Problems of Succession

Mary I and her ministers

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  • Problems of Succession
    • The Spanish Marriage, 1554
      • Mary (who was already 37) wanted to marry and produce an heir as soon as possible in order to guarantee a Catholic succession
        • Gardiner suggested Edward Courtenary, Earl of Devon, but marriage to an Englishman was likely to provoke factional rivalry
        • Mary preferred her Catholic cousin, Philip of Spain, although English public opinion was hostile to a foreign marriage
          • A parliamentary delegation failed to dissuade Mary, and, without consulting the Privy Council, Mary chose to go ahead with the Spanish marriage.
            • The Marriage Treaty
              • Gave Philip the title of king but no actual power
              • Forbade foreigners from holding English offices
              • Ruled that Philip had no claim on the English Crown if Mary died before he did
              • Absolved England from any involvement in, or financial support for, Philip's wars
      • The marriage of 1554 was not a success
        • Philip found the English unwelcoming and was unimpressed by his new wife. He determined to spend as little time as possible in England
        • In 1555, Parliament prevented Philip's coronation as King
        • In 1554, Parliament rejected a bill that would have included Philip along with Mary in a proposed new law on treason
    • Plans for the succession
      • The 1544 Succession Act, confirmed by H8's will, had provided that Mary would be succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth, should she die childless
        • However, Elizabeth was Protestant and likely to restore Protestantism
        • Mary resented Elizabeth as the reason for her parent's divorce. She personally believed that Elizabeth was illegitimate and without claim to the throne
          • Although Mary confined Elizabeth to the Tower after Wyatt's rebellion in 1554, no proof could be found of Elizabeth's involvement in the rebellion, and she was released.

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