Mary Stuart

Contents

Introduction

The beginning of Elizabeth’s career

Mary’s appearance and the story of the conflict

Political situation in Scotland

Struggle alone

Elizabeth obtained her own way

Tragic struggle

Conclusion

Introduction

My favorite subject at school is history, so the history of England is very interesting for me too. Elizabeth the First and Mary Stuart are very important persons in the history of England. The struggle of Queen Elizabeth and the Queen of Scots often is told in literature, theater, and it is very famous. This moment was very dramatic and made the future of England.

I have seen a perfromance about Mary Stuart and Elizabeth the First, and it made me curious in this part of history of England. It seemed to me the most interesting part in the English history.

I wanted to know more about Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth, her rival; about those times, in which Mary Stuart lived.

I was interested in: who was Mary Stuart, what was the story of her life, why wasn’t she the Queen of England, what did she struggle for; why was she executed.

Working with this materials, I wanted to answer my questions and find new of interesting facts Mary’s biography.

Main part

  1. The beginning of Elizabeth’s career

Weary of the barbarities of Bloody Queen Mary’s reign, the people looked with hope and gladness to the new Sovereign. The nation seemed to wake up from a horrible dream.

Queen Elizabeth was twenty- five years old when she rode through the streets of London, from the Tower to Westminster Abbey to be crowned.

She was not beautiful, but she was well enough, and looked all the better for coming after the gloomy Mary. She was well educated, clever, but cunning and deceitful, and inherited much of her father’s violent temper. She began her reign with the grate advantage of having a very vise and careful minister, Sir. William Cecil.

  1. Mary’s appearens and the story of the conflict

The one great trouble of this reign was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. She was the daughter of the Queen Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise. She had been married, when a mere child to Dauphin, the son and heir of the King of France. The Pope, who pretended that no one could rightfully wear the crown of England without his gracious permission, was strongly opposed to Elizabeth, as the Roman Church had never recognized the marriage of Henry the Eight’s and Ann Boleyn, Elizabeth’s the First mother. And as Mary Queen of Scots would have inherited the English crown in right of her birth, supposing the English Parliament not to have altered the succession, the Pope and most of his followers maintained that Mary was the rightful Queen of England, and Elizabeth the wrongful Queen. After her marriage to Dauphin Mary became closely connected with France, and France was jealous of England, so there was far greater than it would have been without her alliance with the great power. And after death of her husband’s father Dauphin became Francis the Second, King of France, and the matter grew very serious. The young royal couple wanted to be English King and Queen, and the Pope was disposed to help them.

3.Political situation in Scotland

Now, the reformed religion, under the guidance of a stern and powerful preacher, named John Knox, had been making progress in Scotland. It was still a half-savage country, where there was a great deal of murdering and rioting continually going on, and the Reformers instead of reforming this evils as they should have done, went to work in the ferocious old Scottish spirit, laying churches and chapels waste, pulling down pictures and altars.

The Scottish reformers secretly represented to Elizabeth that, if the reformed religion failed in their country, it would be the same in England. Thus, Elizabeth, though she had a high notion of the rights of Kings and Queens to do anything they liked, sent an army to Scotland to support the Reformer, who were in arms against their sovereign. Mary and her young husband renounced their assumed title of King and Queen of England. But this treaty they never fulfilled.