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Part IV: Rights or Royals? The Tudors and Stuarts Chapter 11: Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown 18]

First there was Mary, Queen of Scots who was aiready saying that she was the Off With her head! rightfui Queen of England and having the royal arms of England put into her Even before the carne to light Cecil was desperate for own coat of arms. Second, but even worse, was the major biow that fell in Elizabeth to put Mary to death. Keeping her alive was far too dangerous - 1570 when the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth. Like it or not, she was now well, you can see why. But Elizabeth wouldn't hear of it. First, Mary was her in serious danger. Cousin (well, first-cousin-once-removed). Second, Mary wasnt an English sub- ject, so how could you accuse her of treason? And third, but most important, Excommunication was the most dire punishment the Catholic Church could Mary was a Queen and so was Elizabeth. Start putting monarchs on trial and issue. It meant casting someone out of the Church, with no hope of salvation executing them and heaven knows where it'll end up. after death unless they performed a very big act of penance. In the case of a monarch, like Elizabeth, it could also mean that they had no right to be on But even Elizabeth couldn't ignore the Babington Plot. So Mary, Queen of the throne, and that loyai Catholics were allowed - supposed, even - to over- Scots, went on trial, and the court found her guilty. Ali they needed was a throw her death warrant, and ali that needed was Elizabeth's signature. Elizabeth didn't want to sign the warrant, so her secretary put it in the middle of a lot of other Catholic piots aqainst Elizabeth papers that needed signing so that Elizabeth could "pretend" she hadn't known it was there. (This ruse nearly cost the secretary his life: Elizabeth tried to The following are the Catholic pIots to kill Elizabeth and put Mary, Queen of make out that she hadn't known anything about it and had the poor fellow Scots on the throne: sent to the Tower. If Cecil hadn't stepped in, he'd have been executed.)

1^ Revolt of the Northern Earls, 1569: Earis oí Northumberland and Westmorland stage a major rising to rescue Mary. Revolt defeated; Earls Mary went to her execution in a black velvet dress. She whipped it off to flee to Scotiand; hundreds of their followers executed. reveal a blood-red dress underneath. Everyone was in floods of tears. It took three gos to chop her head off, and when the executioner finally held her Ridolfi Plot, 1571: Florentine banker Roberto Ridolfi and the Catholic head up by the hair for everyone to see, the head fell out - her fine "hair" was Duke of Norfolk plan a coup with help from Philip II of Spain and the a wig. Even after death, Mary could upstage them ali. Pope. Plot discovered. Both piotters executed.

Jesuits, 1580: Jesuit missionaries Robert Parsons and Edmund Campion arrive secretiy in England and are suspected (wrongly) of plotting against the Queen. Campion is arrested and executed; Parsons escapes Enqtish sea do^s 0s. the Spanish Armada to Spain. During Elizabeth's reign is when the English first really started messing about 1^ , 1584: Catholic Francis Throckmorton arrested and in boats. There were two main reasons: one was adventure and the other was tortured. Reveals plot with Spanish ambassador to murder Elizabeth and money. You could try and make your fortune finding a way round the top of stage a French invaslon. Throckmorton executed, ambassador sent Canada (the "Northwest Passage") to the wealthy spice islands of Asia, or home. you could just steal from the Spanish.

These pIots are getting more serious. Cecil and Secretary of State Sir Francis The Spanish were sitting on gold and silver mines in their colonies in South Walsingham decide to play dirty. Mary is kept in ever-closer confinement in America, so sea dogs like John Hawkins and Francis Drake simply sailed to England, and they keep a dose watch on her. In particular, they read ali her the Spanish colonies, opened fire, took what they could, and ran - and very letters, especially the secret ones hidden in kegs of ale - which reveal that wealthy this enterprise made them. Drake even sailed ali the way round the she is up to her neck in the Babington Plot. worid to show the Spanish that they could run from him, but they couldn't hide. Hawkins found a nice lucrative market supplying the Spanish colonies with African siaves. Ali this experience was to be very usefui for the English lhe Babinçton Plot (1586) and the end of Marif when Spain decided to turn the tables and attack England. Catholic Anthony Babington piotted to murder Elizabeth, and he got Mary, Queen of Scots, to agree to it. Thafs when Cecil and Walsingham, who'd been By 1588, King Philip II of Spain had had enough. Not only were Drake and reading Mary's correspondence, decided to pounce. They had Mary just Hawkins and Co. attacking his ships, but Elizabeth was knighting them for it. where they wanted her It was time to teach England a lesson once and for ali. And so Philip put together the largest fleet in history, the Great Armada, and sent it against England. And it was a total disaster.