Quotes from John Guy

the most breathtaking and dramatic events of Mary's life were about to unfold.

The politics of Scotland were tribal: blood ties and kin culture were predominant

On August 22, Moray was proclaimed regent.

The wars within the British Isles resumed under Henry VIII, who acceded to the English throne in 1509.

language so lucid and graceful that it sparkled

He had led the lords who deposed Mary's mother eight years before

But war was the "sport of kings." And

Henry sought to conquer French territory, he had to deal first with Scotland

Mary's ill health coincided with her pleas of helplessness at the events unfolding in Scotland.

When Elizabeth heard of Mary's forced abdication, she sent at once for Cecil.

now he had done it again.

A seismic shift was about to occur, one that discounted her kinship bonds to Elizabeth

In particular, he urged his sister to crush the Protestants, whom he regarded as political insurgents.

Elizabeth was almost speechless with rage.

Mary was an anointed queen, accountable to God alone.

Philip II and the papacy, and therefore posed a greater threat to Elizabeth's "safety

than of a border skirmish that went tragically wrong.

she was distraught to realize soon after their marriage that he did not really love her.

less from Henry VIII's aggression than from James V's decision to launch a counterattack

One of Drury's finest contributions was to send a colored drawing of the assassination to Cecil.

epic scale without choosing the ground or the moment carefully enough.

Elizabeth, her fellow sovereign as much as her rival for the past thirty years, was herself all too anxious to defend the ideal of monarchy: the principle that rulers were accountable to God alone.

He had witnessed her forced abdication and was determined to help her

Elizabeth had a firm grasp of the issues. She knew that Mary's death would alter the way that monarchy was regarded in the British Isles. A regicide would give a massive boost to Parliament, diminishing forever the "divinity that hedges a king.