[[A.D. 1553.]] The royal standard of England had not floated many hours
over the towers of Framlingham Castle before the knights and gentlemen
of Suffolk flocked around Queen Mary, bringing their tenants with them,
all completely armed. About five days later six ships-of-war sailed
along the Suffolk coast towards Yarmouth Roads, with the intention of
besieging Mary's castle.
Sir Henry Jerningham, one of the gentlemen who had attended her from
Norfolk, happened to be at Yarmouth when the fleet entered the harbor,
pretending that they were forced to do so on account of stormy weather.
Sir Henry boldly went out in a boat to hail them. The soldiers on
board the ships asked him what he wanted. "Your captains," replied the
courageous knight; "who are rebels to their lawful Queen Mary."
"If they are," said the men, "we will throw them into the sea, for we
are her true subjects."
The captains surrendered themselves, and Sir Henry took possession of
the ships.
At the same time Sir Edward Hastings was sent to two counties to raise
four thousand men for Queen Jane. As soon as he had secured them, he
proclaimed Mary as his rightful queen, and thus placed a large force at
her disposal, close to London.
Jane Grey's council, headed by Northumberland, were terrified when they
heard of these two events, and still more so when placards were posted
on the churches a few {037}days later, stating that Mary had been
proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland in every town and city excepting
London. A revolution was the result, which ended in the arrest of
Northumberland, who was sent to the Tower. Then several of his party
hastened to Framlingham to excuse themselves to Mary. Among these were
Dr. Sandys, Bishop Ridley, Northampton, and Lord Robert Dudley, all of
whom were arrested.
On the last day of July Mary broke up her camp, and began her triumphant
march towards London. Her sister Elizabeth, at the head of a cavalcade
of nobility and gentry, amounting to a thousand persons, rode out to
meet her.
Queen Mary travelled slowly and stopped many times, not arriving at her
seat of Wanstead until August 3. From thence she proceeded with great
pomp to London.
One of Mary's first acts after she ascended the throne was to forbid the
lord mayor to allow any reading of the Scriptures or preaching by the
curates unless licensed by her. This was the first blow aimed at the
Protestant Church in England by her.
The trial of Northumberland, and others of his party, took place August
18, when eleven were condemned to die, though only the earl and two
others were really executed. Then the ambassadors from Rome urged Mary
to bring Lady Jane Grey to trial, but she replied that she could not
find it in her heart to put her unfortunate kinswoman to death, for she
had been merely a tool in the hands of others, and her existence could
be no possible danger to herself.
Queen Mary continued to love her sister Elizabeth, took her with her
wherever she went, and never dined in public without her. She was
extremely kind to her Cousin Courtenay too, and appointed a nobleman
to instruct and guide him. {038}About the middle of August she had an
interview with the Pope's envoy, and told him that she had concluded
a league with the Emperor, and had made up her mind to marry his heir,
Prince Philip. She also expressed a wish that her kingdom might be
reconciled to Rome, and that Cardinal Pole be sent to her.
Violent struggles were constantly taking place between the two church
parties for possession of the various churches and pulpits, many of
which were determined by hand-to-hand fights.
Mary was anxious to restore the supremacy of the pope, but Bishop
Gardiner was opposed to it, and wanted her to retain her title as head
of the English Church. She replied to him: "I have read in Scripture
that women are forbidden to speak in the church. Is it then proper that
your church should have a dumb head?"
Mary felt the full weight of the responsibility that her father had
assumed for himself, and imposed upon his successors by separating the
Church of England from the authority of Rome, and feared to undertake
it. The party that sided with her was the weakest in numbers of the
three that then existed in England. The other two consisted of the
Catholics opposed to the pope, established by Henry VIII., which was
the strongest, and the Protestant Church of England, established by the
regency of Edward VI.
Mary's ministers belonged to the party of Henry VIII., and had aided him
in his religious persecutions and his other acts of cruelty, but they
had been long used to governing, and she had no other choice than to
retain them.
