Queen Mary I as a Single Lady

Hello five day weekend! I am so happy to have the next five days off of my day job so I can concentrate on my writing! I am being a little to loose with the explanation marks, so let me get them all out of the way!!!!!!!!!! Okay. It is time to start Mary's reign as queen! (One slipped in and I can't be held responsible! Drats.)

Mary as Queen 

Mary had her coronation on October 1st, 1553 at Westminster Abbey. No one can say she wasted any time learning the ropes of being queen, for she got involved in political matters only days after becoming official.  Her first act that she wanted passed was one that made the marriage between her mother and father valid. No one disputed this act and it passed relatively quickly. I doubt many people ever truly believed that the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon wasn't valid. The king's reasoning behind declaring it invalid was full of cracks, in an almost comical way. But Mary wasn't going to stop at this simple victory, she wanted to help bring her subjects back into the Church of Rome.

Westminster Abbey

Now there is perhaps nothing more annoying, then someone trying to force their beliefs on you. I live in a state where this type of shenanigans are happening all the time. What one must try to remember, while your contemplating punching a religious fanatic in the face, is that they truly believe that they are doing what is 'best' for you. Mary was doing what she thought was the best for her subjects, she wanted to save their souls for all eternity--the problem was that many of them didn't want to travel that road to salvation, but another. The second act that Mary wanted to pass would discontinue all religious reforms made during her younger brothers reign. Unlike the act revolving her parents, this act met with some resistance. Eventually, however, the act passed.

Edward Courtenay

The next thing that Queen Mary needed to do was find a husband--'stat'. An unmarried queen would never be able to rule, or so people thought, before Mary's younger sister, Elizabeth I took the throne. The people of England largely wished for Mary to wed Edward Courtenay, an interesting choice as he had been imprisoned in the Tower for most of his life. He was the popular choice because he was one of the last living members to the house of york, making him an englishman and not a foreigner. Mary, however, fell in love with the portrait of another man--Phillip of Spain. Going against the wishes of her subjects, not the best choice since she was already unpopular at the time, she would marry Philip.

Phillip II of Spain

Next post we will go through the ups and downs of their marriage, if you can even call it that, and end with Mary's death--making our first study complete. Be thinking about who you would like to hear of next, and if you have any opinions feel free to comment!

Happy Journeys,
Lady Thiessen