Problems of Succession and Foreign Policy

• Why did Northumberland's Devyse fail?

  - Northumberland attempted to interfere with the line of succession by making Lady Jane Grey and her 'heirs male' the next monarchs

  - In particular, Northumberland could be said to have been prioritising his own interests, given that Lady Jane Grey was his daughter-in-law

  - His interference with the line of the succession was indeed illegal and upset some of his supporters within the council

  - Northumberland had little positive support despite having less negative support than Somerset. For example, Northumberland successfully defeated Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk but this was done violently and cruelty which led to discontentment for him there.

  - Upon hearing about the Devyse, Mary gathered Catholic supporters in Norfolk (this included members of the Nobility). Whilst Northumberland immediately sent a naval squadron off the coast by Great Yarmouth to intercept Mary, the ships he sent ended up being disloyal and soon declared their allegiance to Mary on 19 July 1553. Northumberland proclaimed Mary as Queen in the marketplace at Cambridge the following day.
• What problems did Mary face upon her ascension to the throne?

  - Whilst she was likely favoured due to her being a devout Catholic in a Catholic-majority country, Edward had still left her with exacerbated religious factionalism and divisions.

  - The Protestant minority was still sizeable and was often involved in leadership and government, this left Mary in a tough predicament.

  - As not only the daughter of Catherine of Aragon (who's marriage to Henry VIII was famously annulled) but also a Queen Regnant/woman, she had not been brought up to rule and educated on queenship which left her lacking political instinct and expertise on how to deal with challenges that she would inevitably face.

  - As well as her lack of knowledge, her supporters (Robert Rochester, Edward Waldegrave, Sir Henry Jerningham and Sir Henry Bedingfield) also had no serious experience in government.

  - In order to run the country, Mary would have to utilise the councillors that had worked with Edward, including those who worked on the rapid religious reform that Mary opposed

  - In order to consolidate the undoing of Henry and Edward's protestant reform, Mary would need to have an heir. However, upon her ascension to the throne, she was already 37 years old which already worsened the idea that she would be unable to get pregnant.

  - There was some economic improvement under Northumberland however, inflation and debts following the debasement of the coinage and expensive wars continued throughout Mary's reign as well as the Tudor period in general
• What was Mary's council like?

  As already mentioned, Mary had to use councillors from Edward's reign. However, there were also some differences:

  - Bishop Stephen Gardiner joined her council after being imprisoned in the tower under Edward given his Conservative Catholic views: he was appointed to Lord Chancellor under Mary

  - Churchmen who were excluded under Edward regained favour under Mary

  - Conservative councillors under Edward such as Lord Paget gained further influence

  
  

  - As a whole, Mary had appointed 50 councillors during her 5.5 year reign which could have led to rampant factionalism and inefficiency. However, in the eyes of Mary, 'councillor' was an honorary title and her working council was far smaller. In fact, Cardinal Pole, one of her most trusted advisers, was never a member of the Privy Council

  - Mary never fully trusted her key councillors

  - She lost confidence in Lord Paget after he opposed his religious programme

  - She was never trusting of Gardiner. This was because, despite being a Conservative Catholic, was supportive of Henry's annulment to Catherine of Aragon, Mary's mother.

  - Gardiner, however, was indispensable in government with his 1555 death leaving a large gap in government that couldn't be fully filled

  - Cardinal Pole had distanced himself from more secular issues

  - After this, Mary placed most of her trust in her husband, Philip of Spain and Simon Renard, ambassador of Charles V

  
  

  Mary and Parliament did cooperate, but this was done cautiously:

  - Around 80 MPs opposed reversing the religious reform under Edward

  - There was concern for property rights which ensured that ex-monastic property wouldn't be restored to the Church: this was a point that Mary did not press

  - There was a bill in 1555 which would allow the seizure of property of Protestant exiles, but this was later defeated.

  - Mary and her Parliament often disagreed over succession.
• Who were Mary's option for marriage?

  Mary had little choice but to wed almost immediately given her age and her need to produce a Catholic heir. Whilst she was married a year after her ascension to the throne, she never had this heir, despite her believing that she was pregnant on more than one occasion.

  
  

  Option 1= Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon:

  - English, which removed the possibility of the country directing xenophobia towards him

  - Was Stephen Gardiner's personal choice

  - His mother had been a friend of Catherine of Aragon, Mary's mother.

  - Was a Roman Catholic who's parents had been arrested for conspiring with Cardinal Reginald Pole

  - The marriage was pose the threat of a factional rivalry as his family would certainly gain additional influence

  - He lacked courtly skills

  - Mary did not take him seriously as a contender for marriage

  
  

  Option 2= Philip of Spain:

  - A devout Catholic which would help her to produce a Catholic heir

  - Mary's personal choice

  - Had an affiliation with the Spanish Habsburgs, a Catholic family which Mary aimed to be closer to during her reign

  - Would appease Charles V

  - Mary was reinforced by Charles' ambassador, Simon Renard

  - Philip had had a child from his previous marriage. Philip would therefore, without doubt, be able to give Mary a child: whether she could get pregnant however, was questionable

  - The council, country and Parliament were opposing to the marriage

  - Spain had been involved in the Habsburg-Valois conflict with France for decades. Despite avoiding it under Edward, it was almost inevitable that England would be involved should she wed Philip

  - Philip was 26 which gave them an 11-year age gap
• Who did Mary marry? What problems arose from this?

