arms of England into her own in exchanging letters and gifts, although she
andintrigueintervenedtothepointwhereonly during hertimeinFrance. avoided answering the ambassador’s questions
one of them could walk away alive. Although Mary had been raised by Henri and danced around the topic of her heir.
Mary was just six days old when she became to believe that she was the rightful Queen of Meanwhile, Mary found herself embroiled
Queen of Scots after the death of her father King England for his own personal gain, his ambition in political intrigue and poor decisions in
James V. With her mother, Mary of Guise, left in had become Mary’s – and it was all-consuming. Scotland. The question surrounding her own
Scotland to rule in her stead Mary was sent to Now in Scotland, Mary was obsessed with succession had sparked debate amongst
France at the tender age of five to be raised as the issue of the English succession. Adopting a Mary’s nobles, who argued over who would
thefuturewifeofPrinceFrancis,sonandheir
of King Henri II and Queen Catherine de Medici.
The couple married in a sumptuous
ceremony in April 1558 and after the sudden
death of Henri just a year later, Mary and
Francis ascended the throne to begin their
long-awaited reign of glory. Unfortunately, it
was tragically brief as Francis, suffering from
a deadly ear infection, died in December 1560.
No longer needed in France, Mary returned
to Scotland in 1561 as an 18-year-old widow,
settingeyesonherrealmforthefirsttimein13
years. Welcomed warmly by her people, Mary’s
return was met with suspicion by the Protestant
lords who had seized power during her absence.
Afterall,theyweren’teagertoseethereturnof
their young, Catholic queen after establishing
ProtestantisminScotland.
They weren’t the only ones to dread her
return.Justsevenmonths afterMary’smarriage
to Francis, Elizabeth had ascended the throne Cecil and Walsingham
in England. It was no secret that Roman were determined to find
a way to trap Mary
Catholics, both in England and the rest of

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