Page 37 - All About History - Issue 72-18

try Mary and potentially put her to death if she
plotted against Elizabeth.
It allowed Elizabeth and her government
to remove Mary from the line of succession,
although the queen specified that the act
shouldn’t exclude the heirs of those found
guilty of treason, unless they were also
involved. Elizabeth was clearly thinking about
King James VI and the future of the English
succession when she included this caveat.
However she wasn’t the only one thinking
about James, as Mary had to reach out to her
son for help in negotiating her freedom. Sadly,
Mary’s hope was in vain.
In her absence, James had been raised to
believe that she was an adulterer who deserved
to lose the crown and now that he was King of
Scots, he had no desire to see her return home.
Mary was crushed by her son’s rejection and
to twist the knife further, James forged a new
Anglo-Scottish alliance with Elizabeth, signing
the Treaty of Berwick on the 6 July 1586. After
almost two decades of captivity, abandoned by
James and resigned to the fact Elizabeth would
never help her, Mary was forced to accept any
support that came her way.

Mary was forced to
abdicate the throne in
favour of her son

A Downfall Prevented?

If she had made some wiser decisions, Mary
could have saved her throne

It is has often been wondered whether Mary had
Mary with her son
the potential to save her crown if she had made
James VI, who would
other choices. Before returning to Scotland she eventually succeed
reassuredthelordsthatshe would not interfere to both the Scottish
in the religion of the realm, and it was a promise and English thrones
she that kept. But could Mary have intervened in
other ways to protect herself from malicious
plots and intrigue?
It is generally agreed that one of Mary’s
biggestmistakeswastonot pack her Privy
Mary tirelessly sent
Council with loyal supporters upon her return,
letters to Elizabeth
instead allowing the lords who had seized power
during her imprisonment
to remain in their positions. Perhaps Mary felt,
understandably, that she was not in a position
force out the men who had filled the power
vacuum in her absence. However, Mary did have
supporters that were loyal to her and initially, her
people were pleased to see her return – she could
have successfully changed her council if she tried.
While we will never know, there is the
possibility that Mary could have survived in
Scotland if Darnley had been a better consort
to her, instead of inciting factions in his own bid
for her crown. After all, with their joint claim to
the English throne, they could have been a far
bigger threat to Elizabeth than Mary was alone –
although having said this, Darnley’s attitude and
behaviour was simply a factor beyond her control.

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