The Tudors for Dummies (AvaxHome Download) (21 page)

Changing with the Times: Edward,

John, Jane and Mary In This Chapter

Charting the rise and fall of John Dudley

Cosying up to France

Whizzing through the shortest reign in English history: Jane Grey

Crowning Mary, and marrying her off

I n 1552, with the capable Lord President John Dudley, earl of Warwick, in

charge, and the young King Edward growing up to be a Protestant, every-

thing seemed to be on an even keel. But in a whirlwind few months Edward

died, Jane Grey became queen in a palace coup and then she lost her head to

Mary, who put the religious clock back.

Taking Over: Dudley Rules OK

John Dudley took over as lord president of the Council in February 1550 (see

Chapter 7 for details) and on the surface he and his predecessor Somerset

got on fine. Somerset's daughter (Anne Seymour) married John Dudley II

(Warwick's son), Somerset came back onto the Council and it seemed as

though the pair had buried the hatchet. But in fact:

Both Dudley and Somerset were arrogant, impetuous and opinionated

and didn't have much idea of co-operation.

Somerset didn't like Dudley's cosying up to France or the way the reli-

gious wind was blowing under relative extremists like Hooper and Knox

(see Chapter 8).

Somerset thought that Dudley had handled the Western Rebellion (see

Chapter 8) and other rural discontent badly. Somerset felt Dudley hadn't

tried to sort out genuine grievances but had just backed the landlords.

In the summer of 1550 Council meetings were pretty interesting! 150 Part III: Remembering the Forgotten Tudors: Edward VI and Mary

Getting personal

At the end of June 1550 Dudley fired a warning shot. He had a quiet word in the

ear of Richard Whalley, one of Somerset's agents, and said that Somerset must:

Stop trying to get Bishop Gardiner out of jail (Chapter 8 explains how

the bishop ended up incarcerated) because the Council couldn't stand

Gardiner

Not imagine the king was on his side, because he wasn't

In future work with and through the Council and stop going it alone

Dudley's approach just made things worse.

Plotting against the ex-protector

Somerset was trying to get some of his ideas pushed through Parliament

without the Council's backing. Dudley outmanoeuvred him by not calling

Parliament for two years.

Then, in September 1551, the sweating sickness hit the country again, big

time (Chapter 1 explains more about this illness), starting in Shrewsbury and

spreading. The 16th century being the 16th century, Protestants believed

the epidemic was because of delays in religious reforms. Catholics believed

the epidemic was because the reforms had gone too far. Either way, God was

responsible, visiting his wrath on a misguided people (depending on your

religious persuasion). Somerset caught the disease, and while he was out of

action Dudley moved against him. He reported a plot to the king.

The Catholic connection

Rumours flew � when didn't they? � that idea) and didn't like what Cranmer had done to

Somerset was a secret Catholic, in cahoots the prayer book (see Chapter 8). But despite his

with Princess Mary and Bishop Gardiner who, misgivings, Somerset tried to support the arch-

as we explain in Chapter 8, weren't in favour of bishop when the Council ganged up on him. It

the move to Protestantism. Somerset was also wasn't a good idea to be too fair or too honest in

supposed to be in touch with semi-Catholic Tudor England (look what happened to Thomas

lords like the earl of Derby. In fact, he just sug- More in Chapter 4).

gested tolerance (a 20th- not a 16th-century Chapter 9: Changing with the Times: Edward, John, Jane and Mary 151 Sir Thomas Palmer, a crony of Dudley's and a shady character, swore that Somerset planned to raise a rebellion in the north, murder Dudley and take London. The rather naive Edward swallowed the lie, and on 16 October Somerset and his `accomplices', Ralph Vane, Michael Stanhope and John Thynne, were arrested. The rumour that reached the emperor's ambassador in Rome was that Somerset and Co. were going to grab the Tower of London and have most of the Council wiped out by hitmen.

Palmer went further, telling all and sundry that Somerset planned to snatch the king himself with 2,000 rebels. People were hauled in to face accusations, both wild and trivial. But all Somerset had actually done was assemble men and not send them away when told to.

