Challenges to the rule of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth faced challenges throughout her long reign - from Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Spanish Armada. She was a cautious ruler who acted carefully to preserve England’s security.
Mary, Queen of Scots background and arrival in England
Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth’s cousin (not to be confused with Mary I, who was Elizabeth’s sister).
Mary’s life had been filled with dramatic events. She had become Queen of Scotland in 1542 when she was just six days old.
Her first two husbands died and she was implicated in the second one’s murder. She was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned. She managed to escape and fled to England where she sought refuge from Elizabeth in 1568.
Mary’s threat to Elizabeth suddenly became more immediate now that she was in the country. In the short term, Elizabeth allowed Mary to live in Carlisle Castle as a closely guarded ‘guest’. But now she was faced with a dilemma: what should she do with Mary?
Why did Mary pose a threat to Elizabeth?
Mary, Queen of Scots was a threat to Elizabeth’s rule because she had two claims to the English throne:
- Many people believed Elizabeth to be illegitimate and so felt she had no right to be on the throne. (Her father, Henry VIII, had divorced his first wife. Catholics didn’t recognise divorce and so viewed his second marriage to Elizabeth’s mother as illegal.)
- Elizabeth had converted England’s official religion to Protestantism, leaving many Catholics disgruntled. Mary was a Catholic and many viewed her as their figurehead and a rightful replacement to the throne.