Three of Elizabeth I's Possible Heirs That Never Ruled..But Easily Could Have!
There were actually SEVERAL options for a possible Heir to Elizabeth I, let's look at three who had very legitimate claims!
To paint a very direct picture… Elizabeth I never explicitly chose a successor. of course, she had to have SOMEONE in mind, but she likely never named a successor for a similar reason to her never marrying… she did not want any threats to her rule. When thinking about the great Elizabeth I we must remember that she spent the first part of her life not knowing if she was to live or to die, to succeed or not, to be legitimate or a bastard… so can you blame her for being a little bit paranoid? Plus on top of her situational paranoia, there may have been some family tendencies…it is safe to say that her father, Henry VIII might have had a few of those tendencies himself (cough cough). Aside from her own personal reasons, Elizabeth also was very much at the mercy of what her government thought. Even though she was Queen, she was a wise ruler and she worked with her advisors, unlike some of her later Stuart successors… and although it was against the wills of her both her father and her brother, her chief advisor William Cecil, Lord Burghley and his son Robert Cecil (who also served Elizabeth closely) were in favor of James I and VI. Ultimately, it was James who became the King after the death of Elizabeth, but who were some of the other possible successors?
Mary Queen of Scotts- Mary was the mother of James VI and I and was the granddaughter of Elizabeth’s Aunt, Margaret Tudor. For as much as Mary and Elizabeth referred to one another as “dear cousin" and “dear sister” in their letters, they had a fairly odd relationship which did not reflect their loving sentiments. While Mary was considered as a possible heir, there were a few marks against her. First, she was a Catholic, and after so much religious turmoil in recent years, was that really something the country wanted to deal with again? But perhaps, for Elizabeth, even more than her religion, she was associated with many plots (although she denied them) against Elizabeth’s life. For an already paranoid Elizabeth, that was not the way to win her over and so, after years of house arrest, Elizabeth made the very difficult decision to have Mary executed. This was difficult for Elizabeth because Mary was an anointed Queen and Elizabeth was herself an anointed Queen, who did not want to show people that Queens could be unmade so easily… again, a mix of wisdom and paranoia that was unique to Elizabeth.
Aarbella Stuart- Arabella was the first cousin of James I and VI. She was the daughter of his uncle, the Earl of Lennox and was a great granddaughter of Henry VII through his daughter, Margaret Tudor. She was considered sometimes to be a more viable candidate than her cousin James because although she was from the house of Stuart, she was brought up English. Arabella, much like her unfortunate relative Lady Jane Grey, did not want anything to do with the throne, and she spent most of her life studying and becoming very learned. She sometimes came to the court of Elizabeth, but spent most of her adolescence with her grandmother Bess of Hardwick at her home Hardwick Hall. She also came to the court of her cousin, James I early in his reign. They appear to have been familiar with one another and things seemed to be going well between them until… she wanted to marry William Seymour (who became 2nd Duke of Somerset)… who some might argue had the best claim of all to the throne. William and Arabella were secretly married and tried to separately escape so they could eventually meet up out of England. William did escape, but Arabella was captured by James’ men just before reaching Calláis in the English Channel. She was brought back and imprisoned in the Tower of London where she eventually died.
So…What About this William? What was his claim?
Arabella’s short lived marriage to William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset was a major issue for her cousin, King James. This is because, according to the will of Henry VIII, his father would have actually fallen in line as the heir to the English throne (read more about his lineage here), and thus, he would have also been. Having these two descendants of Henry VII married, would have given them an incredibly strong claim to the throne and perhaps jointly, it would have been a stronger claim than James himself had. This is why it was critical that they had to be split up. On top of just their marriage, this pair having a child would have been an even deeper threat.
Although there were a few people circulating around that would have had a very reasonable claim after the death of Elizabeth I, James most certainly had the support of the government and perhaps most importantly, the Cecils. I wonder too if many of these possible claimants decided it might be best to keep their mouths closed after the fate of their relative Lady Jane Grey (who also did not want to be Queen, but was put up to it). It seems likely when I am thinking with a 21st century mind… but then again, the early 17th century, while like today in many respects, also was not!
What do you think? Did these claimants keep to themselves on purpose?
Until Next Time,
McKenzie
PS.
In future my aim is to offer much deeper dives (for pledged subscribers) into the lives and events of many of the historical figures included in my general posts. If that is something that interest you, be sure to subscribe and/or pledge so we can build our community of people who love Mostly British History!
"Arabella, much like her unfortunate relative Lady Jane Grey, did not want anything to do with the throne, and she spent most of her life studying and becoming very learned. She sometimes came to the court of Elizabeth, but spent most of her adolescence with her grandmother Bess of Hardwick at her home Hardwick Hall."
Now I want to know everything about her! I wonder if there's a good book, or even a historical novel. I feel one could conjure a whole life from this sentence.