Mary Tudor (42 page)

Albeit afterwards she opened the matter more plainly to Mr. Rise and Mistress Clarencius (if it be true that they told me which heard it of Mr. Rise himself) who then being most familiar with her, & most bold about her, told her that they feared that she took thought for King Philip’s departing from her. Not that only (said she), but when I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais lying in my heart. And here an end of Queen Mary, and of her persecution.

[John Foxe,
Acts and Monuments
(1583), p. 2098.]

*
A swelling of the abdomen, probably a tumour.

The various stories do not entirely agree, and that is hardly surprising. Nor were her epitaphs consistent. To those close to her, and to the loyal ballad makers of London, she was a loving and generous mistress:

She never closed her ear to hear

The righteous man distressed,

Nor never spared her hand to help,

Where wrong or power oppressed.
^[423]

To Pope Paul IV she was a wayward and difficult daughter, whose passing he did not much regret, while to John Foxe she had been the dupe of evil priests:

Of which Queen this truly may be affirmed and left in story for a perpetual memorial or epitaph for all kings and queens that shall succeed her to be noted, that before her never was read in story of any King or Queen of England since the time of King Lucius, under whom in time of peace, by hanging, heading, burning, and prisoning, so much Christian blood, so many Englishmen’s lives, were spilled within this realm, as under the said Queen Mary …

No contemporary view was entirely fair, but one or two things are clear. Mary’s death stopped the religious persecution dead in its tracks, and left her councillors staring apprehensively into an uncertain future. ‘These councillors,’ Feria wrote, ‘are extremely frightened of what Madame Elizabeth will do with them. They have received me well, but somewhat as they would a man who came with bulls from a dead Pope.’
^[424]
Cardinal Pole, he reported, was also in a very frail condition with a quartan ague (which was almost certainly influenza) and likely to die. A few hours after Mary’s death, in an uncanny confluence of events, that prediction too was fulfilled. Circumstances had conspired to give Elizabeth an extremely easy ride.

Even if Philip had been more deeply attached to Mary than he was, there would have been little that he could have done in November 1558. ‘The Queen my wife is dead,’ he wrote when the news reached him, adding: ‘I felt a reasonable regret.’ In translation this probably sounds more callous than it was intended, but in truth the emotion in their relationship had been all on her side, and his main reaction was probably one of relief.
^[425]
He was only thirty-one, and after a decent interval would be free to marry again. Not only was this a useful diplomatic asset, he also urgently needed more children. He instructed Feria to secure (if possible) the jewels that Mary had bequeathed to him in her will, and to represent him with suitable dignity at her obsequies, but he had many other things to occupy his mind. The negotiations at Cercamp were temporarily stalled by the news from England, because it remained to be seen what stand the new government would make over Calais. From Henry’s point of view, anyone would be an improvement on Mary, so although he toyed with the idea, he did not push the chances of his own preferred candidate, Mary Stuart of Scotland. He did not share Renard’s conviction that Elizabeth was bound to be pro-French, but her position was so strong that any intervention would be tantamount to self-harm. Philip would apply whatever pressure he could to ensure that the new queen maintained her sister’s policies, but he was not over-sanguine, and indeed Elizabeth was an unknown quantity on the international scene.

At the same time Philip was in the middle of a full-blown row with his uncle Ferdinand, the new Emperor.
^[426]
Philip had been trying for some months to persuade Ferdinand to give him
de facto
control over the Imperial lands in Italy, on the reasonable grounds that he was in a position to defend them, while the Emperor was not. Ferdinand refused to compromise his honour and in November, just about the time of Mary’s death, Philip annexed the key strategic territories of Bari and Rossano.
^[427]

This was in direct contravention of his treaty obligations, and the Emperor was mortally offended. There was however (as Philip had no doubt calculated) nothing that he could do about it. In fact the king’s position in Italy was now overwhelmingly strong, but he did not see it that way, being acutely aware of the extent of anti-Spanish feeling in places like Naples, and uncertain of alliances that he had no sound reasons to doubt. It was to be some years before these anxieties subsided, as both France and the Empire became weaker after 1560.

Although Mary was still alive when Feria reported on 14 November, and the ambassador was scrupulously respectful of that fact, his main concern was with Elizabeth, and with what kind of a queen she would make. She was, he noted, both clever and vain; schooled in her father’s ways of doing business; and surrounded by heretics. He was particularly concerned that, in spite of her assurances of continued friendship, her attitude to him was more distant, and she was refusing to concede any debt of gratitude to Philip for the strength of her position. He visited her after going to court, probably at Brockett Hall, near Hatfield, and noted that, although she had received him well, his reception was not as joyful as it had been earlier – that is, back in June.
^[428]
They enjoyed a convivial dinner, and afterwards she talked to him privately, accompanied only by two or three of her ladies ‘who spoke only English’ and who would not be able to understand what was said. Feria does not mention the language used, but it was probably French or Italian. His own despatch was written in Spanish, but it is not clear that Elizabeth had that tongue sufficiently. She teased him over Philip’s attempts to marry her to the Duke of Savoy, ‘laughing a great deal’, and he responded rather stiffly that the king had never intended anything against her honour. She then went on to discomfort him further by observing that her sister had lost her subjects’ affection by marrying a foreigner, to which he had replied, punctiliously but untruthfully, that on the contrary Philip had been much loved. She was grateful for Philip’s support, but set no particular store by it, placing all her confidence in the English people, who were, she was convinced, ‘all on her side’. This, Feria concluded ruefully, ‘is undoubtedly true’. It must have been a difficult interview, because even by his own account she seems to have been playing him like a fish.

