"The Doubt of Future Foes" is a poem written by

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

sometime between 1568 and 1571. It concerns her relationship with her cousin and enemy,

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

. Elizabeth I rose to the throne of England in 1558 after the relatively rapid succession of three previous monarchs. There were many plots for her death or removal from the English throne, as is apt to occur in any monarchy. This poem was written in direct response to a certain conspirator, however. Mary Queen of Scots was living in England under custody of Elizabeth I since her forced abdication of the Scottish throne in 1567. After a Catholic uprising in Scotland with the aim to place Mary on the English throne, a papal bull, ''

Regnans in Excelsis ''Regnans in Excelsis'' ("Reigning on High") is a papal bull that Pope Pius V issued on 25 February 1570. It excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England, referring to her as "the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime", declared h ...

'', was published in 1570 releasing all Catholics from allegiance to Elizabeth and threatening excommunication to any that continued in allegiance to Elizabeth. This gave way to a wave of anti-Elizabethan feelings among the Catholics. Mary became the focal point for many plots, even if she was unaware of them. She was complicit, however, in at least one, known as the

Babington Plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter sent by Mary (who had been imp ...

. Several Catholic persons, including Sir Anthony Babington of Derbyshire, were plotting to place Mary on the throne, and a series of letters between Mary and the conspirators showed that she knew of the plot. The plot was discovered, and Mary, among others, was imprisoned. In 1587, she was executed for her part in the Babington Plot.

References

External links

Mary, Queen of Scots: Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doubt Of Future Foes Early Modern English poems 16th-century poems Elizabeth I