It seems only fitting to end the Year of Mary I with an article on her posthumous reputation. The blackening of Mary’s name began in her sister’s reign, although John Knox was the first to attack her during her lifetime in his best-known pamphlet The first blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women. [read more]
Mary’s body had lain in state at St. James’s Palace until 13 December 1558. Her successor Elizabeth was determined to give her a funeral worthy of a Queen and the final bill came to a staggering £2 million in today’s currency. Mary’s coffin was draped in cloth of gold to begin its journey to Westminster Abbey. [read more]
In January 1558 there were again rumours of a pregnancy for Mary. It had been eight months since Mary had seen her husband Philip, but she held firm that she was pregnant. She wrote a will at the end of March, ‘thinking myself to be with child in lawful marriage between my said dearly beloved [read more]
The question of Mary’s marriage arose before she was even in London. Mary would have been happy to remain single, and a virgin, but she wished to secure the succession with a Catholic heir. She did consider several English contenders, but in the end, she could not marry a subject. She would marry Philip of [read more]
On 30 September 1553 England’s first undisputed Queen regnant left the Tower of London to be crowned. She headed for the Palace of Westminster first in a procession through the city. Mary had given Elizabeth a prominent role in the proceedings. It would be an amazing event, to showcase the monarch’s magnificence and power, even [read more]
Mary was first painted circa 1525 when she was engaged to her cousin, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. You can see her wearing a brooch with the inscription “The Empour (the Emperor)”. During the King’s Great Matter no portraits were painted of her, and it wasn’t until 1544 that Mary appears once more. In the [read more]
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