The recent news of the purchase of the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots has been circulating cyberspace. One can see upon it the signature of Mary's cousin, Queen Elizabeth, who by all accounts, signed reluctantly. In fact, the usual claim is that the warrant had to be hidden in a stack of documents which Elizabeth was routinely signing, so that she would not be overcome with scruples about sending the captive Queen of Scots to her death.
The love/hate relationship between the two cousins, who never actually met face-to-face, has been studied by many historians. There is no doubt in my mind that Elizabeth had always been jealous of Mary on some level. Mary had the beauty and admiration which Elizabeth coveted. Mary's reign was a disaster, but she had men falling in love with her right and left; Elizabeth was never really certain if she was truly loved or not. Elizabeth's anguished cry when the news came of the birth of Mary's son is indicative of a great deal: "The Queen of Scots is lighter of a fair son but I am barren stock!"
On the other hand, Mary was one of the few people in the world who was Elizabeth's peer, not only because she was a queen regnant but she was an intelligent and accomplished woman. I think they both tried to be friends, in the beginning, but it was an impossible friendship. Not only was Mary an heir to the English throne, but in some ways she had a better claim than Elizabeth did, especially in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Only a person whose parents had been married could inherit the crown. Elizabeth's parents were not validly married when she was born, since her father's first wife Queen Katherine was living at the time, and the decree of nullity had never been granted. Even Henry VIII eventually declared his marriage to Anne Boleyn to be null and void, right before he had her beheaded.
Elizabeth had a difficult childhood and youth. She learned early on to rely on her wits and make necessary compromises in order to survive. She had many inner conflicts, many demons which afflicted her for a lifetime.
There are people who think that Mary should have sat peacefully in her prison without any attempt to escape. However much she may have been involved in the Babington plot in an effort to regain her freedom, Mary insisted that she never endorsed Elizabeth's assassination. In Elizabeth's heart she knew that the only way to remove the threat of Mary was to destroy her, although she detested the idea of killing an anointed sovereign, her own cousin. There is a wealth of pain, despair, anger and sorrow in the signature on the death warrant. Share
