by Linda Porter
One of the main themes of Mary’s existence is the triumph of determination over adversity. She lived in a violent, intolerant age, surrounded by the intrigues of a time when men and women gambled their lives for advancement at court. Deceit, like ambition, was endemic among the power-seekers of mid-Tudor England who passed, in procession, through her life. Pride, stubbornness and an instinct for survival saw her through tribulations that would have destroyed a lesser woman. Her bravery put her on the throne and kept her there, so that when she died she was able to bequeath to Elizabeth a precious legacy that is often overlooked: she had demonstrated that a woman could rule in her own right.
The vilification of Mary has obscured the many areas of continuity between her rule and those of the other Tudors. Today, despite the fact that much more is known about her reign, she is still the most maligned and misunderstood of English monarchs. For Mary Tudor, the first queen of England, truth has not been the daughter of time.
Portrait of a lady thought to have been Mary Tudor, inscribed and dated 1546. (By kind permission of Viscount De L’Isle from his private collection.)
Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. Her inability to produce a male heir destroyed her marriage, plunging her daughter Mary and the entire country into a period of painful upheaval.
King Henry VIII, between 1535 and 1540. A striking portrait of Mary’s father, painted at a time when her relationship with him was compromised by his determination to divorce her mother, Katherine of Aragon.
The first of Mary’s five stepmothers, Anne Boleyn was hated by the princess as the usurper of her mother’s place as queen and the author of all her misfortunes between 1533 and 1536. Anne’s occasional attempts at reconciliation were contemptuously repulsed. But her disgrace and execution only increased the king’s determination to subdue his elder daughter.
Mary aged 28 in 1544, the year she was restored to the succession by Act of Parliament. Her fine complexion is evident, as is her love of the latest fashions in rich russet and crimson brocade and velvet.
Jane Seymour, quiet but clever enough to play an effective role in bringing about the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Jane was a religious conservative who championed Mary’s cause but died after giving birth to Henry VIII’s heir, Prince Edward.
Edward VI, probably painted in 1546, the last year of his father’s reign. Intellectually capable, committed to religious reform and fond of sports, the young king was not the weakling of popular imagination. He was determined to cut both Mary and Elizabeth out of the succession when he realized he was dying.
The intelligent and companionable Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife. Her friendship with Mary transformed the princess’ life in the mid-1540s, but Katherine’s impulsive remarriage to Thomas Seymour after the old king’s death cooled their relationship.
The hastily divorced Anne of Cleves. In this famous painting by Holbein, the German princess appears personable. Henry VIII married her unwillingly and never overcame his aversion in the six months that she was his consort. Mary remained on excellent terms with her till Anne’s death in 1557.
Mary’s Lady Governess, Margaret Pole, countess of Salisbury. A vital influence in Mary’s upbringing, this niece of Edward IV was one of the great ladies of the English court. Handsome, devout and devoted to Mary, she was imprisoned by Henry VIII and executed in 1541.
Cardinal Reginald Pole, Margaret’s son, papal legate and archbishop of Canterbury. He spent years in exile in Italy when he opposed Henry VIII. In 1554 he restored the English Church to the papacy, ending twenty years of schism.
The Emperor Charles V as a young man. The head of the Habsburg dynasty, Charles V ruled a vast swathe of Europe and the Americas, often through his relatives. Mary viewed him as a father figure after Henry VIII rejected her, but his support for her was often half-hearted and driven by political rather than personal considerations.
The Tudor lady in this miniature by Flemish painter Lavinia Teerlinc has recently been identified by Dr David Starkey as Lady Jane Grey, the cousin chosen by Edward VI in 1553 to inherit his throne.
John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, chief minister of Edward VI in 1553. One of the period’s most enigmatic figures, he and Mary had known each other for many years and their antipathy was palpable. He made a fatal misjudgement when he discounted Mary’s determination to fight for the throne.
A medallion portrait of Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger. Wyatt was a former soldier who became embroiled in an ill-fated attempt to prevent Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain. The failed rebellion dangerously compromised Elizabeth, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months.
Mary and her husband, King Philip, son of Charles V. After Mary’s death, he recalled with distaste his time as king of England. In this portrait, Mary appears regal and content while Philip looks awkward and rather absurd with his spindly legs.
This superb replica of Queen Mary’s elegant purple and white wedding gown, set with pearls, was made by costume expert Tanya Elliott.
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth dating from around 1560. This is the closest depiction we have of what Elizabeth must have looked like during Mary’s reign. As queen, Mary came to detest Anne Boleyn’s daughter, viewing her as devious and disloyal. Despite being belatedly acknowledged as Mary’s heir, Elizabeth always resented her treatment during her half-sister’s reign.
Simon Renard, Charles V’s ambassador to England during the first three years of Mary’s reign. An energetic man of considerable ability, he did not really understand English politics and his judgement of Mary was often condescending. This portrait captures his charm, intensity and cunning.
A page from the Queen Mary Atlas, commissioned by Mary for her husband Philip, by Portuguese cartographer Diego Homen. This map shows the British Isles. The arms of Philip II, on the left, were partially removed during Elizabeth’s reign.
Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, where Mary raised her standard and gathered an army in July 1553. Her triumph was one of the very few successful revolts of the provinces against central authority in English history.
Winchester Cathedral, where Mary married Philip in the wet July of 1554.
The burning of Cranmer. Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury from 1533 to 1556, was hated by Mary for his role in her mother’s divorce and his reforming ideas on religion. This woodcut from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs shows his death at the stake in Oxford in March 1556.
Select Bibliography
MANUSCRIPT SOURCES
BRITISH LIBRARY
Additional MSS
Cottonian MSS
Harley MSS
Lansdowne MSS
Royal MSS
Sloane MSS
Stowe MSS
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (formerly the Public Record Office)
State Papers, Domestic
Henry VIII (SP 1)
Edward VI (SP 10)
Mary, and Philip and Mary (SP 11)
Supplementary (SP46)
State Papers, Foreign
Mary, and Philip and Mary (SP 69)
Exchequer
Exchequer Accounts various (E101)
Lord Chamberlain’s Office
Robes and Special Events (LC2)
Miscellanea (LC5)
OXBURGH HALL, Norfolk
Bedingfeld MSS
WESTMINSTER ABBEY, Library and Muniments Room
The Queen Mary Manual (on loan from Westminster Cathedral) Documents relating to Queen Mary and the refounding of Westminster Abbey: 5305, 37414, 37457, 12750, 37419, 6484F, LXXXVI, 12792, 37418
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