Background
When Elizabeth I succeeded her sister Mary as Queen of England in 1558, her accession was disputed due to the disputed legitimacy of the marriage of the Queen's parents - Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Opponents of Elizabeth turned to Mary, Queen of Scots, as the descendant of Henry's sister Margaret Tudor. The claims were initially put forward by Mary's father-in-law, King Henry II of France, but Mary upheld them after her return to Scotland in 1561.
Many English Catholics, then a significant portion of the population, increasingly supported Mary's claim as a means of relief for their situation of religious persecution. This position was especially strong in Northern England, where several powerful nobles were Catholics; there had been similar risings against Henry VIII; the Pilgrimage of Grace of 1536 and Bigod's Rebellion of 1537. Supporters of Mary hoped for aid from France and possibly Spain. Mary's position was strengthened by the birth of her son, James, in 1566 but weakened again when she was deposed in July 1567.
King James was very young at the time and was said by one of the generals planned the Scottish Assault on North England
Read more about this topic: Rising Of The North
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