Elizabeth's ministers Burghley and Walsingham pursued Mary's execution for two decades because they saw her as the focal point of an international Catholic conspiracy threatening both the Protestant religion and their own political survival.
Cecil and Walsingham viewed Mary as a malignant conspiracy hub; with war against Spain approaching in 1586, eliminating her became an urgent matter of national security and personal self-preservation. ✦ AI generated
Tom Holland · The Rest Is History · 2026-08-13 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 11:00
“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...”
And for Burleigh and Walsingham, having her publicly executed ticks all kinds of boxes. You know, it very publicly removes her. It brands her as as a traitor. It locks them into the war with Spain that they probably feel is coming, and it serves to establish a kind of solidarity among the Protestants of England and and beyond. They also want Mary gone because throughout this period, Elizabeth has no children, she has no husband, she's going to die a virgin. And so, if she dies now, then civil war will be the best that they can hope for. The worst is the complete triumph of popery over everything that they have lived for throughout their careers.
verbatim transcript · starts at 11:00
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
11:01and Walsingham, having her publicly executed ticks all kinds of boxes. You know, it very publicly removes her. It brands her as um as a traitor. It locks them into the war with Spain that they probably feel is coming, and it serves to establish a kind of solidarity among the Protestants of England and and beyond. So, they want that. They also want Mary gone because throughout [snorts] this period, Elizabeth has no
11:25children, she has no husband, she's going to die a virgin. And so, if she dies now, then civil war will be the best that they can hope for. The worst is the complete triumph of popery over everything that they have lived for throughout their careers. And of course, it will also result in their own personal ruin. So, Burghley, who is a very consummate political operator, understands the functioning of the
11:48state, understands how Parliament perhaps can interact with Elizabeth's royal power. He's been trying to to box Elizabeth in by getting Parliament to pass a very momentous piece of legislation. So, this had gone through Parliament in in March 1585, and it was called an act for the Queen's safety. And by its terms, any claimant to the throne of England who is implicated in a rebellion or an invasion or an
12:14assassination plot against Elizabeth is to be put on trial for treason, and if convicted of treason, to be killed. No one is named in the act, but Mary doesn't need to be named. It's obvious that she is the target. And with this piece of legislation on the statute book, the pressure now is on Walsingham as the head of intelligence to find sufficient evidence against Mary evidence that is watertight enough to