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[[File:Elizabeth_I_when_a_Princess.jpg|thumbnail|Elizabeth I in 1546]]When studying the lives of Elizabeth I and her rival cousin Mary Stuart, modern interpretations paint a fairly definitive picture of their perceived personalities. Elizabeth’s character is revealed through titles such as ''Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor'' by Katherine Lasky, ''Elizabeth I: Queen of England’sGolden Age'' Golden Age by Paul Hilliam, or Clark Hulse’s ''Elizabeth: Ruler and Legend''. Mary Stuart, however, is painted in a much different light. Recent works detailing the life and actions of the Queen of Scots can not be found in the romance section, though their titles include John Guy’s ''My Heart is my Own'', and Jenny World’s ''Mary, Queen of Scots: Pride, Passion and a Kingdom Lost.''
We are left with an image of a fierce and fiery Elizabeth, presiding over a ‘Golden Age’ of England, while her bumbling cousin, preoccupied with love and lust is allowing her country to slip away. How then, did Mary Stuart present herself as a threat to the grand Elizabeth, and was that threat worth her life? On February I, 1587 Queen Elizabeth signed a death warrant that sealed the fate of another anointed Queen. By the following week, Mary Stuart had been executed.<ref>Jenny Wormald, ''Mary, Queen of Scots: Pride, Passion and a Kingdom Lost.'' (London: Tauris Parks Paperbacks, 2001), 190. </ref> Was Mary's death justified?
