Mary was born in February 1516;
her father was Henry VIII, and her mother was Catherine of Aragon.
Throughout her early years,
she was the heir apparent and played the typical role of a princess.
She received a classical education and learned,
amongst other things, to become adept at music.
Yet her father was growing more concerned about producing a male heir.
The longer his torment continued,
it would soon mean the end of Mary’s golden childhood years.
It all led to the king’s great matter in 1527.
Henry’s attempts to remove his now unwanted wife became public knowledge
and also the start of Mary’s most turbulent years.
Join me now as we look at the bloody reign
of Mary Tudor, queen of England.
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The events that placed Mary on the throne in July 1553
have been more confusing than other royal successions.
It began with the Duke of Northumberland, a man who had become the effective ruler
upon the deterioration of King Edward VI.
He planned to arrange a marriage between lady
Jane Grey and his son Guildford Dudley.
He then persuaded Edward to change the line of succession to the throne.
It was known as the “devise for the succession.” Northumberland
continued relentlessly in his quest to maintain the protestant faith.
He knew mary would not hesitate to restore the Catholic regime
if given an opportunity.
On 6 July 1553, Mary discovered her brother was dead.
She knew her mortality was now also under pressure;
she rode to escape travelling to Cambridge, and the following day
she continued her journey to Norfolk and the Manor of Kenninghall.
Secure for the moment but not a woman to rest on her laurels,
she began to act as queen.
It was a decisive moment and one of great courage.
She first addressed the privy council on her right and title; secondly,
she sent letters throughout East Anglia claiming her realm
and employing her loyal subjects to join in defending her position.
Mary’s claim was initially rejected, possibly due
to the powerful Northumberland, yet support grew for Mary
that would undoubtedly have a telling effect outside Westminster.
Mary was now gaining the upper hand even though Lady
Grey had been proclaimed at the tower on the 10th.
Northumberland entered panic mode; he could see what was happening,
and back in London, his support swayed and finally crumbled.
Mary was emphatically proclaimed in London on the 19th.
From this point on, her march to the throne was all downhill.
Her voice was resonant, even masculine,
her fortitude considerable and her desire to rule intense.
The dramatic weeks leading to her accession were nervous and testing,
but her new government now set out plans.
It would at first be a time of struggle to balance the economic and social lines.
But Mary had waited all her life for this job.
Mary was coronated
on the 1st of October 1553,
and much planning and activity led to the big day.
But away from the crowning other pressing matters continued,
such as religion and finance.
Mary's father, Henry, had always said the crown should pass to her sister, Elizabeth
His view was known Mary would attempt to return the country to Catholicism,
which she knew Elizabeth could and would not uphold.
It was also around now Mary had begun discussions on marriage,
but who could she have?
Names were put forward, some viable, others not.
One man did eventually appear to be the one Philip of Spain.
Although Philip was clearly not excited about this, his father, Emperor
Charles V, saw much value in the proposal.
This match would suit both countries, and nothing would stand in his way.
Diplomacy took to the floor; Charles told his ambassador
Simon Renard to present Mary with an official marriage proposal.
Mary gave it much thought and, with the help of her advisors, accepted the offer.
It was rare for an unmarried woman to decide her fate.
After all, Philip was the one man who represented much of Mary’s
expectations regarding trust and values.
It wasn’t to everyone’s liking, councillors
knew of the meetings between Mary and Renard,
but when the announcement came, it was still surprising.
At that point, many, even the most prominent, realised
that an inevitable gulf would now always exist
and keep them separate from the queen’s confidence.
Philip accepted but under duress, stating although obliged under his father’s
decision, he was determined not to abide by any unwelcome restrictions.
His words were, of course, not made known to the English;
if so would only have confirmed their worst fears.
It was clear that Mary would
continue her faith by July 1553.
She had faced no intimidation, even as a princess.
Yet it was unclear how it would be used in her reign,
but more so how the catholic restoration
would rapidly be reintroduced.
Many of her closest subjects were still in the dark.
But in truth, Mary was also an unknown.
Her intentions to restore papal supremacy left many surprised.
Her early weeks in charge gave little sign of what was to come.
She was planning, and yet no detail was to be delivered until finalised.
She imposed sanctions against those who interfered with the clergy
and reaffirmed the traditional doctrine of the lord’s supper.
Parliament was open to further discussions around the importance
of royal supremacy, yet some members said
they would not support all her demands.
By 1554 Mary realised that she had underestimated
the staying power of her protestant opponents.
