Sixtus admired Elizabeth yet worked for her overthrow

Evidence

Sixtus might be loud in his admiration for the Queen of England, but he was eager to assist in her overthrow by whatever means might offer. — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 126

Sixtus might jeer at Philip and urge him for his own sake to finish with the English, but Sixtus knew that the issue was as large as Christendom, and no Pope of the great post-Tridentine line was more single-mindedly devoted to the recovery of all the provinces lost since Luther to the faith. Sixtus might be loud in his admiration for the Queen of England, but he was eager to assist in her overthrow by whatever means might offer. Whatever Sixtus may have felt or said about the death of the Queen of Scots, only one question was really important to him. Would it spur the laggard King of Spain? — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 126

Categorization

• SEED: A dramatic irony angle for an article on how personal admiration and geopolitical necessity coexisted in Renaissance diplomacy.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 126
• XREF: connects to: Drake’s voyages ignited English war fever that Elizabeth could no longer control — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 72; A single assassin could have toppled Elizabeth’s entire government — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 54; Rome promised plenary absolution to anyone who murdered Elizabeth — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 55

Broader Connections

• Rome promised plenary absolution to anyone who murdered Elizabeth #corroborates (0.80) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 55
• A single assassin could have toppled Elizabeth’s entire government #corroborates (0.70) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 54
• Drake’s voyages ignited English war fever that Elizabeth could no longer control #expands (0.60) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 72