WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:26.280 Hello and Welcome to Western CIV. Episode three h nine. English Intrigues. 2 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:33.479 Back in England, though religious convulsions were less epic than in France, but 3 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:38.759 not by much, certainly not if you ask the Queen. In February fifteen 4 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:43.880 seventy one, Elizabeth heaped further honors on William Cecil, making him first baron 5 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.159 Burhee. Her inner circle had now shrunk effectively to three men, Cecil, 6 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:55.000 Dudley and Walsingham. Though this inner circle often agreed on state policy, that 7 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.200 was not universally true. In fifteen seventy one, England stood for care isolated. 8 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:06.879 It was now under interdict. Spain and France both wanted a defensive alliance, 9 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:11.319 but only to serve their own purposes. Everyone saw England as a second 10 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:19.599 class kingdom. An English alliance, though, would of necessity mean a marriage 11 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:26.719 as well. Elizabeth therefore had to be a meanable to both. That February 12 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:32.120 she sent word to France that she was finally willing to discuss such a proposal, 13 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:38.239 but as always, religion would prove the sticking point. If she were 14 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:44.120 to marry Anri, the Duke of Anjou, Elizabeth was insistent that he convert 15 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:51.000 to the Anglican faith an Joux would not. Almost immediately both sides reached an 16 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:57.879 impass, though this was hardly the end of that story. That same February, 17 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:01.760 a Scottish delegation arrived in London to speak with the English Queen. They 18 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:07.719 made it clear that it was the desire of everyone within James the Fourth's court 19 00:02:07.199 --> 00:02:14.400 that Elizabeth needed to stay out of the succession issues in Scotland. They did 20 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:20.719 not, under any, and I do mean any circumstances want England attempting to 21 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:28.319 restore Mary Stuart to her throne. No one wanted her back. Had to 22 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.919 be fair to Elizabeth, she had no intention of putting Mary back on the 23 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.240 throne, as she did not want a Catholic neighbor to the north. It 24 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.039 did not take long for news of all of this to reach Mary, who 25 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:46.520 threw herself whole hog now into trying to secure her release through intrigue. In 26 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:52.879 reality, Mary had already become involved in one of the most serious plots of 27 00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:00.280 Elizabeth's reign. Since the collapse of the Northern Rising, nothing had been heard 28 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:06.919 of one of the most important agents of said rising, Roberto Ridolphi, a 29 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:13.960 Florentine banker who doubled as a papal agent. Then, in January fifteen seventy 30 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:20.000 one, RIDOLPHI had written to Mary offering to act as her representative in the 31 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:23.919 courts of Europe. There he could be well placed to stir up support for 32 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:30.639 her. He had conceived of a plan whereby the Catholic powers would invade England, 33 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:37.759 overthrow Elizabeth and set Mary in Norfolk up in her place. Already King 34 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:43.400 Philip and the Pope had agreed in principle to support the plan. Now he 35 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:49.759 needed the consent of Mary herself. Mary, after obtaining the Pope's approval, 36 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.719 was only too happy to give it. This is what she had been praying 37 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:58.360 for. She told RIDOLPHI to inform her friends that if they did invade England, 38 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.039 they could expect the support of many influential lords, and provide him with 39 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:08.479 credentials issued by herself to show King Philip, the Pope, and the Duke 40 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:12.960 of Alba. Now the other side of the story is, of course, 41 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:17.720 the Duke of Norfolk. Now, even though Norfolk was presently in the Tower 42 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:24.920 of London, Mary still cherished hopes that he would be her savior. She 43 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:31.560 wrote to him rather foolishly, expressing her earnest desire that they marry. This 44 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:36.600 was an absurd request that Elizabeth would never in a million years grant, and 45 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:43.240 of course, given Norfolk's present situation, they both needed a lot of royal 46 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:50.439 grace to make the marriage happen. Moreover, when Norfolk was finally released from 47 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:56.759 the tower, he swore to the Queen that he would never again even entertain 48 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:02.480 the thought of helping Mary Stuart. But the fact that Mary was now pressing 49 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:11.759 the point makes it clear just how desperate she had become. On February eight, 50 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:17.360 fifteen seventy one, Mary wrote to Norfolk outlining Ridolphi's plans and inviting him 51 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:23.639 to join the conspiracy. The Duke had no desire to become involved at a 52 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:29.839 great danger to himself in what was undoubtedly high treason. He was also alarmed 53 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:33.959 at Mary's insistence that he become a Catholic, but by the tenth of March, 54 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:40.759 Mary had worn down his resistance and, most likely driven by the hope 55 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:45.759 of obtaining a crown, he met RIDOLPHI in secret and offered his help and 56 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:50.040 support. When he refused to sign a written request for men and supplies to 57 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:57.720 King Philip, RIDOLPHI simply forged his name on the document. Two weeks later, 58 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:02.360 Ridolphi left for Rome, where the Pope was pleased to bless his enterprise. 