But all her efforts now changed.
After years in exile, Reginald Pole returned to England
and her husband, Philip.
It also marked the peak of parliament, now
in its final throws to restore a catholic regime in England.
More so with the scare of Wyatt’s uprising earlier in the year.
By now, with the enduring background of change and discontent, Mary had thrown her
initial naivety to one side and began to stiffen her stance.
She had already executed some of Wyatt’s followers, but that wasn’t enough,
and she soon started to discredit some of the most devious leaders
of England’s protestant community.
By July 1554, Mary finally tied the knot with Phillip,
an occasion still seen as being extremely controversial.
Many protestants fled English shores, but there was still an underground
movement of Protestantism, which continued to serve a network of organisers,
who continued to smuggle in literature from abroad.
The atmosphere was changing, hostility was becoming the norm,
and Mary had to act quickly.
Philip was well prepared
when he came to England; he brought a group of the Spanish clergy.
Although little is known as to the exact reasoning behind this,
it isn’t easy to imagine, but their role was to be used as a ceremonial gesture.
At least 3 were Dominican men who were more known for their defiance and reform.
Although hardly anything is reported of these men,
it is clear they were simply not bystanders.
But Mary also had another who would support and counsel her
in religious matters; this was Reginald pole.
From Mary’s accession,
Pole had made strenuous efforts to end his exile of twenty years.
All he wanted was to bring forth a catholic restoration in England.
Mary knew when he did return, he would return as Cardinal Legate,
an office given to him by the Pope in October 1553.
Yet Philip was the man set to lose most if Pole was allowed back befoe
he had chance to promote himself; Phillip had to gain as much credit
as possible for reintroducing the Catholic faith in England.
Eventually he accepted Mary’s concerns
about allowing Pole back, but only on their terms.
Once Mary and Philip were married, it was time for the next part
of her strategic plan.
Philip took the lead in
arranging Poles return with Mary’s support.
Pole reached Westminster on 24 November.
Not only had ceremonial niceties been extended,
but the parliament worked to ensure a triumphant return.
Quite possibly, the best news for Pole was that the attainder
placed upon him by Henry VIII had been removed.
From the moment of Pole’s dramatic reconciliation with blessings
from Philip and a fair amount of relief from Mary,
Pole assumed charge and began his restoration effort.
He set to work on removing twenty years of spiritual waywardness,
material decay and clerical ignorance.
He intended to build from the top down.
Once he had mapped out his path, he went to work with a vengeance.
The one thing
remembered to this day about the Marian church is the other side to the coin,
the bloody Mary side, where persecution became the norm.
Once parliament had revived legislation from the middle ages of treason
based upon heresy, it opened the gates for Mary to prosecute on a broad front.
With her power sealed and delivered backed by her government,
she lost little time carrying out her threats.
Between February 1555 and the end of Mary’s reign,
just under 300 protestant conformists were executed for heresy.
‘the majority burned at the stake.
Most were unwilling to back the new Catholic rite.
Initially, the deaths were of popular preachers such as John Rogers,
who was executed at Smithfield on 4 February 1555.
But the deaths carried with them much sympathy
and greatly impacted many others.
The latter executions were of men far more humble background,
primarily artisans, labourers and yeomen.
Yet the killing went on.
But throughout all the bloodshed and in attempting to make examples of them.
The Will of the people only strengthened;
English society had created martyrs,
and ones that didn’t just undermine the government’s efforts
but also, in their eyes, confirmed that these were indeed God’s people.
However shocking this treatment may seem today,
burning for heresy was an accepted form of punishment.
How much of the persecution can be attributed to Spain is unknown;
the Spanish were cruel, a reputation that stained its flag.
Yet the marriage of Mary and Phillip certainly
coerced a self-identity to the Tudor era.
But until Elizabeth came to the throne, it was then accepted that the protestant
regime led by John Foxe and his book “Foxes acts and monuments”
brought a more rational and plausible account,
one that recorded the relative truths of such a terrifying time.
History leaves many questions, but this book, one of the most frequently
published works of all time, goes some way to leave many in no doubt.
When Mary began her reign, she was embroiled in a time of several
long-term and profound transitions of social and economic activity.
So how did the Marian regime attempt to deal
with such intricacies of political stability,
and could this affect the broader context of Tudor domestic policy?
Foreign trade suffered under Mary; the Spanish saw to that,
they allowed her continued access to the Netherlands,
but she gained nothing under what she believed
to be a special relationship with Phillips country.
