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She needs England, because as Elizabeth pointed out, nether one of them will ever be safe as long as the other is still a competitor. Even if rhey don't fight each other, their supporters will. People will continue to come for them both. England means safety for them. Whichever queen has the throne has more power whuch means more saftey from anyone who should come for them. Also, should Mary get England she could unite the two countries under her rule and end centuries worth of fighting.
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Does Mary think her inheriting as a Catholic would not have issues especially if done by force? She was not going to be able to forcefully get the English throne.
Yes both of them being alive meant threat but if Mary died someone else would be named the Spanish were already arguing their claim (from a previous dynasty). There were plenty of Protestants who could claim some descent.
Please don't get me wrong abdicating and putting herself in Elizabeth's mercy was a bad idea. But there is a middle ground.
Elizabeth never named a successor but she did say apparently no one had a better claim than Mary. She also once it became clear that she would not have children started up a personal correspondence with Mary's son that lasted the rest of their lives and even gave him an allowance.
Yes Darnley slammed dunked her claim but she had a huge claim already. She needed to think about who would be good for her people who would take the responsibility seriously. She married a guy who has no problem setting fire to buildings.
The marriage is a historical disaster. There were other options. And her council strongly advised her against it.
And Elizabeth herself in this episode realized she needed to let go of her childish fears.