A majority of Elizabeth’s subjects—he spoke repeatedly of “the people of England”—favored Mary. They would flock to a queen who, unlike their own, was prepared to marry and have children. The sixteenth century was an age of gender stereotypes. By marrying, Mary would do what Cecil and every other male councilor and head of household wanted a female monarch to do. She would put a man at the head of the royal family. She would recreate a truly regal monarchy and prove that it would be her heirs, and not Elizabeth’s, who would eventually unite the thrones of England and Scotland.
