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Mary I of England (1516–1558) and Philip of Spain (later Philip II; 1527–1598) married at Winchester Cathedral on Wednesday 25 July 1554.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Wedding of Mary I of England and Philip II of Spain”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mary I of England (1516–1558) and Philip of Spain (later Philip II; 1527–1598) married at Winchester Cathedral on Wednesday 25 July 1554.
There was some opposition in England to Queen Mary I marrying Philip of Spain because he was a foreign prince. A Spanish chronicle refers to the xenophobic beliefs of the English people, and Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Bishop of Arras (who had obtained the oil used to anoint Mary at her coronation) wrote that the English would only accept the marriage with the greatest difficulty. Attitudes however were much more nuanced, especially in London and other centres of international trade hosting immigrant communities. Opponents of the marriage plan among the privy counsellors and royal household included Robert Rochester, Francis Englefield, and Edward Waldegrave.
In November, Philip's aunt Mary, governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, agreed to send a portrait by Titian of Philip dressed in wolfskin to Mary of England. She had not yet seen her intended husband. The picture was possibly brought to England a few months later, in March 1554, by Juan Hurtado de Mendoza.
In December 1553, the Privy Council of England discussed a draft of articles for the marriage. Philip would share in Mary's titles and aid her administration. Mary, if Philip died before her, would enjoy a dowry or jointure income from Spanish lands and territories including Brabant, Flanders, Hainault and Holland. Margaret of York had the same jointure in 1468. Possibly, the final articles would include a contract preventing Philip appointing foreigners to English offices. He would accept a number of English courtiers in his household. He would not be allowed to take Mary or their children abroad, or send English treasure, ships, or military equipment abroad. During their marriage, Philip had a council in England, and intervened in diplomacy with Scotland and other matters.
Opposition to the wedding found leaders in Thomas Wyatt the Younger and his companions who organised a rebellion against Mary. Wyatt brought an armed force to London in February 1554. Mary made a speech in London's Guildhall, showing that by her coronation ring she was "wedded to the realm and law". Wyatt surrendered at Ludgate. Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant figurehead, was executed on 12 February and Wyatt on 11 April. Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London on 18 March, and according to John Foxe, made her famous speech at Traitors' Gate.
A commission in England organised an English household for Philip. 350 servants and courtiers were nominated. The Earl of Arundel would be its head, and he would Lord Steward of both households. John Williams was to be his Chamberlain, and John Huddlestone, his Vice-Chamberlain. The gentlemen of the Privy Chamber would be sons of peers of England, including Thomas Radclyffe, Baron FitzWalter. Philip would organise his own chapel. According to the marriage contract, pensions and rewards for a "convenient number" of his English servants would come from Spanish revenues.
The English Parliament made provision for the marriage by the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain passed in April 1554. Mary's dowry was appointed to be "in the like manner" as Margaret of York who married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1468. The marriage contract acknowledged Anglo-Imperial treaties of 1542 and 1546, which facilitated trade in the North Sea to Flanders and other markets. The contract instructed Philip not to innovate or reform the old established law and customs of England and its realms. If there were no children, and Mary died, Philip had no particular rights in the succession. Philip was not completely happy with these details and delayed his departure, and Mary did not wish to marry in Lent.
According to a French report, Mary began a partial reconciliation with Elizabeth, calling her "sister" and restoring her portrait to a gallery in the palace placed next to hers. Elizabeth was taken to Woodstock Palace.
The Spanish courtier Pedro Dávila y Zúñiga, Marques de las Navas (1498–1567) arrived in England at Plymouth in June and was met by the Earl of Pembroke. Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley, wrote to the royal council in London from Basing describing the reception of the Marquess de las Navas, who had travelled to Shaftesbury and to Wilton House, where he enjoyed hare coursing and planned to meet Mary at Guildford Castle. He brought a gift of a diamond jewel from Philip. A courtier, Juan de Varaona, recorded that Mary wore the diamond and ruby presented by de las Navas on the wedding day. Mary wrote to the Mayor of Exeter from Guildford on 22 June, thanking him for looking after the Marquess. The Marquess would act as Mary's interpreter for her Spanish guests.
Philip left La Coruña on 12 July 1554. Among other guests, his retinue included Martín Cortés, the mestizo son of conquistador Hernán Cortés. It was intended for him to sail in a royal galleass provided by Álvaro de Bazán the Elder, but when this clashed against Mary's wish for Philip to sail in an English carrack, it was decided for him to travel in a third ship, with Bazán in his entourage. The chosen ship was the galleon Espíritu Santo, commanded by Martín Jiménez de Bertendona. The Spanish fleet included the great galleasses Santa María and Santa María Magdalena, also owned by Bazán, along with several 300-gun galleons. They were escorted by 31 English ships, including the Mary Willoughby and the Salamander.
Mary went to Farnham Castle, then stayed a night at John Norton's house at Tisted (Norton was a steward of the Bishop of Winchester), and then to the Palace at Bishop's Waltham. She heard news of Philip's embarkation by 17 July and wrote to Lord Clinton to approach her court and await the king at Guildford, Farnham, or Alton. Mary sent letters to officials at Southampton, requiring a flotilla of boats to receive the Prince of Spain, trimmed "in the seemliest and richest manner they can".
