Why did Elizabeth execute Mary in 1587?

Throughout Elizabeth's reign, she faced many problems from both extreme Catholics and Protestants. For example, many Catholics believed that Elizabeth was an illegitimate heir to the throne, therefore she should be killed and replaced with her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, who was the “rightful heir to the throne”. Mary was a threat to Elizabeth and the throne, simply by being in England, therefore Elizabeth needed to make a decision on how to deal with this threat.

In order to assess why Elizabeth executed Mary in 1587, it is important to look at her other options in dealing with Mary, such as allowing her to go back to France or to help her regain her throne in Scotland, which Mary was forced to give up when she was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle for the murder of her second husband, and the consequences of these options, both short-term and long-term.

In May 1568, after Mary had escaped from imprisonment and fled to England in the hope that Elizabeth would help her, a decision needed to be made about what to do with Mary, as she was a threat to the throne – she represented Catholics all over England. If Elizabeth executed Mary at this point, although she knew she would be removing the threat to the throne, she also knew that she could be accused of murdering a legitimate Queen, and the French may become more hostile towards England, resulting in wars. Therefore, at this point, Elizabeth knew she was unable to execute Mary, and so needed to look into other options.

One of her possible options was to allow Mary to go back to France, where she had been Queen for 2 years, before returning to Scotland. Elizabeth knew that this would remove threats to the throne, and would reduce France's hostility towards England. However, she also knew that she would be sending Mary to a Catholic country, running the risk of a French invasion of Catholics who believed that Mary was the rightful heir to the throne. Elizabeth's aim was to remove threats to the throne – if she allowed Mary to go abroad, this aim would be achieved, however the consequences of French invasion made this decision too risky, and therefore, Elizabeth decided against this.

Another of Elizabeth's options was to send Mary back to Scotland, where she had escaped from, and help her to regain her throne, as Queen of Scots. Elizabeth believed that if she helped Mary to regain her throne in Scotland, that she would be removing the threat to the English throne as Mary would have no real reason for wanting the English throne, as she would already be Queen of Scots. However, this was not the case as Mary refused to renounce her claim to the English throne. Elizabeth now knew that if she sent Mary back to Scotland, she could be creating a dangerous enemy on her Northern border, and perhaps increasing the threat to the English throne, rather than reducing it.

Elizabeth's solution, and the only realistic choice at the time, was to keep Mary in England. Her intention in this was to keep an eye on Mary and control her, stopping threats to the throne. Mary made it very clear to everybody that she felt that she was the rightful heir to the throne, and that she should be Queen of England. Whilst imprisoned, Mary had been plotting against Elizabeth, with the aim to take over the English throne.

The Ridolfi Plot of 1571 was an attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, by securing an invasion of England from the Spanish general in the Netherlands, resulting in a Catholic uprising in England. The aim of these actions involved in the plot was to free Mary from captivity and allow her to take over the throne in England. However, this did not go to plan as the plot was discovered, and it was believed that Mary had been personally involved. This lead to Elizabeth's second huge decision in 1572, on Mary's future, as the Parliament was now demanding for Mary's execution.

Parliament demanded Mary's execution with the intention of removing threats to the English throne, however Elizabeth knew that if she executed Mary, this would not be the case. Although the Ridolfi plot was aimed at placing Mary on the throne, there was no evidence that Mary was directly involved in the plot, or whether it was Elizabeth's Catholic enemies who were responsible for the plots. Therefore, it is not possible to say that Mary was guilty, and Elizabeth could be accused of executing an innocent heir to the throne. Also, the Ridolfi plot involved the Duke of Norfolk, the Philip of Spain and the Pope. Elizabeth knew that if she followed Parliament's demands for Mary's execution, she ran the risks of foreign invasions, or a Catholic rebellion in England, which England was not prepared for. By keeping Mary alive, Elizabeth was putting her own life at risk, but decided on this anyway, as she was aware that executing Mary held too many risks that England was just not prepared for.

The main reason that Elizabeth executed Mary in 1587 was because of the number of plots Mary had been involved in with the aim of assassinating Elizabeth, in order for Mary to take over the throne. These plots included the Ridolfi plot, and the Throckmorton plot, which was an attempt by English Roman Catholics to murder Elizabeth and replace her with Mary. The final plot, which perhaps was the direct reason for Mary's execution as Elizabeth finally realised that Mary was a threat and that execution was the only remaining option, was the Babington plot of 1586. This plot was, again, an attempt to kill Elizabeth rescue Mary and place her on the throne of England. The difference between the other plots and this plot is that Babington and Mary wrote to each other in code, in which Mary agreed to the plot. However, these letters were intercepted by Elizabeth, and Babington was executed in September 1586. There was now evidence from this plot, from the letters, that Mary was personally involved, and she was put up for trial.

After the trial, when Mary was found guilty of plotting to kill Elizabeth and sentenced to death, Elizabeth now had the decision to make of whether to sign her death warrant or not. If Elizabeth chose not to sign the death warrant, she would be facing the anger of her Parliament and people, who were demanding Mary's execution. However, if she did sign the death warrant, it would please Parliament, and there would no longer be a threat to the throne. Elizabeth was hesitant to sign the death warrant, despite the fact that she knew what Mary was capable of, and how much of a threat she was to the English throne.

In conclusion, I think that it was more Parliament's decision to execute Mary, rather than Elizabeth's decision. From the fact that Elizabeth was hesitant to sign the death warrant shows that it was never really her decision to execute Mary, and perhaps this was not what Elizabeth wanted. Although Elizabeth knew that Mary was a threat to the throne, she decided against execution, multiple times. She could have executed Mary in May 1568, but instead chose to imprison her. Elizabeth never saw execution as her first option, it was always seen as the last option – even after the Babington plot, when Elizabeth realised that Mary was becoming an even bigger threat and that keeping her alive would only have Elizabeth risking her own life, she was still hesitant to sign the death warrant and execute her. Perhaps Elizabeth's decision to execute Mary was purely for the sake of Parliament and her people, to stop an outcry, and not her true choice of decision.