  - Mary and Philip met on 23 July 1554 and wed two days later at Winchester Cathedral

  - On the day of their wedding, the weather was foul and the English people (incl. the Court) were incredibly unwelcoming

  There was a marriage treaty that was drawn up so that Mary would not lose her power as Queen Regnant, this was revolutionary and set a precedent for women being able to be monarchs in their own right. The Treaty involved:

  - no foreigners being able to hold English offices

  - Should Mary die without ever having an heir, Philip would have no claim to the throne

  - Philip would have the title of 'King' but this was only by name and so he could not exercise any of the power that went with the title, though this did not prevent him from being influential in Mary's decision making

  
  

  Philip was massively unimpressed by his wife and sought to be as distant from his wife as humanly possible. Nevertheless, he remained an intermittent yet distant confidant.

  In 1554, Parliament rejected a bill that would include both Philip and Mary in a law on treason and later prevented Philip's coronation in 1555.
• What were Mary's plans for the succession?

  - The failure of the Devyse restored Henry's will, including the 1544 Succession Act

  - Should Mary die without producing an heir, her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, should succeed her

  - Elizabeth was a Protestant which concerned Mary as she would likely revert back to Protestant reform

  - Elizabeth was also representative of Mary's sad childhood. Elizabeth was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, who Henry famously married after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was annulled.

  - In order to change the line of succession, she would either require Parliamentary legislation in order to overturn the Act of Succession or disqualify Elizabeth through proving that she had committed a treasonable offence

  - Wyatt's Rebellion had occurred in January 1554 which led to Elizabeth being put in the Tower of London after accusations that Elizabeth was involved. However, Mary had no proof of this and thus was reluctant to pursue the treason charges. Elizabeth was therefore released after two months but was essentially under house arrest in a succession of country residences.

  - Mary was unable to produce an heir and thus had to accept that Elizabeth would be her successor. Philip, despite being a devoted Catholic, found Elizabeth to be the least unacceptable option. This was due to Mary, Queen of Scot's affiliation to the French.

  - Mary's health was increasingly concerning to the extent that Elizabeth merely needed to wait for her inheritance

  - Elizabeth was confined at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire during the latter years of Mary's reign. At this point, she was quite comfortable there and had very little restriction as to who visited her: she was well aware of Mary's fatal illness.

  - Mary formally named Elizabeth as her successor on 6 November 1558 and died 11 days later
• What were some key events in regards to foreign policy during Mary's reign?

  Jan 1554- A marriage treaty between Mary and Philip was drawn up. This marriage was heavily opposed, hence Wyatt's Rebellion occurring that same month.

  July 1554- Philip and Mary were wed

  May 1555- Paul IV was elected as the next Pope. Paul was known to be Anti-Spanish

  Feb 1556- The Treaty of Vaucelles was agreed upon which would establish peace between France and Spain

  July 1556- The Habsburg-Valois war was reopened. As an Anti-Spanish Pope, Paul was on the side of the French. Mary would inevitably have to fight against the papacy despite reinstating papal supremacy alongside Catholicism being one of her main domestic and foreign aims

  Jan 1557- England sends troops to the Netherlands

  Mar 1557- Philip returns to England to drive support for Spain in the War

  Apr 1557- French troops land at Scarborough. These troops were led by Thomas Stafford, grandson of the Duke of Buckingham (executed in 1521)

  Jun 1557- England declares war on France

  Jul 1557- Scotland begins their raids on England (presumably due to the ongoing auld-alliance between Scotland and France)

  Aug 1557- Philip II and Spain have a successful siege at St. Quentin, this was somewhat aided by England

  Jan 1558- In attempts to claim some form of success, King Henry II and France capture the Calais Pale, the final piece of territory that England had from France. This was a devastating loss not only given that it was humiliating, but was also said to have been economically crippling.

  Apr 1559- Following the financially exhausting war, the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis is agreed upon. However, there was no discussing of England recovering Calais.
• Was Mary's foreign policy a success or failure?

  - Managed to marry Philip and reinstate Papal Supremacy, though this wasn't an instant change

  - There was a successful siege at St. Quentin

  - There was effective naval and militia reform with six new ships and £14,000 given to the Navy: this would later help Elizabeth with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Mary also reformed the methods for the raising of troops which was fundamental as the country lacked a standing army: this was done through two complementary Acts of Parliament which, according to John Guy, were 'a landmark in English military organisation'

  - Mary was unable to produce an heir

  - England was unable to avoid involvement in the Habsburg-Valois war

  - Had to declare war on France

  - Inevitably went against the Pope given his Anti-Spanish views

  - Devastatingly lost Calais to France in Jan 1558

  
  

  Overall, Mary's foreign policy was a failure, even if she did manage to meet some of her aims.
• What adjectives were used by Elton to describe Mary?

  - Arrogant

  - Assertive

  - Bigoted

  - Stubborn

  - Suspicious

  - 'rather stupid
• KEY PERSON OVERVIEW: Who was Cardinal Reginald Pole (1500-58)?

  - Grandson of the Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV

  - Went into exile in Italy as opposed to accept Henry VIII's religious reforms

  - Made a Cardinal in 1536

  - An influential figure under Popes Paul III and Julius III

  - Returned to England in 1554 under Mary and became Archbishop of Canterbury

  - Wider influence decreased under Pope Paul IV as he deemed him a heretic
• KEY PERSON OVERVIEW: Who was Philip of Spain (1527-98)?

  - Son of Emperor Charles V, the cousin of Mary I

  - Philip was ruling the Netherlands on behalf of his father in 1554

  - Succeeded his father as King of Spain in 1556

  - Married Mary I in 1554, who shared his Catholic views