Elizabeth was still without a husband， and for reasons probably best known to herself she refused to allow her Parliament to drive her into marriage， although partly through vanity， partly through motives of policy she was not unwilling to dally with the advances of several suitors both native and foreign. In the eyes of Catholics Elizabeth was illegitimate， and except for her father's will and the parliamentary confirmation of that will， as an illegitimate she had no right to the throne. Mary Queen of Scotland， the grand-daughter of Henry VIII.'s eldest sister Margaret， was from the legal point of view the lawful heir； but as she was the wife of the Dauphin of France at the time of Elizabeth's accession， Englishmen generally did not wish to recognise her claim for precisely the same reasons that drove them to oppose Queen Mary's marriage with Philip II. of Spain. After the death of her French husband and her return to Scotland opinion began to change in her favour， and this grew stronger in Catholic circles， when she fled into England to claim the support of her cousin Queen Elizabeth against the Scottish rebels (1568). A strong body even in the council favoured the plan of a marriage between Mary and the Duke of Norfolk， and the recognition of their rights and the rights of their children to the throne on the death of Elizabeth， as the best means of avoiding civil war and of escaping from the delicate position created by the presence of Scotland's Queen in England. Norfolk was regarded as a kind of Protestant and was backed by a very considerable body of the council， but his communications with Philip II. of Spain， who favoured the marriage， and with the Catholic lords of the north， who， driven to extremes by religious persecution and by the treatment accorded to Mary in England， were not unwilling to depose Elizabeth， he professed his intention of becoming a Catholic. Elizabeth， however， was strong against the marriage， and Cecil， though he pretended to favour it， supported the views of his sovereign. Rumours of conspiracies especially in the north were afloat. The noblemen of Lancashire had met and pledged themselves not to attend the English service； the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland declared openly their attachment to the Catholic Church； the attitude of Wales and Cornwall was more than doubtful， and the Spanish ambassador was well known to be moving heaven and earth to induce his master to lend his aid.[18]
Elizabeth determined to strike at once before the plans of the conspirators could be matured. The Duke of Norfolk was commanded to appear at court and was soon lodged safely in the Tower (11th Oct.， 1569). A peremptory order was issued to the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland to come immediately to London， and as they knew well the fate that was in store for them they determined to stake their fortunes on the chance of a successful rising. They appealed to the Catholic lords of Scotland， to the Duke of Alva， and to Spain for support， and mustered their forces for war. They entered Durham (10th Nov. 1569)， where they swept out from the cathedral both the Book of Common Prayer and the communion table， set up the altar once more， and had Mass celebrated publicly. They marched southwards with the object of getting possession of the Queen of Scotland who was imprisoned at Tutbury， but their design having been suspected Mary was removed suddenly to Coventry. A strong force was sent to prevent their march southward， while Moray， the regent of Scotland and Elizabeth's faithful ally， assembled his troops on the border to prevent the Scottish Catholic lords from rallying to the assistance of their co-religionists. The insurgents， caught between the two fires， were routed completely， and the leaders hastened to make their escape.
Westmoreland to the Netherlands， where he lived for thirty years in exile， and Northumberland to Scotland only to be sold again to Elizabeth for ā2，000 and executed. Martial law was proclaimed and hundreds "of the poorer sort" were put to death. The trouble seemed to be over for the time， but suddenly in January 1570， encouraged by the assassination of Moray and by the raids of the Catholic borderers， Lord Dacre rose in revolt， and threw himself upon the queen's forces on their march from Naworth to Carlisle. He was defeated and barely succeeded in escaping with his life. All resistance was now at an end， and more than eight hundred of the insurgents were executed. The failure of the Northern Rebellion served only to strengthen Elizabeth's power， and to secure for Protestantism a firm footing in England.
While preparations were being made in England for the rebellion， Catholic representatives in Rome， both lay and clerical， pressed Pius V. to issue a decree of excommunication and of deposition against Elizabeth. Such a decree， it was thought， would strengthen the hands of those who were working in the interests of Mary Queen of Scotland， and would open the eyes of a large body of Catholics who stood firmly by Elizabeth solely from motives of extreme loyalty. Philip II. was not acquainted with the step that was in contemplation， though apparently the French authorities were warned that Rome was about to take action.[19] Had the advice of the King of Spain been sought he might have warned the Pope against proceeding to extremes with Elizabeth， and in doing so he would have had the support of those at home who were acquainted most intimately with English affairs. In February (1570) the process against Elizabeth was begun in Rome， and on the 25th of the same month the Bull， /Regnans in Excelsis/，[20]