Queen of Scots return?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Elizabeth had a problem with marriage.

Yes, she did. Because she was regarded as illegitimate by most of Europe's royal families (who were, and are, staunchly catholic) she was limited in her choice of husbands to those protestant royals who were either weaker (in the military sense) or stronger (in the military sense) than England. A weak marriage would only embolden England's enemies (chiefly Spain), while a strong marriage would drain England of resources (men and money) to support a long and drawn out continental war-- something Elizabeth managed to avoid during most of her reign-- and allow her enemies (again, chiefly Spain) to invade and subjugate her realm.

As Machiavelli pointed out in The Prince: for the monarch there is no right or wrong, only success or failure. For Elizabeth to succeed, marriage was out of the question. In fact, from the day she ascended the throne, it was never even a consideration.

... she (Mary Queen of Scots) ought to be sent back to Scotland. It was the country of her birth and to whom she was their rightful queen.

Scotland was indeed the country of her birth, but she left when she was three years old, and only returned after the death of her husband, the King of France.

Despite the romance of it all, Scotland was a second-rate kingdom when compared to Sweden, France, Spain, Portugal, it's neighbor, England, or any of the other European powers. Had Francois II not died in a jousting accident, it's doubtful if Mary would have ever returned to Scotland.

Given the Scots love of intrigue, and murder, it is likely that her half brother James would have ended up on the throne of Scotland and (in the fullness of time) England, while Mary's son would have become King of France.

The reality is that Mary didn't return to Scotland out of love for the land or the people, she was dragged back by her over ambitious mother who wanted her daughter to be a Queen.