The rest of his despatch is filled with speculation about who would be in, and out, of favour under the regime that was now impending. Paget, Petre and Mason he expected to be particularly favoured, although Paget had now become ‘a complete rogue’ and was temporarily out of action with influenza.
^[429]
Clinton and Nicholas Wotton he also expected to be well placed, and observed that the latter was a man worth cultivating. He had it on good authority that William Cecil would be secretary. ‘He is said to be an able and virtuous man, but a heretic.’ The Earl of Arundel would not be in favour, and the idea that Elizabeth might marry him was a joke. Elizabeth’s particular bile was reserved for Secretary Boxall and Cardinal Pole.
^[430]
The latter was so disliked that Feria feared for his safety. The heir to the throne was fiercely indignant about her imprisonment, and about the way in which she had been dealt with by her sister’s government, and was not likely to be in a forgiving mood towards those whom she held to have been responsible. In his judgement she was very unlikely to continue in ‘the true religion’, but genuinely wanted peace and was perfectly prepared to continue the treaty of alliance with Philip – although she would now do so on her own terms.

FERIA’S DESPATCH CONCERNING ELIZABETH, 14 November 1558

I arrived here on Wednesday, the ninth of this month, at lunchtime and found the Queen our lady’s health to be just as Dr Nunez
*
describes in his letter to your Majesty. There is, therefore, no hope of her life, but on the contrary each hour I think that they will come to inform me of her death, so rapidly does her condition deteriorate from one day to the next. She was happy to see me, since I brought her news of your Majesty, and to receive the letter, although she was unable to read it. In view of this I felt that there was no time to waste on other matters and sent word to the council to assemble as I wished to talk to them on your Majesty’s behalf. This I proceeded to do, and they all came, except the earl of Pembroke and Paget, who is ill. I gave them your Majesty’s letter, and spoke to them as your Majesty had instructed me about the peace negotiations. I also declared your Majesty’s will on the question of the succession to the kingdom, and told them how pleased your Majesty would be to hear of their good offices with Madame Elizabeth on this matter, reminding them how your Majesty had sought to have this done much earlier, as they all well knew. I stressed this point, giving them to understand – without actually saying so openly – that they were to blame for the delay, because Mason was there
†
and he is greatly favoured by Madame Elizabeth and would report to her all that had passed between us … As for the other matters I had no further comments to make until I had seen what their commissioners would negotiate with the French. These councillors are extremely frightened of what Madame Elizabeth will do with them. They have received me well, but somewhat as they would a man who came with bulls from a dead pope.

The day after I arrived, I went to a house belonging to a gentleman some twenty three miles from here, where Madame Elizabeth is staying.
‡
I arrived there some time before she might wish to dine, and she received me well, although not as joyfully as she did last time. She asked me to dine with her and the wife of Admiral Clinton who was there when I arrived was also invited. During the meal we laughed and enjoyed ourselves a great deal. After dinner she rose and told me that should I desire to speak with her I might now do so, for she was giving orders that only two or three women who could speak no other language than English should remain in the room … I gave her to understand that it was your Majesty who had procured her recent recognition as the queen’s sister and successor, and not the Queen or the council, and that this was something your Majesty had been trying to secure for some time, as she no doubt realised, for it was common knowledge in the whole kingdom; and I condemned the Queen and the council severely … She was very open with me on many points, much more than I would have expected, and although it is difficult to judge a person one has known for as short a time as I have known this woman, I shall tell your Majesty what I have been able to gather. She is a very vain and clever woman. She must have been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his affairs, and I am very much afraid that she will not be well disposed in matters of religion, for I see her inclined to govern through men who are believed to be heretics, and I am told that all the women around her definitely are. Apart from this it is evident that she is highly indignant about what has been done to her during the Queen’s lifetime. She puts great store by the people, and is very confident that they are all on her side – which is certainly true …

Of the councillors, she is on good terms with the Chancellor,
§
Paget, Petre,
**
and in particular with Mason, whom I understand will be one of the most favoured … she is on good terms with Dr. Wotton [and] with admiral Clinton … She joked with me about what had been said of her marriage with the earl of Arundel.
††
She does not get on with him, nor with Pembroke, nor the bishop of Ely – according to what she told me. With the Lord Chamberlain, with the Controller,
‡‡
and with Boxall her relations are worse, and with the cardinal worst of all …

I have been told (although not directly by her, as was the case with those I have already mentioned) of certain others with whom she is on very good terms. They are, the Earl of Bedford, Lord Robert, Throgmorton (one who went everywhere with the aforesaid earl during the last war) Peter Carew, and Harrington (the man behind King Edward’s uncle – the admiral who was later beheaded – he is reputed to be very able and devilish). I have been told for certain that Cecil, who was King Edward’s secretary, will also be secretary to Madame Elizabeth. He is said to be an able and virtuous man, but a heretic …

Last night they administered extreme unction to the queen our lady and today she is better, although there is little hope of her life. Our Lord etc., From London, 14th November 1558. [
Camden Miscellany
, xxviii (1984), pp. 319-37. Original in Spanish. Copy in AGS, Seccion de Estado, legajos 811-12.]

*
Luis Nunez, a Portuguese practising in the Netherlands, sent over with Feria at the request of Alonso de Córdoba.