Explain what was important about the execution of Mary Queen of Scots for Elizabethan England. [8 marks]

Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeth Is cousin, which meant that she had a claim to the English throne thus was a threat to Elizabeth. Mary returned to England in 1560 after the death of her first husband, Francis who had been the King of France briefly. Mary was a devout catholic, which posed a massive threat to Elizabeth which was compounded in 1569 when the Northern Earls rebelled, citing Mary as the true heir to the throne. Mary was the catholic plotters alternative to Elizabeth and she was a dangerous alternative. She was executed in 1687 after the failure of the Babington plot, with Walsingham and his spies exposing her complicity in the plot against the Queen. The execution was important to ensuring that Elizabeth maintained power as it got rid of the only other alternative, the other Queen who could replace her on the throne. Elizabeth was under threat, due to the fact that she had no heir, meaning her power in a world where having an heir matter to continue dynasty, mattered the most. Ending Mary’s life meant that her reign would become more stable, and compared to the first half of her reign, which saw plots and rebellions, the second part of her reign was more stable with the defeat of the Armada in 1688 signalling a golden age.

Despite this, the execution was an important cause in the war against Spanish, which resulted in the Spanish Armada arriving on the coast of England by King Phillips bequest. This is due to the fact that Mary was outwardly Catholic, which was further proven by the fact that she wore red under neath her clothing- which signifies a catholic martyr. To Mary, her execution was important in the war of religions, as a statement of the catholic faith. It had ramifications in foreign policy, ultimately with England and Spain going to war, hence the importance.

Overall her execution was important to ensure that Elizabeth had a more stable reign, with fewer catholic threats emerging afterwards, but ultimately was significant in the theatre of war as it was one of the reasons for the war with Spain.