On 19th July 1553, thirteen days after the death of her half-brother, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI, thirty-seven-year-old Mary Tudor was proclaimed queen in place of her first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane.
The Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London records:
"Item the xix. day of the same monyth, [which] was sent Margarettes evyne, at iiij. of clocke at after-none was proclamyd lady Ma[ry to] be qwene of Ynglond at the crose in Cheppe with the erle of Shrewsbery, the earle [of Arundel], the erle of Pembroke, with the mayer of London, and dyvers other lordes, and many of the ald[dermen] and the kynges schrffe master Garrand, with dyvers haroldes and trompettes. And from thens cam to Powlles alle, and there the qwere sange Te Deum with the organs goynge, with the belles ryngynge, the most parte alle [London], and that same nyght had the [most] parte of London Te Deum, with bone-fyers in every strete in London, with good chere at every bone [fyer], the belles ryngynge in every parych cherch, and for the most parte alle nyght tyll the nexte daye to none."
and diarist, "merchant-taylor" and citizen of London Henry Machyn writes:
"The xix day of July was qwene Mare proclamyd qwene of England, France, and Yrland, and alle domy(ni)ons, [as the] syster of the late kyng Edward the vj. and doythur unto the nobull kyng Henry the viij. be-twyn v and vj of the cloke at nyght, and ther wher at proclamasyon iiij trumpeters and ij harold(s) of armes, and the erle of Arundell, the erle of Shrossbery, th'erle Penbroke, my lord Tressorer, my lord of Preveselle, my lord Cobham, my lord Warden, master Masun, and my lord Mare, and dyvers odur nobull men; and thys was done at the crosse in Chepe, and from that plasse thay whent unto Powlls and ther was Te Deum Laudamus, with song, and the organes playhyng, and all the belles ryngyng thrugh London, and bone-fyres, and tabuls in evere strett, and wyne and bere and alle, and evere strett full of bonfyres, and ther was money cast a-way."
Mary was actually unaware that she had been proclaimed queen in London. She was at Framlingham and received the news the following day.
You can read all about Mary I and Queen Jane/Lady Jane Grey in our special Tudor monarchs ebooks, if you're a Tudor Society member - click here to download and read now.
Here are more resources for members:
- Queen Jane or Lady Jane Grey - A Claire Chats video talk
- A timeline of the events of 1553 - A Claire Chats video talk
- Robert Wingfield’s Vitae Mariae – A first-hand account of the events of July 1553 - A Claire Chats video talk
- Gareth Russell talks about Mary I
Also on this day in history, 19th July 1545, Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, sank right in front of his eyes in the Battle of the Solent between the English and French fleets. It is not known for sure why the Mary Rose sank. All we know for certain is that the English fleet moved out to attack the French fleet in the late afternoon of the 19th as “a fitful wit sprang up” and that something went wrong as the ship carried out a turning manoeuvre. The Mary Rose sank and along with her the majority of her crew, including Sir George Carew, the Captain. Here are links to some Mary Rose resources:
Notes and Sources
- The Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London, Camden Society Old Series, Volume 53. Originally published by Camden Society, London, 1852 - you can read this at http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol53/pp80-98#fnn1
- 'Diary: 1553 (Jul - Dec)', in The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563, ed. J G Nichols (London, 1848), pp. 34-50. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol42/pp34-50.
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