Elizabeth refused to execute Mary because it would undermine the divine right of monarchs, set a dangerous precedent for regicide, and inflame war with Spain.
Elizabeth opposed Mary's public execution for both foreign policy reasons—fearing it would trigger the Spanish Armada—and because it would threaten the sacred authority of anointed monarchs, potentially licensing future regicide. ✦ AI generated
Tom Holland · The Rest Is History · 2026-08-13 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 9:50
“So, it's no surprise that Lord Burghley, or Cecil as he used to be, and Sir Francis Walsingham are very keen to basically get Mary out of the picture, to eliminate her from this story. They've been wrestling with this issue for a long time, haven't they? ... Elizabeth does not want to put Mary to death.”
Elizabeth's opposition to having Mary executed goes beyond mere foreign policy concerns. She sees it as a threat to her own authority because Mary, like Elizabeth, is an anointed queen. And Elizabeth doesn't want to license anything that might impair the sense her subjects have of the divinity that hedges a king, as Shakespeare would put it. And obviously, if you're anxious to maintain the sense of dignity that surrounds an anointed monarch, then chopping off her head is not the way to maintain it. And for Burleigh and Walsingham, as you said, this is a complete nightmare.
verbatim transcript · starts at 9:50
9:30book on the Spanish Armada that he wrote back in um the 1940s, but it's it's it's still great. He said of Elizabeth, "Her foreign policy was to have no foreign policy not alterable by the lightest touch on the helm." And obviously, if Elizabeth is locked into war with Spain, then you know, that that that's that's no longer a course that she can follow. But as he implied, Elizabeth's
9:50opposition to having Mary executed goes beyond mere foreign policy concerns. She sees it as a threat to her own authority because Mary, like Elizabeth, is an anointed queen. And Elizabeth doesn't want to license anything that might impair the sense her subjects have of the divinity that hedges a king, as Shakespeare would put it. And obviously, if you're anxious to maintain the sense of dignity that uh surrounds an anointed monarch, then
10:22chopping off her head is not the way to maintain it. And for Burleigh and Walsingham, as you said, this is a complete nightmare. >> Can I just ask a quick question? You've said a couple of times she doesn't want to have her publicly executed. Is this not a flaw in Elizabeth the First's armory? Why does she not consider killing her privately? I mean, why not, you know, have poisoned her?
10:42>> She does consider it um and we will be coming to that later in this episode. >> Yeah, I mean, I'd have killed her already, frankly. I don't understand why she's been dithering. >> I absolutely know that you would um and it's just a shame that you weren't at the beck and call of the Virgin Queen, as we will see in due course. But for now, I mean, conversely, for Burleigh
- ·Both were anointed queens under divine right
- ·Execution would license future regicide against monarchs
- ·Threatened sacred dignity surrounding monarchy itself
- ·Public execution would inflame Spain
- ·Risked triggering the Spanish Armada
- ·Burleigh and Walsingham saw crisis