From 30 November Somerset stood trial at Westminster. The marquis of Winchester was judge and by Tudor standards the proceedings were pretty fair. The court dropped most of the over-the-top charges and acquitted Somerset on the charge of treason. The London mob went wild with excitement, which annoyed Dudley, who'd had no idea his arch-enemy was so popular.

Punishing the ex-protector Despite Somerset's acquittal on the charge of treason, his fans were to be disappointed. Assembling men was a hanging offence (or if you were a noble- man, an axing offence) so Somerset was still in the frame. The mob's attitude gave Dudley pause for thought, however, and he varied the fate of Somerset's cronies. Vane and Stanhope were executed but Paget was just fined and Thynne, along with lords Arundel and Strange, was released.

On 22 January Somerset was beheaded on Tower Hill. Historian John Foxe wrote that he made `a Godly end' and the troops Dudley had got together on St James's Field meant that the usually rowdy London apprentices (the low- lifes who'd be called Roundheads in 1640) behaved themselves.

Getting promotion: Warwick on the way up On 20 October 1551 the Council made Dudley general of the marches (the Scottish Borders) and that gave him property and a power base in the North. Dudley had been busy buying and selling land all over the country but his estates, like his men, were scattered. This would now change, and he had himself made Duke of Northumberland (for the sake of clarity, though, we'll go on calling him Dudley). But despite his titles, Dudley never lived in the North, so he had no real support there when things went against him (see `Defending Jane?', later in this chapter). 152 Part III: Remembering the Forgotten Tudors: Edward VI and Mary

By the start of 1552 Dudley was top man but he'd made enemies:

Lord Paget, who'd been framed on charges of embezzlement, fined and

had the rank of knight of the garter taken away (you just don't do that to

people!).

The earl of Arundel was mightily miffed about his imprisonment over the

Somerset affair.

Richard Rich, the lord chancellor, was forced to resign by Dudley in

1551 (don't feel too sorry for him though: Rich was the same double-

dealer who'd lied on Cromwell's behalf to topple Thomas More � see

Chapter 4).

Dudley was careful not to appear a dictator, always working through the

Council. That was no problem for him of course, because he'd appointed the

entire Council anyway.

But opposition was growing. The powerful earls of Derby, Shrewsbury,

Cumberland and Westmoreland hated Dudley, seeing him as an upstart,

and they had lots of cash and large followings. Probably because of this,

Dudley decided to speed up Edward VI's education, guessing that the nobility

wouldn't cross their king.

Financial woes

Financially, England was in a mess. Henry VIII August. The result was chaos and the Council

had started debasing the silver currency to had to bring the date forward with the effect

pay for his wars against France (see Chapter that the overseas market froze. Bales of unsold

3). He'd had tin added to the silver to make the cloth piled up with no buyers and the weavers

coins go further. Somerset carried on the pro- and spinners were out of work.

cess. The result was rocketing prices and a

Dudley quickly increased the coins' silver con-

credit crisis abroad. By 1550 the value of English

tent but people just hoarded the good stuff and

currency on the Antwerp stock exchange was

he couldn't afford to issue more. Luckily, the

half what it had been in 1545 � the only good

Government had no expensive wars to fund

news was that English cloth cost less so more

at the time, and the brilliant financier Thomas

buyers existed.

Gresham, working in Antwerp on behalf of the

In April 1551 the Council announced another 25 Crown, brought the merchants' repayments to

per cent devaluation of silver with effect from the Government under control. Chapter 9: Changing with the Times: Edward, John, Jane and Mary 153

Sitting on the diplomatic fence

Trouble broke out again in September 1551 between those old sparring

partners, France (led by King Henri II) and the Roman Empire (headed up by

Emperor Charles V. The Roman Empire was made up of many nationalities

(see Figure 9-1). This was the age of the nation state � countries like England,

France and Scotland were strong because of it. Areas that were part of the

Holy Roman Empire, like the Low Countries, would soon demand to be sepa-

rate nations too. When Maurice, the local ruler of Saxony, signed a secret

treaty with the French promising him arms and money, and this got out, the

cracks began to appear.

Dudley kept up with the situation through his ambassadors in the Low

Countries (Thomas Chamberlain), in France (William Pickering) and in Venice

(Peter Vannes), who were well informed by a network of spies. He had nobody

in Rome so papal information came through piecemeal via Vannes.

