Parliament, steered by Cecil and Walsingham, openly petitioned Elizabeth to execute Mary. Behind the scenes, however, a battle royal was in progress. Elizabeth was amenable to a petition, but insisted on the Bond of Association as the basis of action against her cousin. She preferred her to be quietly smothered by a private citizen, someone who had subscribed to the bond, whereas Cecil wanted Elizabeth to sign a warrant to justify a public execution as a means to validate regicide. At stake was the future of divine-right monarchy in the British Isles. If Mary was to be executed by a private
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