15-Mary I and her ministers

Spanish Marriage, 1554

• Mary’s motivation: Mary was eager to marry to secure a Catholic succession, as she was 37 years old and wanted to produce an heir.

• Candidates: The main English candidate was Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, who was Gardiner’s choice to prevent a foreign marriage. However, Courtenay was seen as unsuitable due to his lack of courtly skills and the potential for factional rivalry if his family became more influential.

• Mary's preference: Mary had a personal preference for Philip of Spain, supported by her advisor Renard (a Spanish subject). Charles V, Philip's father, was keen on the match, while Philip himself was described as doing his "duty."

• Challenges:

  • Protestants' fears: Philip’s strong Catholicism led Protestants to fear that he would strengthen Mary’s resolve to reverse the Reformation in England.

  • Political concerns: Philip was heir to Spain and its empire, which many feared would mean he would use England to further Spanish ambitions and disregard England's interests. France’s reaction and implications for relations with Scotland were also concerns.

• Public opposition: The English public was hostile to the marriage, as Gardiner had predicted. A parliamentary delegation attempted to dissuade Mary, but the treaty was eventually drawn up:

  • Philip would be given the title of king but none of the power.

  • No foreigners would be allowed to hold English office.

  • If Mary predeceased Philip, he would have no claim to the English crown.

• Marriage: The marriage took place in July 1554, but Philip was not impressed and spent as little time in England as possible.

• Parliament’s rejection: In 1554, Parliament rejected a bill that would have made Philip a co-sovereign with Mary. In 1555, Parliament also prevented Philip’s coronation as king.

Plans for the Succession

• Restoration of Henry VIII’s Succession Act: After Mary’s overthrow of Northumberland and the Devise, Henry VIII’s Succession Act of 1544 was restored, which stated that Mary would be succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth if she died childless.

• Religious concerns: Mary faced the issue that Elizabeth was Protestant and likely to return England to Protestantism.

• Mary’s view of Elizabeth: Mary disliked Elizabeth, considering her illegitimate and unworthy of the throne.

• Changing the succession: Changing the succession would require Parliamentary legislation, or alternatively, disqualifying Elizabeth through treason.

• Elizabeth’s imprisonment: After Wyatt’s Rebellion in January 1554, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London, though she was later released due to lack of proof of her involvement.

• Failure to change the succession: Attempts to change the succession through Parliament failed, and after being childless, Mary reluctantly accepted Elizabeth as her successor.

• Philip’s view: Philip saw Elizabeth as the least undesirable option.

• Elizabeth’s later life: Elizabeth spent her later years in house arrest, waiting for her eventual inheritance.

• Mary’s formal decision: On November 6, 1558, Mary formally named Elizabeth as her successor. Mary died 11 days later.

Mary’s Aims in Terms of Her Relationship with Foreign Powers

• Primary goals: Mary’s foreign policy was focused on:

  • Restoring England to papal supremacy.

  • Marrying Philip, the heir to the Spanish throne.

• Achievements: Both of these goals were eventually achieved, but it took longer than Mary had expected. However, very soon after achieving these goals, both aspects of her foreign policy began to conflict.

England in the Franco-Spanish Conflict

• Neutrality: It was difficult for Mary to maintain neutrality in the conflict between France and Spain.

• Papal involvement: One of the key figures driving the conflict was the anti-Spanish Pope, Paul IV.

• England’s involvement: England was drawn into war against France in 1557 after a bizarre landing of French troops at Scarborough led by Thomas Stafford (grandson of the executed Duke of Buckingham).

• Nobility’s enthusiasm: The nobility supported the war as it offered them a way to regain favor with the Crown after falling out of favor under Edward’s reign.

• Military successes and failures:

  • Initially, the campaign had a promising start, assisting the Spanish at the successful siege of St. Quentin and handling a minor incursion into England by the Scots.

  • However, in January 1558, England suffered a humiliating loss when it lost Calais—a town that had been in English hands for centuries.

  • There was no attempt to recapture the town, and an attack on Brest in the summer of 1558 failed.

  • A story suggests that Mary declared that Calais would be found inscribed on her heart when she died, symbolizing the disasters that befell England during the latter stages of her reign.