It was Cranmer, aided by Somerset, who, after the death of Henry,
established a church on Protestant principles, and then began the
intense hatred between the leaders of the two parties. If Lady Jane Grey
had succeeded to the {039}throne. Cranmer would have remained in
power as Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Protestant religion would
undoubtedly have gained the upper hand; but the Catholic Mary deprived
him of his office, and put Gardiner in power instead. This bishop
changed a prison for the seat of lord-chancellor in an astonishingly
short space of time. Then Cranmer was requested to retire to his house
at Lambeth and live there privately. The Protestants misunderstood this
move, and accused him of joining the ranks of the enemy, whereupon he
published an explanation of his creed. The queen's council regarded
this as an attack on the government, and sent him to the Tower, where he
remained for three years, only to suffer horrible martyrdom at last.
On one point all parties were agreed, and that was disapproval of the
queen's engagement to the Prince of Spain. The Emperor Charles, knowing
how strongly Cardinal Pole would oppose it, stopped him on his journey
to England and detained him in a German convent until after the marriage
had taken place.
Philip was only twenty-six years old, and would have preferred a younger
wife, but his father thought political power of far greater importance
than domestic happiness, so he made Mary a formal offer in writing of
his son's hand on the 20th of September, which took place with a great
deal of regal splendor, magnificent festivities, etc.
Meantime the queen occupied herself in forming her household, and
rewarding the personal friends who had been faithful to her by placing
them in high office. She also indulged her fondness for music by
selecting the best singers and performers that could be found for her
royal chapel.
Four days after the coronation Mary opened her first parliament in
state, and Bishop Gardiner as lord-chancellor {040}made an oration
showing causes "wherefore the virtuous and mighty Princess Mary, by the
grace of God, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the
faith, and head of the church, had summoned her parliament."
They found plenty of work to do in repealing old laws and establishing
new ones. Mary retained her power as head of the church of Henry VIII.
for a year and a half, but the cruelties of her reign did not begin
until she ceased to have that control.
While parliament sat Lady Jane Grey was brought to trial and sentenced
to death on a charge of high treason. The same sentence was passed on
her husband and Cranmer.
Gardiner's influence over the queen was so powerful that he induced her
to burn the Protestant translations of the gospels. Thus, one of Queen
Mary's first acts as head of the church was the destruction of her own
learned work.
Considerable pains were taken by Mary's enemies to create ill feeling
between her and Elizabeth, but without success, and when the young
princess went to live at her palace at Ashbridge the two sisters parted
in the most friendly manner.
After Elizabeth left, the queen had a severe spell of illness that
confined her to her bed for several weeks.
Early in January Count Egmont came to England as ambassador from Spain,
to conclude the marriage treaty between Mary and Philip. He was almost
torn to pieces when he landed in Kent, so opposed were all the British
subjects to this union. But the queen was determined to marry whom she
pleased, and after an interview with the count she told him that he
might confer with her ministers. {041}On the 14th the articles of the
queen's marriage were communicated to the lord-mayor and the city of
London.
They agreed that each sovereign was to govern his kingdom separately.
None but natives of England were to hold offices in the queen's court or
even in the service of her husband. If the queen had a child it was to
succeed to her dominions. Her majesty was never to be carried out of
her dominions without her special request, and Philip was not to engage
England in his father's French wars, nor to appropriate any of the
revenue, ships, ammunition, or crown jewels of England.
[[A.D. 1554.]] The week after these articles became public three
insurrections broke out in different parts of the realm. Two of them
were soon suppressed, and their leaders, who had proclaimed Lady Jane
Grey queen in every town, fled; but the third was headed by Sir Thomas
Wyatt, a young man of twenty-three, who was not so easily managed.
He was a Catholic, but when a boy he had accompanied his father on an
embassy to Spain, and remembered how nearly that parent had become a
victim to the inquisition. This made him fear and detest the Spanish
government, and his motive of revolt was to prevent similar tyranny from
being established in England, by the marriage of the Queen and Philip of
Spain.
Wyatt's rebellion began in Kent, whither Mary sent the aged Duke of
Norfolk with her guards and artillery, accompanied by five hundred of
the London trained companies of soldiers, commanded by Captain Brett.
This person was secretly in league with Wyatt, and actually went over
to his side when they met at Rochester. This treasonable act caused the
loss of the queen's artillery, and gave such encouragement to the rebels
that Wyatt advanced to Deptford with fifteen thousand men. There he
dictated his own terms, which were that the queen and {042}her council
were to be surrendered into his hands. Mary had too much pluck and
determination to listen to such an absurd demand, and prepared for open
war.