ENGLAND

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GRANADA Figure 9-1:

Europe in

the Tudor

period. The Holy Roman Empire of Charles V. 154 Part III: Remembering the Forgotten Tudors: Edward VI and Mary

The news was that England wasn't in either the Roman Empire nor France's

good books at the time:

Charles V didn't approve of Dudley or his Government because of their

high-handed treatment of his cousin Mary (the king's sister).

Sir Richard Morison, the English ambassador at Charles's Court, was

deeply unpopular because of his extreme Protestantism (the vast major-

ity of Charles's subjects were, after all, Catholics).

Information reached Charles (possibly with the help of the emperor's

agents) about the English Government's dislike of the Guise party's

involvement in Scotland. Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots,

was regent there, and was anxious to cement relations between Scotland

and France (see Chapter 7).

There were rumours of a renewed French move to take back Calais.

In the face of all this, Dudley kept his power dry. Doing nothing wasn't heroic,

but it kept England at peace and saved money.

Facing down the French

In August 1549 Henri II proved rumours true by declaring war on England.

In Chapter 7 we explain that Charles V agreed not to get involved as long as

the French confined their activities to Boulogne. As it happened, the French

weren't doing very well at Boulogne, hit by plague and desertion.

The French now demanded that Boulogne should be theirs. Henri was happy

to do a deal, however, and that was signed on 28 March 1550. Under the

terms of the deal, the commander of the English, Lord Clinton, abandoned the

Boulogne defences on 25 April and Henri moved in on 18 May. Hostages were

politely exchanged, Dudley's man, Admiral Chataillon, was sumptuously enter-

tained and the first French payment for Boulogne went ahead as planned. But

there were niggles:

Calais remained as an unspoken ghost at the feast.

A few French commanders fired their guns in the general direction of the

English troops and looked threatening at the end of May. No one was hurt.

The Pale (the English-held area around Calais) was difficult to defend

and had no border. Henry and Chataillon sorted this by mutual agree-

ment on 21 July.

The French army was building up � it's okay, Henri told the English

ambassador; it's the emperor we're after, not you.

Parties and honours � for nothing?

Henri II didn't have a very high opinion of Edward in turn was given the Order of St

England's army (he clearly didn't have much of Michel, so it was gongs and glad-handings

a grasp of his own country's history either!), but galore. A 400-strong French gravy train stayed

he rated the English navy and realised that in in England, with the young king hunting with its

a punch-up with the emperor the English could leader Jacques d'Albon and enjoying his lute

be a useful ally. So he opened up negotiations playing.

with Dudley over a marriage proposal. Edward

None of this worked, however, because Dudley

VI was 13 in 1551; the French princess Elizabeth

stayed neutral in the war ahead. It would take

de Valois was 6 � perfect. Dudley's man, the

more than a few supper parties to drag Dudley

marquis of Northampton, went over in person to

into somebody else's fight.

give Henri England's highest order of chivalry,

by making him a knight of the Garter.

Priming a Prince

Edward was 12 when Somerset was kicked out as his protector, and by now

the image of the young king was changing. To some he was `the new Josias'

and the `Godly imp' after the 8-year-old Hebrew king of the Old Testament.

Edward listened to sermons, wrote essays and generally seems to have been

a bookish goody-two-shoes who was pale, sickly and a bit pathetic. Some of

this image, though, is based on hind-sight, because we know he died from

tuberculosis. Check out Hans Holbein's portrait painted at this time. Edward

hasn't got the bulk of his father, but his face is arrogant and scornful. He's

holding his dagger menacingly and even his codpiece is on show!

Edward and his twin?

The Prince and the Pauper is the only film fea- two look alike to the extent that in various films

turing Edward big time. It's based on a novel the pair are usually played by actual twins. In

by American writer Mark Twain and is a clas- the Errol Flynn 1937 version the boys were Billy

sic changing places scenario between the and Robert Mauch and in the animated version

king when he was prince and a beggar. By an of 1990 the characters were Mickey Mouse and

extraordinary coincidence (fiction, not fact), the Prince Mickey! 156 Part III: Remembering the Forgotten Tudors: Edward VI and Mary

Growing up

Edward's activities were geared towards him growing into the role of king:

Edward took part in archery contests and riding at the ring (practice for

the tournament). He was excellent at tennis.

