Both are capable rulers, but their approaches differ, in part due to their personal histories. Mary was essentially born to rule. Her father, King James of Scotland, died when she was only six days old — she’s known no other life than ultimate power and the respect she is owed as a royal sovereign. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was born out of strife. Her father, King Henry VIII, split from the Catholic Church in order to marry her mother, Anne Boleyn. When she didn’t give him the son he so wanted, he had her executed when Elizabeth was 2. Until her ascension to the throne at the age of 26, Elizabeth lived under constant threat, even spending some time in the fearsome Tower of London during the reign of her older sister, Bloody Mary. (Not to be confused with Mary, Queen of Scots. I know, it’s all very confusing.)