Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken’s Reviews > The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit, and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty > Status Update

“It was the dead, as well as a living, who seemed to plague Elizabeth during her final days. She was said to have wailed out in torment at ordering the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.”

I hope Mary’s ghost hounded Elizabeth until her last breath.

Elizabeth treatment of Arbella Stewart was horrific. That poor baby just wanted to live. No wonder she started acting crazy toward the end of her life; she was practically imprisoned just like Mary, Queen of Scots. Except the difference is Arbella‘s grandmother was her jailer.

Further proof Elizabeth didn’t give a fuck: Mary’s rotting corpse was kept in a coffin in Fotheringhay Castle, months after her execution. Elizabeth eventually ordered that she be buried at Peterborough Cathedral. Mary was given a lavish royal burial but it is worth noting that the last queen buried there was Catherine of Aragon. Elizabeth also only sent lower-ranking representatives to attend the funeral.

“When the news of Mary’s execution reached the court in London, Elizabeth seemed unable to comprehend it.“

What a fucking joke. She knew it would be carried out and she knew the backlash was going to be massive so she put on this big show of pretending that she didn’t want it carried out, even though she signed the warrant. I can’t stand this wretched woman.

“The controversy centers on whether Elizabeth, as she later claimed, signed the warrant but ordered her secretary William Davison not to issue it until she gave the order. According to Davison‘s account, she had authorized the warrant without hesitation and ‘with a smiling countenance’ instructed him to dispatch it.“

Not a chance in hell she would sign it and order him to wait. Burghley was waiting for it.

“For all her inner turmoil, Elizabeth probably knew that Mary had to die.“

Please don’t be silly. Elizabeth didn’t feel any turmoil about this. This situation never should’ve happened because she should’ve received Mary as a fellow sovereign queen instead of unlawfully imprisoning her for YEARS. I would’ve plotted to have my jailer assassinated too.

“She knew that as soon as she signed the warrant, her kingdom would face the very real threat of a backlash from Catholic Europe.“

Exactly. And I will never believe that she felt guilt after signing the warrant. Burghley had been chomping at the bit to execute Mary for YEARS. She knew before the ink was even dry that the execution would be carried out. She could at least own it instead of being a little bitch.

“It was centered on the Queen of England, without whose sanction the execution could not be carried out, and who was wracked by guilt, indecision and fear.“

Bullshit. She was a petty cunt who had always been jealous of her younger, prettier cousin.