Royal Rivals
How do the reigns of these two queens compare?
religion
By the time Elizabeth ascended the throne, England could no longer cope with being pulled back and forth between Protestantism and Catholicism. Favouring a tolerant approach Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement consisted of the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity passed in 1559, which established a middle ground between the two religions and allowed people to believe in what they wished, with Elizabeth as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Although recusants of both religions resisted the new measures, a tentative balance was reached. While Mary was away in France, Scotland had gone from being a Catholic country to a Protestant one. Consequently, as a Catholic female ruler, the cards were stacked against Mary in a rough and maledominated realm. However, just like Elizabeth,
Mary took a tolerant approach to religion.
Mary understood that she was not in a position to fight the powerful Scottish lords and so she did not interfere with religion, even helping to crush a Catholic rebellion in 1562. Mary also wanted to avoid upsetting Elizabeth, in case it risked her chances of being named heir.
Politics
It is well known that loyal and close advisors such as Cecil and Walsingham served Elizabeth for the majority of her reign, and she relied on them heavily. The queen was known to comprise and listen to her advisors, for which she has been commended, but could frustrate them with her indecision, often taking months to make a choice. Having said this, Elizabeth could certainly stand her ground with her advisors, even if they did go behind her back. Unlike her cousin Elizabeth, Mary was not surrounded by men who were loyal to their queen and many of them were suspicious of her as a
Catholic. Her attempts to mediate between her advisors often backfired and some of them in particular, namely her half-brother
Moray, had designs on her crown.
Mary’s fate was sealed thanks to her disastrous marriages to Darnley and Bothwell, who both wanted to seize her power, further weakening her position beyond repair.
securing the succession
To the frustration of Cecil and her advisors, Elizabeth constantly flirted with the idea of marriage but never committed to it instead choosing to style herself as England’s ‘Virgin Queen’. In doing so, she never provided England with an heir and she refused to name one until she was lying on her deathbed. Without a child to succeed her, Elizabeth was forced to leave the crown to Mary’s son, King James VI, bringing an end to the Tudor dynasty. Undoubtedly Mary’s greatest achievement was successfully producing a male heir for the Scottish throne. It was a triumph over Elizabeth, who remained childless, with Mary able to show that she had the means to continue her dynasty. Although she lost her throne and her head, Mary’s son James succeeded her in Scotland and he eventually succeeded Elizabeth in England, joining the two realms in a personal union.
stability
As Queen of England for over four decades, Elizabeth provided England with much needed stability after the short and turbulent reigns of her brother, King Edward VI, and her sister, Queen Mary I. Though Elizabeth’s position on throne was threatened while her cousin remained alive and she was targeted by numerous assassination plots, the queen ultimately prevailed to oversee a golden age in English history. Unfortunately for Mary, her position on the Scottish throne was always far from stable. She was always perceived to be more of a French queen than a Scottish one, and the Scottish lords resented the fact that France had held so much influence in Scotland during the regency of her mother. Trapped in a vicious cycle of political intrigue and poor decisions, Mary lost her throne just six years after her return, which is a testament to how unstable her crown really was.
legacy
There is no denying that Elizabeth left an enduring legacy that continues to fascinate us to this very day. She dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to cultivating her image and propaganda, creating some of the most iconic portraits in English history. Elizabeth left behind a stable and secure England for which she is celebrated as ‘Gloriana’, forever a symbol of English patriotism and success. If this rating was about infamy, then Mary would score 5/5, no questions asked. Her downfall and execution was one of the most controversial moments in history and to this day, there are constantly new films, books and television series dedicated to examining her complicated life. However, losing her crown permanently damaged Mary’s reputation as a queen and consequently tarnished her legacy in the centuries since her death.