59 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:10.600 Now news reached English spies in April that the Queen of Scots was in 60 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:17.879 fact secretly corresponding with the Duke of Alva Shrewsbury. Mary's jailer was instructed to 61 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:24.439 keep a close eye on his prisoner. Things got even more serious when the 62 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:29.399 Duke of Tuscany, who had recently hosted Ridolfi, wrote to the English Court 63 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:38.160 warning everyone of the pending conspiracy. Secretly, Cecil was excited, waiting and 64 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:43.079 hoping that Mary would further incriminate herself, which would finally give him the evidence 65 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:50.120 he wanted to proceed against her and secure her execution. When Parliament reassembled in 66 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:56.759 May of fifteen seventy one, its priority was to pre empt any Catholic plots, 67 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:03.000 and Titan National Security Acts were passed to this end. From now on, 68 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:08.360 it would be high treason to say that Elizabeth was not the lawful Queen 69 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:12.360 of England, or to publish, write, or say that she was a 70 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:18.800 heretic, infidel, tyrant, or usurper. It would also be treason for 71 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:27.000 anyone to bring a papabull even into the realm. Crucifixes, rosaries and religious 72 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:32.920 pictures were banned. Finally, Catholics who had fled abroad were ordered to return 73 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:40.399 within six months. If they did not, their possessions were forfeit. Now 74 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:45.959 life was becoming very difficult for those Catholics still living in England. They had 75 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.879 to make sure to attend Anglican services and watch their tongue when talking about the 76 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:58.319 queen. However, contrary to what you might expect, most were not interested 77 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:07.000 in supporting Mary's In fact, most were ardently loyal to Elizabeth. By the 78 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.759 end of June, Ridolfi was warmly received by Philip the Second in Madrid. 79 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:16.160 By now the details of the plot had been finalized. The Duke of Alva 80 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:20.360 would invade England with six thousand Spanish troops from the Netherlands and would then march 81 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:26.160 on London occupy it. Simultaneously, Norfolk would incite loyal English Catholics to rise 82 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.080 up against Elizabeth, who would be seized by the Duke and either assassinated or 83 00:08:31.320 --> 00:08:37.519 held in hostage for Mary's safety. Mary would be liberated and proclaimed Queen of 84 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.480 England. Then she and Norfolk would marry and in time reign as joint sovereigns 85 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:46.519 over England and Scotland, to which kingdoms they would, of course restore the 86 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:52.360 Catholic faith. There were fatal weaknesses in the plan, the biggest weakness being 87 00:08:52.360 --> 00:09:00.039 that RIDOLPHI, like most Catholics, vastly overestimated the number of English Catholics he 88 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.080 would be willing to rise on Mary's behalf. He believed the number was around 89 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:07.360 thirty nine thousand. It was, let's just say, a lot less. 90 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.200 The Florentine banker had no real understanding of English politics or the English people, 91 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:18.440 and Norfolk, who should have understood both, was either too gullible or too 92 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.639 blinded by ambition to point out the flaws. It was left to the Duke 93 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:28.320 of Alva, ultimately, and really interestingly, to veto the plan. Olva, 94 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:35.440 who had dismissed ridolphe as quote that great chatterbox end quote, was convinced 95 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:37.639 that the invasion would fail, and that if it did, it would do 96 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:41.759 a reparable harm to Catholicism in general, as well as Mary's cause it might 97 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:46.120 well cost her her life. He was almost certainly right about that. He 98 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.480 refused point blank to use his troops in the enterprise, knowing that without them, 99 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:56.399 Philip was powerless to help the Queen of Scots. Throughout the summer, 100 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:01.120 the other conspirators tried to persuade Alva to change his mind, but with no 101 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:07.039 success. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's court was undergoing some important changes. In July of 102 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:13.080 fifteen seventy one, the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, was finally cleared 103 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.720 of any previous allegations of treason, which improved his standing. He remained closer 104 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.840 to the Queen than anyone else, but a new player had now emerged, 105 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:26.000 Christopher Hatton. He was thirty one years old and strikingly handsome, and, 106 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:31.080 in the words of many, the perfect courtier. Hatton constantly flattered the Queen, 107 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:37.840 and unlike her other courtiers, he remained unmarried. Dudley was desperately jealous 108 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:43.279 of him. It was this court in March that learned of Elizabeth's intentions to 109 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:48.679 marry the Duke of Anjou, or at least that was what she told her 110 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:54.720 counsel. Soon afterwards, Catherine de Medici sent a special envoy, Gudio Carvanti, 111 00:10:54.960 --> 00:11:00.200 to England with a formal proposal of marriage from anjou, a flat ring 112 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:03.360 portrait of him in a list of demands. The Duke must be permitted to 113 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.320 practice the Catholic faith, was to be crowned King of England on the day 114 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:11.519 after the wedding, and the England Exchequer was to pay him an annual income 115 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:18.840 of sixty thousand pounds for life. Elizabeth made difficulties about all these conditions. 116 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.360 She would not agree to the Duke being crowned, nor to granting him a 117 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.759 life income. They couldn't have paid that anyway, and while she conceded that 118 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:31.200 she would not be compelled to attend Anglican services, she refuse on Jew's request 119 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:37.840 to attend Mass at all, even in private. Throughout the spring, more 120 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:43.120 and more obstacles to this match continued to appear. The Duke made several rude 121 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.600 remarks about Elizabeth's age, which were in turn reported back to her. Elizabeth 122 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:52.679 had grown increasingly sensitive about her years and did acknowledge the age gap between them. 123 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:58.519 It was over a decade, and that it was concerning. Many diplomats 124 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:03.600 throughout Europe assumed Elizabeth was up to her old tricks, merely playing the French 125 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:09.879 for time. Indeed, by September it was clear to everyone involved that there 126 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:16.240 would be no marriage. That being said, the negotiations had brought England and 127 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.159 France closer together, and there were many in both courts that hoped there would 128 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:26.960 be an alliance. Nonetheless, in August fifteen seventy one, Elizabeth, against 129 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:31.919 all advice, decided to go on a progress. This is one of those 130 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:37.879 late summer tours of the kingdom, now luckily for her. By then, 131 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:43.559 it was pretty clear that Ridolfi's plot was without merit. On August the twenty 132 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:48.679 sixth, a courtier finally turned in the Duke of Norfolk for sending suspicious letters 133 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:54.399 to Mary. The Duke was arrested on September third and taken to the tower, 134 00:12:54.759 --> 00:13:00.679 where he later revealed all he knew. This then led to mary main 135 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:05.279 confidant, the Bishop of Ross, to be arrested. Threatened with torture, 136 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:09.200 which is unusual for a man of the cloth, he revealed all he knew. 137 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:16.120 It was enough to see both Mary and Norfolk executed for high treason. 138 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:22.879 Elizabeth immediately expelled the Spanish ambassador, who was clearly implicated in the plot. 139 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.440 Our old friend Ridolphi. However, he got off scot free, having already 140 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:37.559 fled the kingdom. After the Ridolphie plot, Elizabeth changed her attitude toward Mary, 141 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:43.879 who was now kept more securely under lock and key. Bitterly disillusioned, 142 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:50.240 she decided that she would finally recognize James the sixth as the King of Scotland. 143 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:58.000 This effectively ended forever any notion that Mary would be free. When Mary 144 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.200 was confronted with all this evidence, all she would say was that she had 145 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:05.480 been trying to recover her throne in Scotland and that all of this had nothing 146 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:11.600 to do with any English intrigues. She claimed she had never known Ridolfi at 147 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:16.120 all. I would say nothing at all about Norfolk, when in reality all 148 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:22.639 of her confiscated letters suggested the opposite. Even Charles the ninth in France, 149 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:28.120 really Mary's last hope, decided to abandon her as a lost cause. At 150 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.960 this point. This is really kind of end game for Mary. She had 151 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:35.799 no more moves to make, and the great game of early modern intrigue. 152 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:41.440 Had she been smarter, she would have just given up and spent the rest 153 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:46.120 of her life in quiet captivity. But as we will see, she wasn't. 154 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.759 In fact, In the weeks after the conspiracy, she had the goal 155 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:58.320 to write Elizabeth seeking to excuse her behavior. The English Queen did not respond. 