Why Did Elizabeth I & Mary, Queen of Scots Never Meet?

Let’s take a look at Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots and the meetings that might have been…

I hope you enjoy this video and find it interesting!

Please subscribe and click the bell icon to be updated about new videos.

Also, if you want to get in touch, please comment down below or find me on social media:
Twitter: @kat_marchant
TikTok: @katrina_marchant

Linked videos and playlists:

Images (from Wikimedia Commons, unless otherwise stated):

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots by François Clouet (from 1558 until 1560). Held by the Royal Collection.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown English artist (c.1600). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Illumination of Mary and François in Catherine de' Medici's book of hours (c.1574). Held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots in “white mourning” by François Clouet (between c.1559 and c.1560). Held by the Royal Collection.

Portrait of the Infante Don Carlos by Alonso Sánchez Coello (1564). Held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Portrait of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester attributed to Steven van der Meulen (c.1560-1565). Held by The Wallace Collection.

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley by an unknown artist (16th century). Held at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, in the care of the National Trust.

Quoted texts:

Julian Goodare, ODNB entry on Mary, Queen of Scots.

Also consulted, were:

Other relevant entries from The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online.

#History #Tudor #Stuart

[FingalsMyst]

Considering Mary’s unbending beliefs about religion, Elizabeth was correct to act as she did. Elizabeth was far better at playing politics than Mary.

[mariahunter]

I'm a little stunned at how unconcerned Mary was about the impact of her behavior on Elizabeth and how unrealistic about her expectations of support from Elizabeth. She claimed Elizabeth's throne, asked openly if she inherited after Elizabeth was dead as soon as she transitioned back to Scotland and then expected Elizabeth's backing once she'd made Scotland too hot to hold her. She seems to have made no accounting of the fact that Elizabeth had a close brush with death a couple of times and was not likely to view any threats in a favorable light. Mary seems to have expected Elizabeth to view herself through Mary's eyes and not her own.

[jacquelinefaulknall]

When I was young, I always saw Mary as a romantic, tragic figure. As an adult, I now appreciate Elizabeth’s resilience and political understanding a lot more. I don’t want to sound harsh, but I find Mary a bit of a fool, who could easily have been manipulated into another rebellion and attempt on Elizabeth’s throne. For this reason, I think keeping her imprisoned and away from any drama of a public meeting with Elizabeth, was the right thing to do, even though it had awful consequences for Mary in the end.
Great video, thanks.

[kayleenfeher]

I think that Elizabeth refused to meet Mary for the sole purpose of not giving her public recognition. I know Elizabeth was very vain and she may have had an issue with the fact that Mary was a younger her. But Mary was very vocal about how she was the rightful queen and I think Elizabeth and her counsel felt that meeting with her would give even more fuel to the people who might back Mary.

[annalisette]

An author, possibly Antonia Fraser, noted that Mary was very personable and lovable because she had always been raised with love and security. Not so for Elizabeth who knew threat and opposition from her youngest years. It was suggested that another reason for the two queens not meeting was that Elizabeth did not want to encounter such a socially confident woman, cousin and fellow queen.

[alien-vuyl]

Mary was a spoiled girl thrown into a dangerous and complicated situation. She was never taught to navigate such a life as it was in the French's best interest to not give her any ideas about ruling in her own right. Elizabeth had a lot of grit due to how dangerous her life was basically until she got the throne and was playing in a completely different league.

I also don't think our modern heads can really understand how strong the idea of divine right to rule was for these people and how much it governed their views on everything. Same for God and religion, no matter how devout someone might be. We think Mary was stubborn, she thought she was following God's will. Since her right to rule had never been challenged, she couldn't imagine making the compromises Elizabeth did in her life.

If Mary had grown up with her mother in Scotland, I think she would have been much more capable to handle the politics and more of an equal to Elizabeth.

[TreyCapnerhurst]

*Can we have one on the incredibly bizarre position and influence of Dr. Dee and the wizards in Elizabeth's court?* Historical depictions usually gloss over it in part because she is portrayed as one of the first "modern" and rational rulers, but in fact she relied heavily on her mystical advisors for even the everyday decisions of state. Arguably, he was also a spy and scientist, but he was chiefly in her employ as an advisor because of his magic calculations.