The whole city was filled with consternation when the desertion of the
Duke of Norfolk's forces was known, for every one was aware that the
defences of the royal residence at Westminster were weak. All the
queen's council, chaplains, and bishops went about with a complete suit
of armor underneath their customary clothing, prepared to fight when the
time came.
The queen remained calm and collected. She ordered her horse, and
attended by her ladies and councillors, rode to London, where she made
such an eloquent speech, encouraging the citizens to stand by her and
put down the rebellion, that the crowd who filled Guildhall and its
court shouted, "God save Queen Mary and the Prince of Spain!".
She was then rowed to Westminster, where she held a council, appointing
the Earl of Pembroke general of her troops, then gathering to defend St.
James's Palace and Whitehall.
In the meantime Wyatt, finding the city too strongly defended on the
river side, decided to move his forces, but before doing so Winchester
House was plundered, and Bishop Gardiner's books so torn to pieces as to
leave not a single one in his whole library fit for use.
At two o'clock one morning a deserter from the rebels arrived at the
palace of Whitehall with the information that the enemy would be at Hyde
Park Corner within two hours. The bustle and alarm that ensued may be
better imagined then described. Barricades were raised at the points
liable to attack, guards were stationed at the queen's chamber-windows
and private apartments, and the palace echoed with the sobs and cries
of the ladies. But Mary {043}did not lose her presence of mind for
a moment, and when her ministers and councillors crowded around her
imploring her to take refuge in the Tower, she answered: "That she would
set no example of cowardice; and if Pembroke and Clinton proved true to
their posts she would not desert hers."
At four o'clock the drums beat to arms, but the rain was pouring in
torrents on that cold winter's morning, and delayed the rebels until
nine o'clock. Wyatt divided his army into three parts, and a desperate
battle was the result of their attack. Queen Mary stood at a window,
whence she not only saw the struggle, but spoke brave words to the
soldiers who came near enough to hear her, and scouted at any one who
approached her with a discouraging report.
Within the palace the utmost terror reigned, the women running from
place to place shrieking, banging doors and windows, and keeping up an
uproar dreadful to hear.
Just before Pembroke made the final charge, which decided the fortune of
the day, the queen actually came out of the palace and stood between two
armed men within range of the enemy's shot.
At last Wyatt sank down in the street exhausted and discouraged; he was
taken prisoner and locked up in the Tower. Thus ended the rebellion; but
the consequence of it was that the queen was beset from all sides with
requests for the execution of Lady Jane Grey, who had been the innocent
cause of it. Those who demanded this execution said that such scenes
of fighting and bloodshed would occur again and again unless the
unfortunate Lady Jane were put out of the way. Mary yielded at last,
and signed the death warrant of "Guildford Dudley and his wife," to be
executed on the 9th of February, two days later. To Dr. Feckenham, the
queen's chaplain, fell the duty of preparing poor Lady Jane for this
hurried {044}death. He did not succeed in turning her mind from the
Protestant faith, but he won her friendship and gratitude, and her last
words were of the kindness she had received from him.
When told that she was to die so soon, she said: "That she was prepared
to receive her death in any manner it would please the queen to appoint.
She shuddered at the thought, as was natural; but her spirit would
spring rejoicingly into the eternal light, where she hoped the mercy of
God would receive it."
The execution of this lovely, innocent young woman and her husband is a
frightful stain on Mary's name, even though she was urged to it in order
to prevent further civil wars.
The city presented a ghastly spectacle at that time; for the deserters
under Brett were all hung, many of them at their own doors, so that
dangling corpses met the eye at every turn of the street.
The prisoners of Wyatt's army, amounting to five hundred, were led to
the tilt-yard at Whitehall, with ropes about their necks; then the queen
appeared in the gallery above and pronounced the pardon of all. This is
a proof that Mary was far more merciful than her ministers, who wanted
them brought to trial. She was very lenient in her conduct towards her
sister, Elizabeth, too, when Sir Thomas Wyatt's confession gave her
notice that the princess was quite as much a competitor for her crown as
Lady Jane Grey had been.
