Mary Queen Persuasive Letter

E: Mary, Queen of Scots, has been found guilty of plotting to usurp Her Majesty the Queen and has been sentenced to death. … I suppose it was only a matter of time. In all the nineteen years she’s been imprisoned, she never once relented on the opinion that she should be Queen. I had hoped she wouldn’t have stooped as low as to actually attempt to overthrow me though. What did she think would happen were she to ascend the throne anyhow? That the public would welcome her with open arms? They have not forgotten the bloody persecution she wielded against them. The Catholic Church may prefer her as ruler, but my Church would not stand for her injustice. … Even though she desires to see me disposed, I do not wish her dead. Despite our differences

she is still my sister. I did not provide the sanctuary she seeked upon arrival here, but I did not return her to Scotland, where she would have surely been killed. … I cannot allow my subjects to rebel against me. We have already gone to war with the Spanish, I cannot afford dissent within my own borders. Mary cannot be allowed to remain a figurehead for the Catholics
… If I were to do this, I could stop a potential rebellion in it’s tracts. Or I could make a martyr of her. I would have to quell any discord that came of the event. A spectacle as momentous as Mary’s death couldn’t be forgotten, but could be upstaged by a greater drama? Perhaps…
Perhaps the most dramatic event of all.
Play Actors performing wonderful tales of scandal and intrigue. Of martyrs far more inspiring than Mary could ever be. What better way to distract the masses than to entertain them? And the cost of the productions is little compared to the cost of losing a country. They won't care about a Queen’s death when they can see grand battles play out before them.
My apologies, dear sister, but your days are numbered.