Quotes About Power

Darnley was utterly confident that he had pulled off a coup.

England, Scotland and France, it was actually between England, the Lords of the Congregation and the Guises

using it as an excuse to delay a decision until she could see whether he was going to be able to handle this sort of power.

was a slap in the face for Mary by her own side.

As Knox had proclaimed, Elizabeth ruled from the head and Mary from the heart

By the end of April 1566, Mary was back in control.

The exchange turned the Hepburns into powerful border lords.

although his mother was briefly one of James IV's mistresses.

the only women important enough to have them in Henry II's reign were Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers.

In Paris, Elizabeth's accession was greeted with unconcealed scorn.

Mary wanted to appeal directly to Elizabeth at the level of queen to queen.

Mary found this insulting. It implied that she was Elizabeth's inferior.

Guises swiftly proclaimed their niece to be "queen of England, Scotland and Ireland," challenging Elizabeth's right to succeed her elder sister on the grounds of bastardy and Protestantism.

The Guises were one of the most powerful noble families in France.

and one of the executioners took the medallion from around her neck

The Guises had played their poker game and lost.

after Henry VIII's break with Rome and burning more than three hundred Protestants at the stake

For several minutes Mary stood stock still on the stage, clad in the color of dried blood:

England was so much richer and more powerful than its northern neighbor.

of the kingdauphin and queen-

It was to taint the relationship of Mary and Elizabeth for the rest of their lives.

Francis was succeeded by his brother, Charles IX, who was only ten years old.

hence the palace revolution that had accompanied Francis II's accession only seventeen months before was reversed.

Cecil watched and waited. Unlike Mary, he was entirely prepared for what was about to happen in her country.