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When the Queen of Scots returned to Scotland and began looking for a new husband, Elizabeth I was fairly worried, especially when negotiations began for Mary to perhaps marry the son and heir of Philip II, Don Carlos. Elizabeth I in turn pressed Mary to marry an English subject, and eventually offered the Earl of Leicester, who was her favorite and for a time many thought that Elizabeth herself might marry. Mary rejected Leicester, mostly because his connections to Elizabeth, and later married Lord Darnley, a cousin who also possessed a claim to the English throne.

What if Mary decided marry Dudley? It doesn't seem too impossible, especially if she wises up and recognizes what it will do for her and her rights to the English crown. Elizabeth suggested the match because she would be able to use him to control Mary, and she was also more amiable to dispose the English succession upon Mary if she agreed to the marriage. Certainly things in Scotland might be more stable: Darnley was an alcoholic and often quarreled with Mary, demanding things such as the crown matrimonial and the right to be crowned as King of Scotland. Dudley would probably be able to manuver Scottish politics a bit better: it might help that he's also Protestant and would find allies in the council.
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