Life Under Mary

When Mary first came to the throne, the English people believed that all of the internal power struggles and feuds among their nobility would end. They neglected the fact that Mary was a Catholic and would attempt to reform the Church created by her father and brother. Mary was raised by her Spanish mother and in the Catholic Church. Her views of religion and goverment were the complete opposite from her sister and brother. She wanted an alliance with Spain and Rome, to put England back into good relations with the Holy Roman Empire, and to find a Catholic husband. The English people viewed her views with good humor, convinced that a daughter of Henry's would never do anything to harm England. Elizabeth became the focus for all of Mary's plans. She would have to recognize her sister as heir in order to move her policies forward with the agreement of the English people. Mary believed that marrying Elizabeth to a Catholic noble would bring her under control and make her threat to the throne less dangerous.

Elizabeth realized the dangerous position she was in. She had learned to hide her true nature with subterfuge and camoflauge. She had long since abandoned all manners of courtly dress and adornment in order to appear simplistic and studious. Her manner and behavior became the model of virtue and decorum. She did nothing and said nothing that would put her life in danger. To be accepted and recognized by Mary as heir meant she would have to become Catholic and she could not lose the favor of England's Protestant subjects. When she finally attended a Catholic Mass with Mary, she complained of feeling ill and being stricken with horrible stomach pains. Mary was pleased with her show of piety and did not force her to go to services anymore. Whether she believed her sister was genuinely sick or pretended to believe out of fear of the girl's popularity is open to speculation.

Elizabeth continued to walk a tightrope in her sister's court until her sister chose a husband. To the horror of all Englishmen, Mary chose King Philip of Spain. The announcement led to riots and revolts. A man named Wyatt led a short rebellion in Elizabeth's name to put her on the throne. It failed and landed Elizabeth in the Tower. Even though she had no knowledge of the plot, she was imprisoned because she could be watched more closely from a cell.

Mary's marriage to Philip caused a great deal of unhappiness with her subjects. While the Catholics were happy to be members of the ruling religion again, they hated being ruled by a foreign king. Parliament was so against Philip that they refused to allow him to be crowned regent. As long as the people were against the match, Philip would never be accepeted as king. In Elizabeth, the people saw some hope. Her refusal to publicly convert to Catholicism won her many supporters as did her resembelance to her father. Mary realized the dangers her sister posed to her reign and planned to keep her imprisoned forever. It was through Philip's intervention that Elizabeth was removed from the Tower and placed under house arrest in the countryside. The sisters supposedly reconciled at a private meeting that was supposedly listened to by a hidden Philip. This concern for his sister-in-law can be seen in a different light when it is realized that Philip offered to marry Elizabeth when she became Queen. At the time of the reconciliation, Mary was believed to be pregnant. She had the classic symptoms of pregnancy, but did not deliver after nine, ten, or even twelve months. She was most likely suffering from some sort of uterine or ovarian cancer that caused tumors and swelling. This illness is what eventually killed her in 1558.

The unhappiness felt by the English towards their queen and king took the form of open revolt against the policies of the rule. Mary was forced to use harsh means to keep her subjects in line. Since Philip was in Spain for most of their marriage, she relied on his ambassadors for adivce and suggestions. Needless to say, their suggestions were terrible and worsened her situation. She earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of heretics against the Catholic faith and traitors battling for her throne.

Before the situation escalated to total civil war, Mary entered the final stages of her illnes. Elizabeth was formally recognized as Mary's heir, some feel this was due in part to Philip's influence. She died with only her ladies-in-waiting attending her, all of her courtiers having fled to curry favor with Elizabeth. Her husband did not return from Spain to be by her death bed and no one mourned her passing. On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth finally became Queen of England.