中世纪欧洲社会等级森严,在婚姻生活中,爱情很少成为结婚的理由,尤其是王室的婚姻,往往是政治、经济或宗教利益的结果,是联姻外交的副产品。玛丽·斯图亚特和伊丽莎白一世为了英格兰的王冠所进行的错综复杂的斗争及伴随其中的婚姻外交,充分展示了王室婚姻的这一特点。 Medieval European social hierarchy, in the marriage, love rarely become a reason to get married, especially the marriage of the royal family is often the result of political, economic or religious interests, a by-product of marriage diplomacy. The complex struggle of Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I for the crown of England and the marriage and diplomacy that accompanied them fully demonstrated this feature of royal marriage.