6th Parliament of Elizabeth I

The Babington Plot had been uncovered while the previous Parliament was prorogued for the Summer, the ringleaders executed and Mary removed to more secure quarters.

However, Queen Elizabeth herself was reluctant to take such extreme action against her own cousin and fellow monarch and absented herself from the State opening of the new Parliament.

By the 12 October 1586 a joint petition from both Houses of Parliament had been presented calling for Mary Stuart's execution.

Once Parliament had resumed sitting, the debate ill-advisedly turned towards matters of religious reform led by the Puritans Anthony Cope and Peter Wentworth, both of whom were immediately committed to the Tower for several weeks for ignoring Elizabeth I's ecclesiastical prerogative.

After being advised to treat Puritans and sectaries as equal to Jesuits in their ability to undermine the stability of both church and realm the Commons eventually settled down to routine business, passing 10 bills and confirming the subsidy (funds voted to the crown for the administration of the realm) before its dissolution on 23 March 1587.