Chapter 8 Summary

The next Parliament, terrified of a Catholic revival under Mary, Queen of Scots, tries to force Elizabeth to marry and have a child. She assures them that she realizes her mortality and is considering the problem. The lords persist that the succession must be defined and that the queen must marry. Meanwhile, the imprisoned Catherine Grey, next successor by Henry VIII's will, becomes pregnant by her also imprisoned husband and has a second son. Mary, Queen of Scots, considers marrying Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The Catholics believe Darnley's claim to the English Crown to be nearly as good as Mary's. Queen Elizabeth and the Privy Council try to neutralize the impending danger of a struggle for the Crown between Mary and Catherine Grey by suggesting that Lord Robert Dudley marry Mary. This would reduce her chances of arranging a European marriage and alliance...