Tension Between Mary And Elizabeth

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Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I both lived their lives as monarchs. Each of them had their own way of ruling and in the end the choices they made determined their fates. Since childhood there was a palpable tension between Mary and Elizabeth despite the fact that they were distant relatives. As they grew up the tension increased because they were both heirs to the English throne. Many conflicts aroused that threatened war and other factors and influences such as the church threatened to tear this Queens apart. Mary and Elizabeth’s pasts reveals who they were and why they turned up the way they did. Mary Stuart “was the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise” (The Tudors 2) she was Elizabeth’s cousin and one of the heirs to…show more content…
Since Mary was named Queen at such a young age her mother, Mary of Guise, and her advisors became in charge of ruling Scotland. Soon after being crowned Queen, Mary’s mother and her advisors arranged Mary’s marriage with Edward, Henry VIII’s only son. Soon after, the marriage arraignment was “broken when the Scots decided they preferred an alliance with France” (Tudors 2-3) since they were also catholic. This enraged Henry but after a while of fighting he figured out the effort was fruitless and gave up. Finally, at the age of sixteen Mary “married Francis, heir to the English throne” (Tudors 3) and only a year later became Queen of France. The fact that Mary was Queen of Scotland and France, both Catholic countries, “alarmed Elizabeth who had just become Queen herself as she and her government feared that the French would try and claim the English throne as well”(Mary Queen 1). A year after Mary became queen of France, Francis caught an ear infection and died soon after. Having nowhere to go Mary decided to go back to Scotland which with her absence had become Protestant. Upon arriving “Mary found her native Country rather disappointing” (Mary Queen 2) since she had grown up most of her life in the luxuries of France. At the beginning Mary governed Scotland successfully without a problem, but as time passed she started acting up and committing dreadful mistakes that shocked many. Mary and Elizabeth were very distinctive; “as reckless and impulsive as Elizabeth was shrewd and careful, Mary made one disastrous decision after the other, embroiling herself in scandal and political intrigue” (Greenwich 1). The Queens differences only seamed to estrange their relationship even

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