William Thomas, clerk to the Privy Council, wrote papers on the most

up-to-date political theory for the king.

Dudley encouraged the boy to sit in on Council meetings. Dudley

realised that to survive politically he also had to coach the boy himself.

Edward's devices (essays) increased in number and relevance. He loved

making lists and his `reasons for establishing a mart [market]' and

`memorandum for the Council', both written in 1552, still survive (his

handwriting was excellent � so was his Latin).

Edward occasionally intervened on minor points in Government � he

was impressed by Nicholas Ridley's sermon on the London poor in the

spring of 1552 and worked with the lord mayor of London to turn the

royal palace of Bridewell into a poor house.

Anyone wanting to influence Edward long-term would have to take the boy's

ideas seriously. He was 15 in 1552 and, like his father, expected to be obeyed.

Dudley did this well; the king trusted and liked him (which couldn't be said of

many other people!).

Going before his time

In April 1552 Edward got measles. Like everything else that happened to him,

he wrote about his illness in his diary, but he never really got better. At the

end of June a tour of the South and West took it out of him, and by Christmas,

at Windsor, he was seriously ill. When Mary came to see him in February it

was three days before he felt well enough to talk to her.

In March Edward opened Parliament but had to cut the ceremony short. One

of his shoulders was now higher than the other and he was coughing blood.

His ulcers were probably bed sores and his swollen stomach the result of

tuberculous peritonitis. The young king was wracked with fever.

Dudley now had to think fast. In one of his devices, Edward had already con-

sidered the succession if he died without an heir. His father, Henry VIII's will

(almost certainly prompted by his last wife, Catherine Parr) had included

both Mary and Elizabeth if Edward should die before them without produc-

ing children, but times and opinions had moved on since then. Edward's

own childlike ideas were limited to members of the Brandon family, who

were closely connected to the Tudors (see the nearby sidebar `What was so

special about the Brandons?'), because he believed both Mary and Elizabeth Chapter 9: Changing with the Times: Edward, John, Jane and Mary 157

were illegitimate (Henry VIII had decided his marriage to their mother,

Catherine of Aragon, was illegal; see Chapter 5). At the time the Brandon

option didn't make much sense � Frances, the duchess of Suffolk, was meno-

pausal and the three nieces still unmarried teenagers.

The fact that Edward was ignoring his sisters didn't matter while he was just

writing essays. As long as he was well his ideas were just cloud-cuckoo land

theorising. But suddenly, by the summer of 1553, the situation of the death of

an heir-less king was horribly real.

Making last-minute changes

In the first week of June 1553 Jane Grey, the duke of Suffolk's daughter, mar-

ried Guildford Dudley (John Dudley's son) and the king gave the marriage his

blessing. Edward was too ill to go to the ceremony.

There was no time for Jane to produce a son, nor for Parliament to repeal

Henry VIII's Succession Act which decreed who should follow him and in what

order. The one thing that Edward himself was sure of was that Mary mustn't

succeed � she was not only illegitimate, she was Catholic.

For Edward, the only rational choice successor was Jane Grey (now Dudley),

and he issued a decree to that effect. When he died without direct heirs, the

crown would pass to `Lady Jane and her heirs male'. The Council were horri-

fied but they couldn't shake Edward. No one was sure whether Edward (still

a minor) could make a will that would stand up � and Parliament certainly

didn't have the right to choose a new monarch.

In fact, technically, Edward's documents weren't legal because the seals were

never actually attached to the letters patent (a document granting someone a

right or privilege) that he'd drawn up.

What was so special about the Brandons? In Chapter 2 we tell you the tale of the battle Luckily, Lord Stanley's men stop Richard before of Bosworth Field. Go back to 22 August 1485 he can reach Henry. for a minute. King Richard III is thundering

If it weren't for William Brandon, the Tudors towards Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, at

would never have ruled England and you wouldn't the head of his bodyguard, the Fellowship of

be reading this book. The Brandon family were the White Boar. One man is standing between

made dukes of Suffolk by the Tudors and Henry Richard and Henry � William Brandon, Henry's

VIII's sister Mary married one of them. It was standard bearer. Richard hacks at William, and

from this family that Jane Grey came. down goes Brandon, down goes the standard.