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
    

Edward VI and The Nine Day Queen

Edward VI

Edward, son of Henry and Jane Seymour, became king when he was nine years old. He would become Edward VI and his reign would be very short. Edward was a supporter of the new church that his father established and Mary tried but failed to get him to see what she thought was the errors of his ways. Because Edward was so young a lord protector was needed and that job fell to Jane Seymour's brother Edward Seymour. Later Edward Seymour was overthrown by John Dudley. During Edwards short reign the Act of Uniformity was passed which abolished Catholic mass. Mary openly defied this act and continued to practice her religion. Edward would soon grow sick, at only 15 years old, with what many believe to be tuberculosis. The nation was set into a panic because many feared what Mary would do if she was to become queen. They believed she would take away the protestant religion and return England back to the church of Rome. And where there is fear, there are plots, and where there are plots, innocent parties usually pay the price.

John Dudley

Edward and his advisors drew up a new line of succession in which Edward named Lady Jane Grey (his cousin), as his next heir and left both of his sisters completely out of the document. And thus when Edward died Jane took the throne. This was to be an even shorter reign than her cousins had been. Jane was young, either 16 or 17, when she was declared queen and most likely had no desire to take the throne from Mary I. Her parents, Frances Brandon and Henry Grey, were the ambitious ones and wanted to rule the country through her daughter. It didn't help matters that Jane's husband's parents were just as ambitious. Her husband was Guilford Dudley, son of John Dudley who had become lord protector after Edward Seymour. This put John Dudley in a good position to move the plot to put Jane Grey on the throne.

Jane's Signature as Queen

Unfortunately there are no confirmed portraits of Jane, probably because her life was so short and she was only in the lime light for little over a week. Anyways Jane accented the throne on July 10th 1553. Mary meanwhile was building up supporters for her cause. Mary took quite the risk in staying in the country, her life was in danger if she was caught by the wrong hands, but she believed strongly in her right to become the next queen of England. Mary went to Farmlingham Castle for protection and watched as her support grew. She sent a proclamation across the land proclaiming herself as the rightful queen and within nine days the Privy council placed their support in Mary and she was able to come to london and claim the throne.

Farmlingham Castle 

 
This is when we start to see Mary's true colors. Mary was wronged, her right to the throne was clearly stated by her father in his line of succession. Obviously someone had to be punished for committing treason. John Dudley was executed rather quickly for his acts in the plot, and many wanted Jane to share her fathers fate. Mary however, who in my belief had a soft heart and a good head on her shoulders, refused to execute either Jane of her husband Guilford. Mary understood that these children were pawns in the adult's treason and she could not bring herself to order their execution. Unfortunately less then a year later another plot was hatched to put Jane back on the throne, which had nothing to do with her because she was imprisoned in the tower, and thus Mary could no longer leave the young girl alive if she was ever going to feel secure in her throne. Jane was executed on February 12th 1554 at the Tower of London.

Me Gleefully Exploring The Tower of London

Thats all for this post. Next time we will finally learn about Mary as she was as a queen. Im looking forward to it!

Happy Journeys,
Lady Thiessen