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The Act of Uniformity 1549 was passed under Edward VI and establishes the book of Common Prayer. The Act furthered the protestant cause and those that did not follow the Act were punished. Mary, being a Catholic, of course did not like this act, but was forced and submitted to the law.
Unfortunately, King Edward VI falls ill and most know, his death is coming. According to Henry VIII's Act of Succession, when he died, Edward became King. If Edward died with no heir to the throne, then Mary was next in line. If Mary died with no heir to the throne, Elizabeth would become Queen.
Edward knows that in order to keep the Protestant faith in England and for it to prosper, he cannot have Mary become Queen. If she became Queen, it would become a Catholic nation and answer to Rome, as it did years ago. Therefore, Henry VIII's Act of Succession must be changed. A heavy supporter of this change was John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. With strong force, John Dudley has the King change the succession. Mary nor Elizabeth are next in line as Edward believes they are both illegitimate heirs to the throne. On Edward's deathbed, he declares protestant, Jane Grey, as the next ruler in England. Jane Grey is John Dudley's daughter-in-law.
Jane Grey becomes the "9 day Queen". England did not view Jane Grey as the Queen because she was not in the Succession Act that was declared by Henry VIII. Mary was Henry's daughter and was in Henry's Succession Act and because of this was next in line after Edward. Therefore, the people heavily stood by Mary. Mary, officially becomes Queen 7/19/1553. At first, she was going to have Jane Grey along with her husband, Guildford Dudley remain alive, but in the end, she decides that both need to be executed.
Mary as Queen: The first item on the agenda was her marriage. She had two choices, Edward Courtenay, who was a great-grandchild of King Edward IV, as was Mary & Elizabeth. He was an Englishman and Mary did not think of herself as particularly English. Therefore, her other suitor was her Habsburg cousin's son, Prince Philip, son of Emperor Charles V. The decision for Mary was based on love and the decision by Philip & his father was strategic. An alliance with England would help the Hadsburg "agglomeration" by defeating France and in addition, England would follow the Catholic religion.
The English people did not want a marriage with an outsider, so they were reluctant with her marriage to Philip. Remember, Elizabeth is still in the picture. She was at court, at times, with her sister, Mary. Elizabeth was very popular, so popular that a rebellion against Mary was led by Thomas Wyatt
The rebellion did not work and Wyatt was executed. However, Mary started to question Elizabeth's loyalty. Was Elizabeth aware of this rebellion? Did she make the order?
Overall, it appears she was aware of the rebellion but never responded to any of Wyatt's letters or ordered the rebellion.
Elizabeth was brought to the tower, as Mary thought she was directly involved with this rebellion, led by Wyatt. There was no substantial evidence against Elizabeth, so she was released from the tower and put under house watch, at Woodstock Palace. Even without substantial evidence, Mary still saw Elizabeth as a threat as she was the figurehead for Wyatt's rebellion.
Queen Mary had her loyal servant, Sir Henry Bedingfield, care for Elizabeth while being imprisoned at Woodstock Palace. Mary Tudor trusted Bedingfield tremendously, as he was a true and loyal subject to Mary and the Catholic faith; that is all Mary needed. However, Bedingfield only had a basic education. In exact quotes from the book, "But it was not enough for the task of watching over the wittiest, best-educated princess in Europe".
For example, "Elizabeth's household had become "a government in (internal) exile". "Bedingfield's instructions were strict- Both for himself and for Elizabeth's other attendants-cum-goalers. Elizabeth was to be securely kept, but treated 'as may be agreeable to [Mary's] honour and her estate and degree'. She was to have no conversation with any suspicious person out of Bedingfield's hearing. Neither was she to send or receive any 'message, letter, or token to or from any manner of person' whatsoever.
Plain and simple, this was not an easy task for Bedingfield. Elizabeth was imprisoned but outwitted Bedingfield in so many ways. What she did to outwit Bedingfield is not important, it's the fact that even while imprisoned, she could outsmart her sister, the current Queen.
While imprisoned, Elizabeth tried pleading with letters and by telling Bedingfield she was innocent but nothing transpired. Finally, Mary's counsel granted Elizabeth to write and plea her case and innocence. She did that and "Elizabeth's detention at Woodstock lasted just under a year."
Skipping back to Mary & her marriage to Philip. The first year went fine. "The new parliament was opened on 12 November and its first act was to repeal the attainder or condemnation for treason of Cardinal Reginald Pole. Pole was papal legate or ambassador, charged with the mission of reconciling England to Rome". Pole was an instrumental figure for England reconciling with Rome.
"Only one thing remained to complete the reconstruction of England's past, present and future and that was for Mary to follow the example of her namesake, the Virgin, and conceive a child". It was believed and rumored that Mary was with childe. Both, Mary & Philip for Easter moved to Hampton Court. Mary wanted Elizabeth brought to Hampton Court.
Mary, at this point, pitied her sister. Mary believed she was pregnant and that this would continue the Catholic future of England.
Therefore, in Mary's eye's Elizabeth was no longer a threat. However, this was short lived, as Mary had a miscarriage. But, Mary believed she was still pregnant.
