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Mary I - Problems of Succession - Coggle Diagram
Mary I - Problems of Succession
The Spanish Marriage
Mary came to the throne aged 37 and unmarried and therefore, there was a fear that her reign would not last. Many reasoned that if Catholicism was survive past her reign, she needed to marry and produce an heir
1553 - There was discussion of the possibility of marriage with Charles V's son and these details were worked out without the knowledge of the Privy Council, which was disastrous
How beneficial was the marriage
No children resulted from the marriage. No direct heir meant no guarantee of a Catholic legacy after Mary's death.
Following Philip's request to Mary for naval supplies, funds and English naval support in the Channel, England was eventually drawn into war alongside Spain against France in 1557.
The marriage was evidently not great because Philip only visited Mary once and the extent if her desperation and delusion is evidenced with the phantom pregnancies of 1554 and 1557
Opposition to the marriage
One concern was the fact that Philip was a staunch Catholic and thus, Protestants were worried that he would add strength to Mary's determination to reverse the Reformation
Another concern was the fact that Philip was the heir to the throne of Spain and its vast empire. Therefore, there were assumptions that he would use England as a tool to further Spanish ambitions and have little regard for the interests of England
There was the question on how France would react if England and Spain grew closer as well as how the marriage would affect relations with Scotland
However, Mary carefully limited Philip's power in England and in terms of the marriage agreement, Philip was to be referred to as King but he had no powers in relation to the title
Philip was also forbidden from bringing foreigners into English government and he had no claim to the throne
Wyatt's Rebellion (Feb 1554)
In early 1554, plans for Mary's marriage to Philip were being made and thus, Sir Thomas Wyatt (a member of the gentry in Kent) planned a nationalist, Protestant Rebellion
Wyatt and others plotted to overthrow the Queen and replace her with Edward Courtenay ( the great grandson of Edward IV and the only male claimant to the throne)
Courtenay was to marry Elizabeth to strengthen his connection
The rebellion has been labelled as anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish though at this time, there had not been Catholic legislation truly pushed through yet Catholicism and Spain were inextricably linked
Philip did not truly hold power at this time yet it is evident that the rebellion was more anti-Spanish as there was clear evidence of xenophobia as Wyatt probably feared that the government would be controlled by Spain or by Spanish interests
The rebels supported Protestantism and the religious motive was identified as the cause of the rebellion, seen with the book by John Procter
The book was commissioned by the government, with the intention of putting focus on religious discontent in order to divert attention away from the unpopular marriage
The original plan was for 4 rebellions to begin in March 1554:
One in Devon
One in Leicestershire (led by Lady Jane Grey's father)
One on the Welsh border
One in Kent
However, it was difficult to keep the plots a secret and thus, the plotters had to advance their timetable to the beginning of February to maintain the element of surprise
3 of the 4 proposed uprisings failed and only Wyatt was able to gather sufficient men, about 3000 in total
Wyatt marched his his rebel army to London but found London Bridge closed against him. He failed to convince Londoners to join his rebellion and as a result, it collapsed in a week
However, though he failed, his actions were a cause for concern because his actions threatened the capital
Outcomes of the rebellion
90 rebels were executed including Wyatt and also Mary ordered the executions of Lady Jane Grey and her husband, as Lady Jane Grey posed a clear threat she could be used as a figurehead for future rebellions
Elizabeth was also arrested on suspicion of complicity but this was dropped as there was no clear evidence
The Succession
Due to the fact that Mary I had overthrown Northumberland's Devyse, this meant that the Succession Act (1544) implemented by her father was restored and thus meant, if Mary was to die childless, Elizabeth would succeed her
This was a problem for Mary as Elizabeth as a successor would unravel the Catholic changes that she had made.
However, to deny Elizabeth the right to succeed, the 1544 Act had to be overturned and this was difficult.
Such change amounted to nothing
Elizabeth's succession was deemed to be the better option as Philip himself felt that MQS's French and Scottish heritage was not acceptable for the English throne
As her health deteriorated and it was impossible for her to produce an heir, Mary formally named Elizabeth as her successor on 6th November 1558