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rightful and legitimate heir to England. Elizabeth sent troops to aid the Protestant rebels in Scotland take the country over from the Catholics and from Mary while she was in France. By the time Mary returned to Scotland she found her country being headed by a Protestant Church and a Protestant government - Mary was rather unwelcome in her own realm!

Mary, now a widow and no longer the Queen of France, entered into two back-to-back disastrous marriages, one of which resulted in the birth of her son James - the Scottish heir apparent. Her first choice was Lord Darnley, who had his own claims on the English throne. When he was murdered and Mary married Bothwell it appeared that she had something to do with Darnley's death. The Scottish lords arrested her and imprisoned her in Loch Leven Castle. Her son James was taken to Stirling Castle so he could be raised in the Protestant faith. Mary escaped and ran to her cousin Elizabeth for support.

Elizabeth initially wanted to restore Mary to her throne but she and her advisors decided against it. Her choices were to send Mary back to Scotland with an English army, send her back to France where England's Catholic enemies were or simply do nothing. Elizabeth chose the latter. Mary would become a prisoner of England for the next 19 years. During that time religious plots arose to free Mary and place her on the English thrown. It's not known how many of the Catholic plots Mary was a part of or even knew about, however by 1586 there was enough evidence against her to charge her with treason. Elizabeth tried everything to keep her cousin alive but when presented with the proof that Mary and her supporters were a true and honest threat she signed her death warrant. Mary was beheaded February 8, 1587.

One of Elizabeth's most famous military victories was the defeat of the Spanish Armada on July 12, 1588. In an effort to aid Dutch Protestant rebels, Elizabeth sent an English army to fight against Philip, King of Spain. Philip had aligned with the French Catholic League, conveniently undermining the French King, and took over the French coast. In this position Spain was now a clear and present threat to England. The Treaty of Nonsuch between England and the Dutch promised military support to the Dutch and thus put England into the Anglo-Spanish War.

On July 12, 1588 Philip set out to bring the war to England's doorstep by way of an enormous fleet of ships off the English coastline. Philip, however, didn't count on the rough seas

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