Editing Gunpowder Plot (section)

===Succession===
Queen Elizabeth, unmarried and childless, steadfastly refused to name an heir. Many Catholics believed that her Catholic cousin, [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], was the legitimate heir to the English throne, but she was executed for treason in 1587. The [[English Secretary of State]], [[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury|Robert Cecil]], negotiated secretly with Mary's son and successor, King [[James VI of Scotland]]. In the months before Elizabeth's death on 24 March 1603, Cecil prepared the way for James to succeed her.{{efn|Salisbury wrote to James, "The subject itself is so perilous to touch amongst us as it setteth a mark upon his head forever that hatcheth such a bird".<ref>{{Harvnb|Willson|1963|p=154}}</ref>}}

Some exiled Catholics favoured [[Philip II of Spain]]'s daughter, [[Isabella Clara Eugenia|Isabella]], as Elizabeth's successor. More moderate Catholics looked to James's and Elizabeth's cousin [[Arbella Stuart]], a woman thought to have Catholic sympathies.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haynes|2005|p=15}}</ref> As Elizabeth's health deteriorated, the government detained those they considered to be the "principal papists",<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=xxv–xxvi}}</ref> and the [[Privy Council (England)|Privy Council]] grew so worried that Arbella Stuart was moved closer to London to prevent her from being kidnapped by [[papist]]s.<ref name="Fraserpxxv">{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|p=xxv}}</ref>

Despite competing claims to the English throne, the transition of power following Elizabeth's death went smoothly.{{efn|The [[heir presumptive]] under the terms of [[Henry VIII's will]], i.e. either [[Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp]], or [[Anne Stanley, Countess of Castlehaven]], depending on whether one recognised the legitimacy of the first-mentioned's birth; and the Lady [[Arbella Stuart]] on grounds similar to James's own.}} James's succession was announced by a proclamation from Cecil on 24 March, which was generally celebrated. Leading papists, rather than causing trouble as anticipated, reacted to the news by offering their enthusiastic support for the new monarch. [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] priests, whose presence in England was punishable by death, also demonstrated their support for James, who was widely believed to embody "the natural order of things".<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=xxvii–xxix}}</ref>

James ordered a ceasefire in the conflict with Spain, and even though the two countries were still technically at war, [[Philip III of Spain|King Philip III]] sent his envoy, [[Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana|Don Juan de Tassis]], to congratulate James on his accession.<ref name="Fraserp91">{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|p=91}}</ref><!-- James and Tassis first met 8 November, Fraser p94 --> In the following year both countries signed the [[Treaty of London (1604)|Treaty of London]].

For decades, the English had lived under a monarch who refused to provide an heir, but James arrived with a family and a clear line of succession. His wife, [[Anne of Denmark]], was the daughter of [[King Frederick II of Denmark]]. Their eldest child, the nine-year-old [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Henry]], was considered a handsome and confident boy, and their two younger children, [[Elizabeth of Bohemia|Elizabeth]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles]], were proof that James was able to provide heirs to continue the Protestant monarchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=70–74}}</ref>