156 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:05.320 The Ridolfi plot also convinced Elizabeth and her government that England needed an ally, 157 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:09.960 and that that ally was France. The Queen did her best to revive 158 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:16.519 marriage negotiations with Alljous. As a consequence, Walsingham advised against the idea. 159 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:20.399 He knew Anjou would never agree, no matter how many concessions Elizabeth granted, 160 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:26.240 he was very invested in the present time in the notion of becoming the King 161 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:31.799 of Poland, which would require him to marry a Polish princess. Besides, 162 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:37.600 Anjou had never been keen on the match in the first place. Elizabeth sent 163 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.720 ambassadors regardless, who soon discovered that, no matter how much Catherine pleaded with 164 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:48.840 her son, he would not marry Elizabeth. Catherine, however, recognizing how 165 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:54.879 much France needed an ally as well, decided to offer her younger son, 166 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:03.480 Hercules Francois alsin On instead. But Hercules Francois was only seventeen years old and 167 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:11.480 badly scarred from several bouts of smallpox. Elizabeth rejected the notion immediately, but 168 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:15.639 Walsingham encouraged her to at least draw out the negotiations for England's benefit, which 169 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:23.399 she agreed to do. Domestically, matters remained tense as fifteen seventy one gave 170 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:30.399 way to fifteen seventy two. That January, the Duke of Norfolk was tried 171 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:34.559 before a jury of twenty six in Westminster on charges of treason. He was 172 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:41.519 found guilty on all thirteen counts of foregone conclusion in Tutor England. Norfolk was 173 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:47.320 sentenced to be drawn and quartered, though everyone knew when the condemned was appear 174 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:52.559 the sentence would be commuted to decapitation. When Mary Stewart heard the news, 175 00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:00.399 she wept pitifully. The Duke's execution was set for the twenty first of January, 176 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.160 but Elizabeth could not bring herself to sign his death warrant. Not only 177 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:08.200 was he the foremost peer in England and popular with the people, but he 178 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.920 was also her cousin, so she put off the moment while the days turned 179 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:18.839 in. Two weeks later on William Cecil would write, quote, the King's 180 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:23.440 Majesty hath always been a merciful lady, and by mercy she hath taken more 181 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.880 harm than justice. And yet she thinks she is more beloved in doing herself 182 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:34.319 harm. God save her to His honor long among us end quote. Early 183 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:40.319 in February, Elizabeth was prevailed upon to sign the death warrant, but on 184 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:44.480 the night before the Duke's execution was due to take place, she sent for 185 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:48.839 Cecil, and, in great distress, rescinded the order again. The spectators 186 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:53.480 who turned up at Tower Hill the next morning had to watch the hangings of 187 00:17:53.559 --> 00:18:02.640 two common criminals instead. In March fIF teen seventy two, Elizabeth fell seriously 188 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:07.920 ill, and many began to wonder if the Duke would ever face justice. 189 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:12.119 For a moment it honestly seemed as though she might die, and both Cecil 190 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:17.240 and Dudley, as they always did, when it seemed like Elizabeth might pass, 191 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:22.640 put aside their differences and prepared for a contested succession. But she recovered. 192 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:27.599 Still, as always happened, when Elizabeth had a brush with death, 193 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:36.279 those around her became convinced there needed to be some solution to the succession issue. 194 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:41.759 Her counselors convinced Elizabeth to call Parliament and at the very least take some 195 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:47.839 action against Mary Stuart to make it clear to the Catholic powers of Europe that 196 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:56.160 that door was forever and firmly shut. That April, Elizabeth again signed Norfolk's 197 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:03.039 death warrant, and then later again withdrew. The same public feeling against Mary 198 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:10.759 Stewart was running high. Most of Elizabeth's subjects agreed with men like Walsingham, 199 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:17.119 believing that quote so long as this devilish woman lives, neither her majesty must 200 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:22.720 make account to continue in quiet possession of the Crown, nor her faithful servants 201 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:29.680 assure themselves of the safety of their lives end quote. And so when Parliament 202 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:34.519 met in May of fifteen seventy two, they read out a whole list of 203 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:42.240 Mary's misdeeds to both houses, who immediately then demanded she'd be put to death. 204 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:48.160 One member of Parliament declared he feared to go to sleep after hearing how 205 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.960 the Queen of Scots had murdered Lord Darnley and plunged Scotland into chaos, and 206 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:56.400 insisted the queen quote cut off her head and make more do about her end 207 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:02.599 quote. Another member pointed out, quote warning hath already been given, and 208 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:08.200 therefore the acts must be the next warning end quote. The Lords and Commons 209 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:12.160 arranged for a committee to be set up to determine Mary's fate. By the 210 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.920 nineteenth of May, its members had come up with two alternative ways of proceeding. 