It was said that under her marriage, ties with Spain would be strengthened,
and commercial activities become more widespread,
ensuring a buoyant economy for both countries.
The expectation came to nothing; even the far-off lands of Sth
America were rejected as being anything other than a pot of gold for the Spanish.
The Tudors had always lived on the edge economically,
and her father was a big spender of his time.
Even now, under the leadership of Mary, the costs were again on the up; inflation
and the rising price of warfare didn’t help the cause.
Towns across the land were feeling impoverished,
pleas for help from the government naturally fell on deaf ears,
and the responsibility to help the poor and sick became an irritant.
Although her leadership was the first to come under such scrutiny,
there was little that could be done to alleviate the problems.
Cash was in short supply, but so was the need for political reform.
In social and economic terms, Mary’s reign did little to reduce
the sterilisation of her country, a country that needed help and resources,
not complacency and ignorance of the situation.
Some schemes were planned, but none came to fruition until after Mary’s death.
By then, it was too little, too late.
As a point to reunite the country, only one certainty
existed to produce results, and that was war.
Philip, to his credit, did beef up the English strengths,
and its military capabilities became much more potent.
He then ignited his naval fleet with battle
cries for the English to turn on France.
Mary resisted but was then convinced, yet the battle ahead
did little to bring a rallying cry of national sentiment.
One reason was that Mary died before diplomatic discussions
could resolve the issue.
It was a period that showed the deficiency of the government and queen.
But one that the new Elizabethans would encompass
and procure new policies, that took England from the edge
to becoming once again a significant force.
Although it seems Mary’s reign is full of what is known as a mid-Tudor crisis, one
in which it struggled to come to terms with the day-to-day running of government,
and was even less capable of uniting social and financial issues.
Her parliaments were often exposed and ridiculed throughout Mary’s reign,
and it has to be assumed that religion and all its beliefs
seemed to be the holy grail of appeasement for the queen.
From wartime to economic hardship and even the religious persecutions
by the time her last parliament convened in 1558,
it was clear that the tide had begun to turn.
A more amicable and assured path was opening up.
The crown’s policies, especially on religious matters,
were eased in to try and write the wrongs of the past.
Mary knew times had to change,
and it is recognised she, at last, looked to compromise.
Many decisions changed how we view her, for example, the non-coronation
of Phillip, something he wanted, and her bow to her half-sister Elizabeth,
even though she had been implicated in Wyatt’s rebellion.
These acts do not stem from angry reactions, nor
are they political gestures.
It seems that Mary has come to understand the need for cooperation for the first time.
It was the only way, but not something past Tudors had ever evoked.
So, where does this story leave Mary in English history?
Despite the administrative deficiency in Mary’s council.
The relationships she shared with her governments
and workable practices almost came to fruition,
but a host of setbacks dominated her final two years of life.
The poor continued to suffer, disease and famine were rife,
and the war with France did little to alleviate her ongoing problems.
Mary was never a picture of good health, to the point
she declined into illness and prepared for the worst.
One of the most spoken about health matters was her gynaecological history,
several false pregnancies, probable hormonal balance and bouts of hysteria,
which would have given any royal doctor at the time, cause for concern.
So confident was Mary that she was pregnant in 1558
she wrote her Will stating her firstborn be placed under Philips care
and that, upon age should be the new monarch.
Although by mid-October, it seemed Mary had come to terms with her
fate, sick and now very weak in body, it seemed only a matter of time.
Under the terms of the succession act of 1544
and according to her father’s Will, the crown would now devolve to Elizabeth.
On 17 November 1558,
Mary died; the catholic restoration was in tatters
just five years and four months after its construction.
Even to this day, the reign of Mary still attracts more negative views
than positive ones.
Yet it isn’t easy to arrive at any informed judgements.
Mary spent most of her time building and establishing new traits,
constitutional reforms and religious behaviours.
The transformation was massive,
and she had little time to convey her wishes.
It is no surprise that her dealings were left incomplete;
it’s been suggested it took Elizabeth over ten years
to put right the wrongs of her half-sister’s regime.
Mary left the world with
quite possibly more religious divisions than when she first entered it.
Although exaggerated amongst some, they were undeniably significant.
Time was the real killer here, Mary, if she had more, may well have governed
for many years, and today we could see a different country from the one she left.
Unfortunately, time waits for no one, and Mary eventually succumbed to nothing
more than a dream, a dream so abrupt, yet one sadly with a premature ending.