[noelleggett]

The events of Mary, Queen of Scots’ life, the circumstances she found herself in - and the choices she seems to have made - are one of history’s most enduring mysteries and a pure tragedy in the (Shakespearean) dramatic sense. No wonder there has been a never ending series of accounts on television and the big screen of her story. Thanks, Cat, for your concise and gripping narrative! 🎉

[misslarissa]

I've read that William Cecil, one of the very few people who Elizabeth ever allowed to influence her opinion, was relentless in advising Elizabeth never to meet Mary. He was perpetually paranoid about Mary's potential to concentrate Catholic opposition to Elizabeth, as Mary Tudor had done in supplanting Jane Grey. He also feared that Mary, by all accounts charming, would have charmed Elizabeth and softened her attitude. Cecil increasingly petitioned Elizabeth to execute Mary for treason, but though Elizabeth took much counsel from Cecil, it took years and multiple events for her to finally be persuaded to execute Mary. Even when she signed the final warrant, she changed her mind several times, and in the final event Elizabeth did send a messenger with a stay of execution, but Cecil having finally got the green light for the execution pushed it ahead before Elizabeth's letter of clemency could arrive. I think in the even Cecil underestimated his queen, because Elizabeth seems to have wanted to keep Mary alive not out of familial affection, but because Mary was an anointed queen, and therefore a creature beyond a mere mortal. Again Elizabeth kept to this concept not out of piety or sentimentality, but out of self-protection. Elizabeth was very much not interested in setting a precedent for executing anointed queens, as she felt that sharp edge could easily point her way.

[LusiaEyre]

Mary was practically born a queen. And then raised to be a queen, both regnant and consort. No one ever disputed her divine rights to the throne of Scotland, and her path to being the queen of France was also fairly straightforward and secure. Elizabeth, on the other hand, didn't know she would be queen until almost the last minute (when Mary's pregnancies turned out to be "fake"). Her divine right was, therefore, coupled with an understanding of the twists and turns of fate, fickle favour, and shifting allegiances. I don't think she ever lost sight of that from the very beginning. For all the things stacked against Elizabeth, she always has the ball in her court in her interactions with Mary. Mary is the supplicant. And I think that also coloured their relationship. Mary, double queen at one time, was playing checkers when Elizabeth was playing chess.

[ellencook]

If there’s one thing we know about Elizabeth I, it’s that she had a highly developed a nose for danger. And Mary reeked of it. Elizabeth’s best move was often to do nothing In this case, she played it perfectly. You knew Mary would ‘hang herself’ given enough rope.

[mesamies]

Two women, cousins, sisters divided by patriarchy and men with craven needs for power and self-preservation at any cost. It's a sad, tragic story--and a continuing reality for many women everywhere, alas. 👸💔👸

[eshim]

Dr.Kat truly makes history come alive with her commentary. We don't often think of these historical figures as being influenced by their all too human character traits, but Dr. Kat 's analysis of how these things played into historic events always are a spot on. This is probably my favorite channel on YouTube, and I always look forward to new videos.

[johntshorter]

Great video Kat! Elizabeth was caught within a classic Scylla and Charybdis dilemma when it came to Mary. Elizabeth sacrificing what would’ve been a commiserate meeting between a fellow regnant queen and one of her few closest living relatives demonstrated her tenacity and political acumen, qualities she’s already incredibly famous for. I think the fact that they were both family and ruling Christian princesses (on the same island) in a time when Europe was dominated by kings and emperors makes the situation of them never meeting all the more tragic and compelling, which I think explains why historical fiction would latch on to the notion of “what if they did meet?”, and “what would that be like?”; “what on earth would they say to each other?”. I’m quite entertained by writers and directors playing with these historical “what ifs”, just so long as we remember it’s fiction 😂👸🏼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

[danisarmi]

Sometimes it baffles me that someone as gloried and remembered as Elizabeth the first had the same desicion-making skills as us commoners of the 21st century, as her favorite form of resolving difficult desicions seems to be "if I don't choose the problem might eventually go away"

[karendooks]

Queen Elizabeth was a very intelligent woman, which is more than can be said for Mary who never seemed to learn from her mistakes.

[loiskondo]

Elizabeth was much better at politics than Mary. She never let infatuation guide her choices. Mary had no wisdom, no patience. Elizabeth had staying power. Thanks for another fascinating video!

[cyndiewalton]

I’ve always thought the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth very interesting and needing more study. I think we have been tainted with the over romanticized versions of both women… this was very interesting. Thank you !

[charlesmcdermott]

Wasn’t Edward III’s birthright questioned? Something about a long pregnancy of his Mom and a physical separation from her husband? I love your posts! 👑

[evelinharmannfan]

Mary was raised with a sense of entitlement, while Elizabeth grew up fighting for her live. Mary had nothing to prepare her for the struggles ahead. and she was unable to learn. That is the reason Elizabeth survived, and Mary did not,