Succession to Elizabeth I

The succession to the childless queen of England Elizabeth I was an open question from her accession in 1558 to her death in 1603, when the crown passed to James VI of Scotland. While the accession of James went smoothly, the succession had been the subject of much debate for decades. In some scholarly views, it was a major political factor of the entire reign, even if not so voiced.^[1] Separate aspects have acquired their own nomenclature: the "Norfolk conspiracy", Patrick Collinson's "Elizabethan exclusion crisis",^[1] the "Secret Correspondence",^[2] and the "Valentine Thomas affair".^[3]

The topics of debate remained obscured by uncertainty.

Elizabeth I avoided establishing the order of succession in any form, presumably because she feared for her own life once a successor was named. She was also concerned with England forming a productive relationship with Scotland, whose Catholic and Presbyterian strongholds were resistant to female leadership. Catholic women who would be submissive to the Pope and not to English constitutional law were rejected.

The will of Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, had named one male and seven females living at his death in 1547 as the line of succession: (1) his son Edward VI, (2) Mary I, (3) Elizabeth I, (4) Jane Grey, (5) Katherine Grey, (6) Mary Grey, and (7) Margaret Clifford. By 1596, Elizabeth had outlived all of them.

A number of authorities considered that the legal position hinged on documents such as the statute De natis ultra mare of Edward III, and the will of Henry VIII. There were different opinions about the application of these documents. Political, religious and military matters came to predominate later in Elizabeth's reign, in the context of the Anglo-Spanish War.