efore we can answer this question, we need to know exactly what the question means. It could mean, for example:

Why was Mary likely at some point to be executed?

Or it could mean...

Why was Mary executed in 1587?

Or it could mean...

Why was Mary executed on 8th February 1587?

Each question requires a different kind of answer. To answer the first question, we need to look at long-term reasons - things about Mary's background, life and career that placed her in a dangerous position.

To answer the second question, we need to examine medium-term reasons - events leading up to the Babington Plot.

To answer the third question, we need to focus on short-term reasons or 'triggers' - events immediately surrounding Mary's trial and execution.

The problem is that none of these different kinds of reasons alone will give us an answer to the original question. For example, study of the 'trigger' factors will help to explain how Mary came to be executed on 8th February, but not why the Privy Council acted as it did, or why Elizabeth may have wished to 'distance' herself from the event.

Therefore, in order to explain why Mary was executed, we need to do more than identify longer, medium and shorter-term reasons. We need to combine them to provide a full explanation.