From August 2nd to 3rd of 1553, Mary and Elizabeth made their way to London. Mary’s triumph had been guaranteed by her connections in East Anglian and her courage that sustained her during this difficult time. One common myth is that Charles V supported her and this is not true. Charles V was telling his ambassadors to do their best to convince his cousin to yield to the new regime and ingratiate themselves to Dudley so they could convince him of an Imperial Alliance instead of a French one that he was leaning towards. After Scheyfve and Renard heard that half the country was rallying to her, they told her cousin to switch his alliance to her. Mary’s victories is one of the most unlikely –a bloodless victory that allowed her to become the first female king in England.
On the second of August, the two sisters were reunited. Mary had asked her sister to join her days before but she never replied. Days before her sister’s triumph, Elizabeth moved from Somerset to Wanstead where she met her sister. Despite their happy reunion, the Imperial Ambassador Simon de Renard had the mission to drive the sisters apart and foster doubt in the future Queen, but Mary was determined to keep her sister with her. They hadn’t seen each other in over a year, and Mary took the opportunity to bestow her sister with gifts, jewelry, dressed and much more.
The following day on the third, the sisters entered the capital, greeted by large crowds of people. Their procession began at seven o’clock at evening. Accompanied by an army of 10,000 men and a great retinue that included her sister, she was acclaimed by the common citizenry. According to the Wriothelesley Chronicle:
“Her gown of purple velvet in the French fashion, with sleeves of the same, her kirtle purple satin all thick set with goldsmith’s work and great pearls, with her foresleeves of the same set with rich stones, with a rich bodice of gold, pearls, and stones about her neck, and a rich array of stones and great pearls on her hood, her palfrey that she rode on richly trapped with gold embroidered to the horse feet.”
And the Imperial Ambassador added “Her look, her manner, her gestures, her countenance were such that in no event could they have been improved.”
Mary was welcomed by the Lord Mayor at Aldgate who presented her with the scepter office, and after thanking him she returned it and entered the city followed by her sister, Sir Anthony Browne, the Duchess of Norfolk, the Marquis of Exeter and many others. Following protocol, one of the highest ranking nobles held the sword of sate. She and her party passed St. Butolph’s Church where they were greeted by a choir of children from Christ’s Hospital, then rode through Leadenhall, Gracechurch and Fenchurch St. down Mark Lane to the Tower of London. Streets had been wiped clean and the houses were decorated with tapestries while the spectators overcrowded the roofs and streets, struggling to see their new queen. Such was the “joy of the people” wrote the Imperial Ambassadors “that it was hardly credible … Like great thunder” cannonfire sounded from every battlement “that it had been like an earthquake”. At the Tower, the lord mayor took his leave and she was greeted by the lord constable of the Tower, Sir John Bridges. The Duke of Norfolk, Edward Courtenay whose father had been executed in her father’s reign (along with his co-’conspirators’ Margaret Pole and her son), Stephen Gardiner, and Cuthbert Tunstall, greeted the new Queen and Mary with a sense of humor reminiscent of her grandfather declared “Ye are my prisoners” earning popular acclaim then raised them up and freed them.
“The people are full of hope” and they believed, the ambassadors added “that her reign will be a godly, righteous and just one, and help establish her firmly on the throne.”
Sources:
- Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen by Anna Whitelock
- The Myth of Bloody Mary by Linda Porter
- On this day in Tudor History by Claire Ridgway
tudors & other histories 