She sent her own litter for Elizabeth, who had been ill, and had her
brought to Whitehall, where she was appointed a suite of apartments in a
secure corner of the palace.
Elizabeth had deceived her sister, and had carried on a secret
correspondence with Wyatt and the King of France. Mary knew this, but
remained her friend, although she {045}would have no communication with
her whatever until she could clear herself of having taken part in any
act of treason.
Courtenay was in disgrace, also, because he had corresponded with Wyatt,
and was locked up in the Tower. The Spanish ambassador informed Mary
that the marriage treaty between her and Prince Philip could not be
concluded until both Elizabeth and Courtenay were punished; but the laws
of England required an open act of treason to be proved before a person
could be sentenced, and Mary was determined to abide by them.
However, as no nobleman could be found willing to undertake the
dangerous office of watching Elizabeth, she was imprisoned in the Tower
also.
In March Count Egmont returned to England, bringing Mary an engagement
ring from Philip, which he presented before her whole court. She
received it with thanks, and sent a kind message to the prince, who, she
said, had not yet written to her.
Renaud, the Spanish ambassador, kept continually calling her attention
to the fact that Philip would not be safe in England until the rebels,
especially Elizabeth and Courtenay, had been punished. But Mary put him
off with some general remark each time, and thus dismissed the unwelcome
subject. She had loved her sister from infancy, and was too constant in
her affection to destroy her now. Gardiner was accused of protecting the
princess; but it was only because of his friendship for Courtenay, with
whom she was implicated in the rebellion, that he refrained from showing
enmity towards her. He was really a friend to Courtenay, whose family
had been martyrs to Catholicism, and for some time had been his
fellow-prisoner in the Tower, where their attachment had been
strengthened.
On the 5th of May the queen, having recovered from a {046}very severe
spell of illness, dissolved parliament in person, and made such an
eloquent address that she was interrupted five or six times by loud
shouts of "Long live the queen!" and many persons wept.
A couple of weeks later Elizabeth was removed from the Tower to
Woodstock, where she was closely watched by part of the queen's guard,
and Courtenay was sent to Fotheringay Castle, also under guard.
The same week a Spanish grandee arrived in England to prepare for the
reception of Prince Philip, to whom Queen Mary had written a letter
announcing the consent of her parliament to their marriage.
The prince embarked for England July 13, and meantime Mary retired with
her council to Richmond Palace to decide what station her husband was to
occupy. She considered it her duty to yield implicit obedience; and this
notion was the cause of many crimes of which she was guilty later in
life.
When she asked whether her name or Philip's should be placed first in
the legal documents, Renaud replied, indignantly, "that neither divine
nor human laws would suffer his highness to be named last." She next
wished to know whether he was to be crowned as king. Her council
objected very decidedly, but agreed that the moment he touched English
ground he should have a collar and mantle of the Garter worth two
thousand pounds.
When the news arrived that the combined fleets of England and Spain,
amounting to one hundred and sixty sails, had made the port of
Southampton, the queen was at Windsor Castle. Next day she set out with
her bridal retinue for Winchester, where she intended her marriage to be
celebrated.
Don Philip landed July 20, 1554. A crowd of noblemen received the prince
and presented him with the {047}Order of the Garter, which was buckled
below the knee, and the blue velvet mantle, fringed with gold and
pearls. He mounted a horse presented by his royal bride, and rode
straight to church, where he returned thanks for his safe voyage. Then
he was conducted to the palace prepared for him.
He was dressed simply in black velvet, his cap being trimmed with gold
chains and a small feather. The shape of his head denoted ability; but
his complexion was yellowish, his hair thin and sandy, and his eyes
small, blue, and weak, which, added to a most disagreeably gloomy
expression of countenance, rendered Philip of Spain anything but a
handsome man.
The following day being Friday. Don Philip went to mass, and the English
nobles who attended him were much pleased with his courteous manners.
On Sunday morning, Ruy Gomez de Silva, Philip's Grand Chamberlain, was
sent to Queen Mary with a present of jewels valued at fifty thousand
ducats. After mass the prince dined in public, and was waited upon by
his newly-appointed English officers. He tried to make himself popular,
told his attendants in Latin that he had come to live among them like an
Englishman, and praised their ale, which he tasted for the first time in
his life.