A week later, Elizabeth was summoned to the Queen. "Surprised by the lateness of the hour and the peremptory nature of the message, Elizabeth feared an assassination attempt. Instead, by torchlight she was taken across the garden to the foot of the privy stairs that led directly to the Queen's bedchamber. Then, accompanied only by Mrs. Clarencius, Mary's favorite attendant, she was ushered into the presence. The two sisters had not met for a year. Elizabeth knelt, while Mary chided her with her refusal to submit.
'you [would say] that you have been wrongfully punished.'
'I must not say so, if it please your majesty, to you'
'Then belike you will to others.'
Mary's sharp retort revealed her frustration. For a year she had been trying to force Elizabeth to admit her self-evident guilt and for a year Elizabeth had steadfastly refused. Now she had to reward her sister's obstinacy by taking her back into her good grace, on Elizabeth's terms, not hers".
There was another witness to the above events and that was Philip. At this point, Mary aged quite a bit and Elizabeth was young and desirable, at least to Philip. As stated in the beginning, Philip's marriage to Mary was for political and strategic reasons, not out of love. Since, Mary was not with childe and could probably not a bare a childe at her age, Philip's strategy changed. "So long as there was a prospect of offspring of the marriage, Elizabeth remained an obstacle. But now that it was clear to him (though not to his wife) that Mary's 'pregnancy' was a product of disease if not deception, Elizabeth's position changed and she became more useful to Habsburg aims alive than dead. For if Mary died childless, as seemed increasingly likely, the legitimate, Catholic heir to England was Mary, Queen of Scots, the granddaughter of Henry VIII's elder sister Margaret.
Mary had been brought up in France and was betrothed to the heir of the French throne, the Dauphin Francois. Her succession to England would thus be the fulfillment of the worst Habsburg nightmare: she would unite Britain and fuse both island-kingdoms into a joint Franco-British realm that would control the Channel and rupture sea links between the eastern and western halves of the Habsburgs's European empire. Better Elizabeth on the English throne...."
Elizabeth was at Mary's side but saw her reputation each week diminish. Especially as her pretense of being pregnant kept up. Along with this came the news that Philip was leaving England..."he resolved to cut his losses and go". He told Mary that he would be back in a few months.
After all this, Elizabeth "obtained permission to leave court for her own estates on 10/18/1555". She returned to Hatfield and continued her studies with Roger Ascham.
After her husband leaving and not having a childe, Mary became mentally ill. Her reputation was tainted and her government had become "an intrusive tryanny".
Another attempt for rebellion was led by Anthony Kingston and Sir Henry Dudley. They wanted to exile Mary and have Elizabeth marry Edward Courtenay, the Earl of Devon. Also, involved with the rebellion was Christopher Ashton. To have a stronger force and finance, Dudley & Ashton sailed for France to organize the invading force. News of the invasion reached England, even the French Ambassador, took his formal leave.
Naturally, Mary sent a posse of troops to Elizabeth's house. Members living in Elizabeth's household, including Catherine Ashley were arrested. The members of the household admitted to knowing of the invasion/rebellion. Mary could have had Elizabeth sent to the tower again, but did not.
She was instructed by her husband, Philip to "drop any inquiry into Elizabeth's guilt". After all, in Philip's eyes, it was either Elizabeth or Mary, Queen of Scots. Yet, Elizabeth prevailed again. On page 200, the very ending of the chapter states "Mary's tragedy was that the name of the foreign prince who was now Elizabeth's most powerful supporter was Philip, King of England and Spain, and Mary's own husband."
Interesting items to read:
I Will be reading the next 100 pages and then post about that. Hopefully, that will be shorter. I do each 100 pages for you, as the follower, and for myself. We all gather the most information this way. Please feel free to comment about this post.
The rebellion did not work and Wyatt was executed. However, Mary started to question Elizabeth's loyalty. Was Elizabeth aware of this rebellion? Did she make the order?
Overall, it appears she was aware of the rebellion but never responded to any of Wyatt's letters or ordered the rebellion.
Elizabeth was brought to the tower, as Mary thought she was directly involved with this rebellion, led by Wyatt. There was no substantial evidence against Elizabeth, so she was released from the tower and put under house watch, at Woodstock Palace. Even without substantial evidence, Mary still saw Elizabeth as a threat as she was the figurehead for Wyatt's rebellion.
Queen Mary had her loyal servant, Sir Henry Bedingfield, care for Elizabeth while being imprisoned at Woodstock Palace. Mary Tudor trusted Bedingfield tremendously, as he was a true and loyal subject to Mary and the Catholic faith; that is all Mary needed. However, Bedingfield only had a basic education. In exact quotes from the book, "But it was not enough for the task of watching over the wittiest, best-educated princess in Europe".
For example, "Elizabeth's household had become "a government in (internal) exile". "Bedingfield's instructions were strict- Both for himself and for Elizabeth's other attendants-cum-goalers. Elizabeth was to be securely kept, but treated 'as may be agreeable to [Mary's] honour and her estate and degree'. She was to have no conversation with any suspicious person out of Bedingfield's hearing. Neither was she to send or receive any 'message, letter, or token to or from any manner of person' whatsoever.
