Problems of Succession
Mary I and her ministers
- Created by: ellarachel
- Created on: 04-12-17 19:53
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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 Treaty
- A parliamentary delegation failed to dissuade Mary, and, without consulting the Privy Council, Mary chose to go ahead with the Spanish marriage.
- 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
- Mary (who was already 37) wanted to marry and produce an heir as soon as possible in order to guarantee a Catholic succession
- 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.
- 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
- The Spanish Marriage, 1554
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