BLOOD RIVALS
1 Powerful bloodline
Poem in praise of Henry VII’s marriage to Elizabeth of York, c1487
Elizabeth and Mary were first cousins once removed. Both were descendants of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, whose marriage in I486 had symbolically ended the Wars of the Roses, and is celebrated in this c1487 poem. The flowering roses in its border illustrate the union of the white rose of York and red rose of Lancaster. Born in 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth was the granddaughter of the couple, whereas Mary – born later, in 1542 – was their great-granddaughter, descended from their eldest daughter Margaret who had married James IV of Scotland.
Despite their shared Tudor inheritance, the dynastic differences between the two royal women were profound. Mary was unimpeachably legitimate, the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, whom he had wed in 1538. By contrast, Elizabeth had been bastardised by act of parliament on her mother Anne Boleyn’s execution in 1536. Mary became a queen at six days old after her father’s death in December 1542, whereas Elizabeth inherited the throne aged 25, after the reigns of her siblings, Edward VI and Mary I. Finally, Mary, Queen of Scots was kin to the powerful French Guise family, creating a relationship that proved vitally important throughout her life. Elizabeth’s kin were all English.
2 Romance and rebellion
Portrait of Mary, 1558–60
This exquisite watercolour miniature shows Mary placing a ring on the fourth finger of her right hand, a gesture that likely marks her marriage on 24 April 1558 to Francis, the French Dauphin (eldest son of