The bridegroom and his suite mounted their horses and set out in a
drenching rain on Monday morning for Winchester. He was escorted by
the Earl of Pembroke, with two hundred and fifty cavaliers, a hundred
archers, and four thousand spectators, who formed a procession.
Don Philip was dressed as usual in black velvet, but on account of the
rain he wore a large red-felt cloak, and a black hat. About a mile from
Winchester two noblemen from the queen met the bridegroom, attended by
six royal pages, dressed in cloth of gold, and mounted on large Flemish
horses. {048}Between six and seven o'clock, the procession reached the
city-gate, where the aldermen and mayor presented Don Philip with the
keys of the city, which he returned. A volley of artillery greeted him,
and twelve men, dressed in red and gold, conducted him to the Dean of
Winchester's house, where he lived until after his marriage.
Having changed his dress for a superb black velvet robe bordered with
diamonds, he went to the cathedral, and after prayers held his first
interview with Queen Mary, who received him very lovingly.
The next afternoon at three o'clock the queen held a grand court, gave
Don Philip a public audience, and kissed him in the presence of a large
company. Then after they conversed for a while under the canopy of
state, the prince was conducted to his residence by a torchlight
procession.
The marriage was performed next day. One of the Spanish grandees
delivered a solemn oration, in which he announced that the emperor had
resigned the kingdom of Naples in favor of his son, so that Mary married
a king, not a prince. Then the ceremony proceeded in Latin and English,
after which the royal pair returned hand in hand from the high altar
and seated themselves until the mass was concluded, when they walked
together under the same canopy to the hall where the banquet was spread.
The seats for Queen Mary and her husband were on a dais under a canopy,
where their table was laid. Below the dais were various tables for
the queen's ladies, the Spanish grandees, their wives, and the English
nobility. Bishop Gardiner dined at the royal table. A band of musicians
played throughout the meal, and four heralds entered between the
first and second courses and pronounced a Latin oration in praise of
matrimony.
After the banquet King Philip returned thanks to the council and nobles,
and the queen spoke very graciously {049}
[Illustration: 0055]
{051}in Spanish. At six o'clock the tables were removed and dancing
began, which lasted until nine.
The Spanish fleet sailed for Flanders next day, having first landed
eighty of the most superb horses that ever were seen for Philip's use.
Four of five hundred Spaniards, among whom were a number of fools and
buffoons, were permitted to remain in England; but the queen's marriage
articles forbade the presence of a large number, so the rest were
obliged to return home.
Within a week of their marriage the royal couple gave a sumptuous
festival of the Garter at Windsor Castle to celebrate King Philip's
admission to that order. Later there was a grand hunt, and a large
number of deer were slaughtered.
The usual pageantry attended the public entry into London, which was
made with an imposing retinue of English nobles and Spanish grandees.
Philip had brought over enough gold and silver to fill ninety-seven
chests, each a yard and a quarter long. This treasure was piled on
twenty carts and drawn through the city so that everybody might see it
before it was taken to the Tower to be coined.
Festivities were kept up until the Duke of Norfolk died, when, as
Mary had loved him very much, the whole court was ordered to go into
mourning. The queen retired to Hampton Court, where, with her husband,
she lived very quietly until the opening of her third parliament, in
November. Then she rode in procession, King Philip at her side, to her
palace at Whitehall. She was very anxious that the lands her father
had taken from the church should be restored, but her council would not
consent because they declared she could not support the splendor of her
crown if she deprived herself of these sources of revenue. She replied,
"that she preferred the peace of her conscience to ten such crowns as
England." {052}Her reason for requesting the restoration of the church
property was that Cardinal Pole was on his way to visit her, and she
desired to be prepared for whatever instructions he might bear from the
pope.
Every mark of honor was bestowed on Pole when he arrived. He was
rowed up the Thames to Whitehall, Bishop Gardiner received him at
the water-gate, King Philip at the principal entrance, and Queen Mary
herself at the head of the grand staircase.
On the day appointed for Cardinal Pole's mission to be made known to
parliament the queen was so ill that the proceedings took place in the
audience chamber at Whitehall. Her majesty was carried to the throne,
where King Philip sat at her left hand and Cardinal Pole at the right.