Plain and simple, this was not an easy task for Bedingfield. Elizabeth was imprisoned but outwitted Bedingfield in so many ways. What she did to outwit Bedingfield is not important, it's the fact that even while imprisoned, she could outsmart her sister, the current Queen.
While imprisoned, Elizabeth tried pleading with letters and by telling Bedingfield she was innocent but nothing transpired. Finally, Mary's counsel granted Elizabeth to write and plea her case and innocence. She did that and "Elizabeth's detention at Woodstock lasted just under a year."
Skipping back to Mary & her marriage to Philip. The first year went fine. "The new parliament was opened on 12 November and its first act was to repeal the attainder or condemnation for treason of Cardinal Reginald Pole. Pole was papal legate or ambassador, charged with the mission of reconciling England to Rome". Pole was an instrumental figure for England reconciling with Rome.
"Only one thing remained to complete the reconstruction of England's past, present and future and that was for Mary to follow the example of her namesake, the Virgin, and conceive a child". It was believed and rumored that Mary was with childe. Both, Mary & Philip for Easter moved to Hampton Court. Mary wanted Elizabeth brought to Hampton Court.
Mary, at this point, pitied her sister. Mary believed she was pregnant and that this would continue the Catholic future of England.
Therefore, in Mary's eye's Elizabeth was no longer a threat. However, this was short lived, as Mary had a miscarriage. But, Mary believed she was still pregnant.
A week later, Elizabeth was summoned to the Queen. "Surprised by the lateness of the hour and the peremptory nature of the message, Elizabeth feared an assassination attempt. Instead, by torchlight she was taken across the garden to the foot of the privy stairs that led directly to the Queen's bedchamber. Then, accompanied only by Mrs. Clarencius, Mary's favorite attendant, she was ushered into the presence. The two sisters had not met for a year. Elizabeth knelt, while Mary chided her with her refusal to submit.
'you [would say] that you have been wrongfully punished.'
'I must not say so, if it please your majesty, to you'
'Then belike you will to others.'
Mary's sharp retort revealed her frustration. For a year she had been trying to force Elizabeth to admit her self-evident guilt and for a year Elizabeth had steadfastly refused. Now she had to reward her sister's obstinacy by taking her back into her good grace, on Elizabeth's terms, not hers".
There was another witness to the above events and that was Philip. At this point, Mary aged quite a bit and Elizabeth was young and desirable, at least to Philip. As stated in the beginning, Philip's marriage to Mary was for political and strategic reasons, not out of love. Since, Mary was not with childe and could probably not a bare a childe at her age, Philip's strategy changed. "So long as there was a prospect of offspring of the marriage, Elizabeth remained an obstacle. But now that it was clear to him (though not to his wife) that Mary's 'pregnancy' was a product of disease if not deception, Elizabeth's position changed and she became more useful to Habsburg aims alive than dead. For if Mary died childless, as seemed increasingly likely, the legitimate, Catholic heir to England was Mary, Queen of Scots, the granddaughter of Henry VIII's elder sister Margaret.
Mary had been brought up in France and was betrothed to the heir of the French throne, the Dauphin Francois. Her succession to England would thus be the fulfillment of the worst Habsburg nightmare: she would unite Britain and fuse both island-kingdoms into a joint Franco-British realm that would control the Channel and rupture sea links between the eastern and western halves of the Habsburgs's European empire. Better Elizabeth on the English throne...."
Elizabeth was at Mary's side but saw her reputation each week diminish. Especially as her pretense of being pregnant kept up. Along with this came the news that Philip was leaving England..."he resolved to cut his losses and go". He told Mary that he would be back in a few months.
After all this, Elizabeth "obtained permission to leave court for her own estates on 10/18/1555". She returned to Hatfield and continued her studies with Roger Ascham.
After her husband leaving and not having a childe, Mary became mentally ill. Her reputation was tainted and her government had become "an intrusive tryanny".
Another attempt for rebellion was led by Anthony Kingston and Sir Henry Dudley. They wanted to exile Mary and have Elizabeth marry Edward Courtenay, the Earl of Devon. Also, involved with the rebellion was Christopher Ashton. To have a stronger force and finance, Dudley & Ashton sailed for France to organize the invading force. News of the invasion reached England, even the French Ambassador, took his formal leave.
Naturally, Mary sent a posse of troops to Elizabeth's house. Members living in Elizabeth's household, including Catherine Ashley were arrested. The members of the household admitted to knowing of the invasion/rebellion. Mary could have had Elizabeth sent to the tower again, but did not.
She was instructed by her husband, Philip to "drop any inquiry into Elizabeth's guilt". After all, in Philip's eyes, it was either Elizabeth or Mary, Queen of Scots. Yet, Elizabeth prevailed again. On page 200, the very ending of the chapter states "Mary's tragedy was that the name of the foreign prince who was now Elizabeth's most powerful supporter was Philip, King of England and Spain, and Mary's own husband."
Interesting items to read:
I Will be reading the next 100 pages and then post about that. Hopefully, that will be shorter. I do each 100 pages for you, as the follower, and for myself. We all gather the most information this way. Please feel free to comment about this post.
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