[quadrant]

Elizabeth was a "figure head" for no one. One of her greatest opponents said she was the "greatest prince in Christendom", quite an accomplishment for a woman in the 16th Century.

Elizabeth insisted on outward conformity but cared nothing about an individual's religious beliefs. She once said that she had no desire to "make windows into men's souls."

The Book of Common Prayer was not composed to control the private devotions of individuals but to control the actions of the clergy.

Mary I had no reason to order Elizabeth's execution because Elizabeth was careful never to give her sister a reason such an action.
Mary was a fanatic but she was not foolish enough to order the judicial murder of her presumptive successor.

To order the execution of an innocent person was considered a crime - especially if that person was family member and a member of the royal family - even in the 16th Century.

[RobbyS]

We really don't know exactly what part Elizabeth played in government. That she was willful, accomplisheds in the arts and clever, there is no doubt. But one of the attributes of her reign was an abundance of propoganda, starting with Foxe who has so obscured the reign of Mary.How much of this was true? How much government press releases? Was Mary a fanatic? So were Jane Grey and her brother Edward. Was Elizabeth indifferent? As for the prayer Book, you assume that the people had no attachment to the mass and that Cranmer only "englished" the liturgy. On the contrary, he intended to deny the Real Presence and to change all ritual fundamentally in a Protestant direction, both of which were contrary to popular feeling, especially in the North and West.