Arriving at Southampton on 20 July, Philip went first to the Holyrood Church to give thanks for his safe voyage. Philip was greeted by Anthony Browne, who told him that Mary had appointed him his master of his horse. Mary and her council had made plans for the wedding and Philip's arrival, and he was perhaps not fully informed. He sent the diplomat Simon Renard to find out more details. His entourage found that Philip was accorded second place to Mary, and this reflection seems to colour their accounts of the festivities.
The arrival of Philip at Southampton was proclaimed in London on Saturday 21 July. The Mayor of London ordered celebratory bonfires. Aristocrats were summoned to Winchester.
Mary went to Winchester, where the Mayoress Helen Lawrence (wife of William Lawrence) and her sisters, who were standing in line on a carpet, presented her with a gold cup. After attending a service in the cathedral she went to her lodging at Wolvesey Castle, "with a right goodly company of noblewomen and ladies". On 22 July, Philip's favourites Ruy Gómez de Silva and Juan Rodriguez de Figueroa came to Winchester bringing Mary another jewel.
The surveyor of royal works, Laurence Bradshawe was ordered to make some modifications at the Bishop's Palace in Winchester, Wolvesey Castle, making a new door from the hall to an audience chamber for the queen.
Mary's usher, John Norris, was asked to build the dais and stages and decorate the cathedral with hangings and tapestry. He later wrote a treatise describing the usher's duties, and included a sketch of the stage at Winchester.
An account of the wedding was written by a Scottish observer, John Elder, as a letter to Robert Stewart, Bishop of Caithness. Elder is best known as a tutor of Lord Darnley. Elder's letter shares some material with an account of the wedding included in editions of Robert Fabyan's New Chronicle. There were several narratives of the marriage, published in English, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch. The publications were intended to celebrate to glory of the Habsburgs and the benefits of the marriage to England and Catholic Europe. Subsequent chronicles seem to follow the narratives closely, though English versions are less enthusiastic about the match.
Philip arrived in Winchester on 23 July riding through the rain on a white horse. He changed horses at the Hospital of St Cross. He went to the cathedral and then to his lodgings in the Dean's House, adjacent to Wolvesey Castle. They met for half-an-hour. Juan de Barahona, Philp's steward, wrote that Philip reached Mary by a spiral stair from the castle garden. Both Elder and Muñoz relate that Mary taught Philip how to say "Goodnight" to the English lords. Although Mary's mother was Spanish, it is not known for sure how well she spoke the language. A Venetian diplomat Giovanni Michieli, later mentioned that she understood Spanish but did not speak it.
Andrés Muñoz, a servant in the Spanish entourage, wrote that the couple walked in the water meadows by the River Itchen. The Spanish courtiers identified their experience of England with the locations of romance stories in books of chivalry. Juan de Barahona noted the Isle of Wight as the "Insula Firme" in the Castilian romance Amadís de Gaula.
On Tuesday, Mary sent her tailor Richard Tisdale to Philip with a choice of cloaks to wear for the wedding. They met again in the great hall of Wolvesey Castle. The room was called "Poncia", according to Muñoz. The name may derive from John of Pontoise, a Bishop of Winchester. Mary's gentlewomen wore purple velvet. On this occasion Philip wore a black coat embroidered with silver, and white hose on his legs.
They were married on Wednesday 25 July, the Feast of Saint James, patron saint of Spain. Philip entered the church at 11 o'clock, Mary came half an hour after. According to Jean de Vandenesse, both were dressed in rich cloth of gold (drap d'or frizé bien riche), and Mary wore many valuable jewels on her head and body.
The Earl of Derby carried a sword of state. Don Juan de Figueroa, Regent of Naples, gave Bishop Gardiner a document from Charles V declaring that Philip was the sovereign of Naples, and Duke of Milan, and had the status of a monarch. Mary seems to have made the decision for this public announcement to be part of the ceremony.
Mary had chosen a plain gold ring with no stone, saying that had been the custom with maidens of old. Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby gave the bride away. After the marriage with the ring, Philip and Mary processed to the high altar in the quire of the cathedral.
At the conclusion of the service, Philip and Mary were proclaimed joint rulers. The herald, Garter King of Arms, Gilbert Dethick, proclaimed their titles in Latin, French, and English, as "King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland. Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgaundy, and Brabant, Counts of Habsbury, Flanders and Tyrol".
A story about Mary's death and Nicholas Throckmorton mentions a gold ring decorated with black enamel, described (in verse) as Mary's espousal ring, a gift from Philip. It is not clear if this was the ring used in the ceremony or a betrothal gift.
Descriptions of the costumes in the narrative accounts seem to vary in detail, evoking primarily the cost and luxury of fabrics and embroidery. A gown of Mary's described in a later royal inventory may have been the one worn on her wedding day; a French gown of rich gold tissue, with a border of purple satin, all over embroidered with purls of damask gold and pearls, lined with purple taffeta. The embroiderer was called Guilliam Brallot. Elizabeth I's tailors unpicked the small pearls from this garment for re-use. The pearls from the gown seem to have been appraised for sale in October 1600, including 250 oriental pearls worth £206 and "meaner" sized pearls worth £40.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Wedding of Mary I of England and Philip of Spain”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.