Lord Chancellor Gardiner made the opening address, introducing the
cardinal, who spoke eloquently of his own sufferings and exile, and
pleaded the cause of the Roman Catholics and of the queen with such good
effect that a petition for a reconciliation with the pope was prepared
on the spot, and duly signed by each of the peers.
This was presented to the royal couple next day, who, in the presence
of parliament, delivered the document into the hands of the Roman
ambassador, who thereupon solemnly pronounced absolution and benediction
on all present.
During this ceremony Mary's illness returned; but she was better by
Christmas, which was celebrated with unusual splendor on account of the
royal marriage and of the recent reconciliation to Rome. The Princess
Elizabeth was enjoying the most friendly relations with her sister at
that period, and took part in the festivities. She sat beside the queen
at the state supper which was given in the great hall of Westminster,
and attended by an assembly of English, Flemish, and Spanish nobles.
{053}The queen's illness had rendered her incapable of governing, so
she can scarcely be held accountable for the cruel executions that took
place, though she certainly took on measures to prevent them. Philip was
the real sovereign, and viewed the burning of the two or three hundred
martyrs of the Protestant Church with remarkable complacency.
[Illustration: 0059]
Fortunately for Bishop Coverdale, the translator of the English Bible,
the King of Denmark wrote Queen Mary a {054}letter claiming him for a
subject, otherwise he too would have died at the stake.
[[A.D. 1555.]] The sudden and unexpected abdication of the Emperor
Charles V. called King Philip to Spain to receive the sceptre, and
before he left Queen Mary removed from Hampton Court to Greenwich
Palace. But whether in England or out of it, Philip was certainly ruler
so long as his wife lived, and minute accounts of all church and state
affairs were submitted to him during his absence. No power was legally
given to him by parliament, but he coolly took it, and gave important
orders without so much as consulting the queen.
When not under her husband's bad influence Mary restored some wise laws,
and the fact that insurrections ceased in her reign proves that the poor
were not so destitute as they had been during the lives of her father
and brother.
Queen Mary was so ill throughout the rest of the year 1555 that she
remained quietly at Greenwich, sometimes making excursions to the
country, when she would enter the cottages of the poor and relieve their
wants without revealing her identity. This was during Philip's absence;
he returned for a short time in 1557 for the purpose of trying to
involve England in a war with France. But Mary's finances were at a
low ebb, and she did not feel justified in involving her kingdom in the
expenses of a war. Philip's army was mustering near Calais, and in order
to gratify him with as little cost as possible, she pardoned all the
rebels in her prisons on condition that they would join it also. She
raised money by borrowing small sums from those of her citizens who had
any to spare, and paying them an enormous interest. Philip left England
in the summer and never saw his wife again. He succeeded in taking
possession of Calais, but the French gained it back a few months later.
{055}Queen Mary was in a most feeble condition when the Scotch made
an invasion in the north of England, nevertheless she expressed her
determination to head her army in person. She had all the energy
required for such an exploit, but was soon convinced that her bodily
health forbade it. Her troops, under Northumberland and Westmoreland,
repulsed the Scotch and gained a decided victory over them.
The rest of Queen Mary's life was filled with schemes for the recovery
of Calais, a town highly prized by the English, because it was such an
excellent spot for them to land whenever they desired to invade France.
So many disputes were the result that, in her perplexity, Mary declared,
"that should she die Calais would be found written upon her heart if her
breast were opened."
[[A.D. 1558.]] Her death was nearer than she suspected, for she
contracted a malarial fever in the autumn of 1558, from which she did
not recover. King Philip sent a message and a ring by Count de Feria
when he heard of his wife's illness, and proposed that she should take
measures for the recognition of her sister Elizabeth as her successor.
Mary complied; and no sooner had she done so than her whole court
flocked to Hatfield, anxious to prove their devotion to the princess who
was soon to become their sovereign.
While the last services of the church were being performed for her, on
the morning of November 17, Queen Mary raised her eyes to heaven and
expired.
Her devoted and early friend, Cardinal Pole, died two days later.
The queen's body was embalmed, and, after lying in state for a month,
was interred at Westminster Abbey, on the north side of Henry VIIth's
Chapel. {056}