211 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:22.240 Either Mary could be attainted of treason and executed immediately, or they could 212 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.799 legislate to bar her from the succession and warn her that if she plotted against 213 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:33.400 Elizabeth again, she would be put to death. Parliament was unanimously in favor 214 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:37.880 of the first course, the immediate execution, but the Queen insisted that it 215 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:41.240 would be wiser to adopt the second, since honor would not permit her to 216 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:47.640 attaint a foreign sovereign who was not subject to English law. It would also 217 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:49.960 be very costly and mean that Parliament would have to sit through the summer, 218 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:56.480 when there was usually an outbreak of plague in London. The Lords and Commons 219 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:02.839 were passed caring about all that they wanted Mary's head. Frankly, several wote 220 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:06.920 to her that they didn't believe, given her past conduct, that any threatening 221 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:11.200 legislation would deter Mary from plotting against the Queen in the future, nor preventing 222 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:18.279 traitorous subjects from aiding her. Parliament then submitted to the Queen a petition for 223 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.319 Mary's head, Elizabeth again refused to sign. Instead, she gave a speech 224 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:30.039 to Parliament explaining why she was declining to attaint Mary, and evidently that convinced 225 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:37.079 everyone except one member of Parliament who held out. So on the twenty sixth 226 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.759 of May, having been forced to take less drastic measures than against Mary, 227 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:48.480 Parliament drew up a list of her offenses, depriving her of her pretended claim 228 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:52.680 to the throne. From henceforth it would be an offense for anyone to proclaim 229 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.319 or assert it. However, when the bill was submitted to the Queen for 230 00:21:56.519 --> 00:22:02.960 royal assent, she exercised her veto. It was now obvious that she meant 231 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:08.880 to take no action whatsoever against her cousin, and frankly her Privy Council despaired. 232 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:15.799 Their intelligence from abroad show conclusively that both King Philip and the Pope were 233 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:22.000 set upon overthrowing Elizabeth in Mary's favor. It was probably around this time that 234 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:27.880 Elizabeth wrote her famous sonnet about Mary, which was published in her lifetime in 235 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:33.440 the book The Art of Poetry. Here's a little extract of it. Quote 236 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:38.640 the Daughter of Debate that xsorrow doth so shall reap no gain where former rule 237 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:45.519 hath taught still peace to grow. Nor foreign banished with shall anchor in this 238 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:51.880 port our realm at brooks no stranger's force. Let them elsewhere report our rusty 239 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:56.920 sword with rest shall first his edge, employ to pull their tops that seek 240 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:03.599 such change, and gape for joy end quote. Having spared Mary, Elizabeth 241 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:08.960 had no choice. She had to throw Norfolk to the wolves. Parliament had 242 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.480 been agitating for the law to take its course, and so finally, on 243 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:18.799 the thirty first of May, the Queen finally gave me in and signed the 244 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:23.359 Duke's death warrant. On the following day, she paid a very rare visit 245 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:29.200 to the Tower of London to ensure the arrangements had been made in a seemly 246 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:34.920 and proper fashion, although she did not see Norfolk in person. At seven 247 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:41.000 am on the second of June, the Duke of Norfolk was beheaded on Tower 248 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:45.440 Hill, Declaring to the watching crowds that he had never been a papist and 249 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:52.240 acknowledged the justness of the sentence of beheading. He told the assembled crowd quote, 250 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:56.079 for men to suffer death in this place is no new thing since the 251 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.240 beginning of our most gracious Queen's reign. I am the first, and God 252 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:06.720 grant I may be the last. End quote, standing there, dignified in 253 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:11.759 a black satin doublet. He refused a blindfold and died bravely, his head 254 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:18.519 being quote at one chop off end quote. His body was buried at the 255 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:22.079 altar of Saint Peter within the tower, between those of his two cousins, 256 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:32.359 and Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and so Mary Stuart escaped the chopping block yet 257 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:40.960 again for now before our next episode. If you'd like more Western Sieve, 258 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:44.440 feel free to check out the link in the show notes to Western Siev two 259 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:48.680 point zero gets you a seven day free trial of a whole reboot. We're 260 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:53.119 deep back into Roman history at this point, and over beloves that. If 261 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:56.279 you'd like to support the show in other ways, it is always helpful to 262 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:02.200 get a review on Spotify, since that's where vast majority of people listen, 263 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:04.000 So if you have the time to do that, I would very much appreciate it.