But the gap between Elizabeth and Cecil over how to deal with Mary was widening. Whereas he grumbled that she sought to win Mary over “by gentleness and benefit” without sufficient regard for her own or the nation’s security, Elizabeth joked that her chief minister was more bothered about her “safety” than she was herself. Cecil’s belief in an international Catholic and Guise conspiracy turned him into Mary’s most ardent and determined opponent, whereas Elizabeth, who repeatedly refused to name a successor out of fear that it would somehow hasten her own death or encourage a dangerous upsurge
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