On 14th December 1558, just under a month after her death, Queen Mary I was buried at Westminster Abbey. Although Mary had left instructions in her will for her mother Catherine of Aragon’s remains to be exhumed and brought to London so that mother and daughter could be buried together, her instructions were ignored and Mary was buried by herself at Westminster on 14th December 1558 with just stones marking her resting place.
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On Sunday 1st October 1553, Mary I was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. She was the first crowned queen regnant of England.
Here is a primary source account of the coronation ceremony from The chronicle of Queen Jane, and of two years of Queen Mary, and especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat
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On the afternoon of Saturday 30th September 1553, Queen Mary I left the Tower of London to process to Westminster, where she would spend the night at Whitehall preparing for her coronation at Westminster Abbey the following day.
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On 29th September 1553, Michaelmas or the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, Mary I created fifteen1 Knights of the Bath as part of her coronation celebrations.
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On 27th or 28th September 1553 (sources differ regarding the date), Mary I travelled in a decorated barge to the Tower of London to prepare for her coronation. She was accompanied by her half-sister, Elizabeth, and as they pulled up to Tower Wharf, they were greeted by music and cannons firing. It was traditional for monarchs to go to the Tower before their coronations and process from there to Westminster.
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On 25th July 1554, the feast day of St James, Mary I married Philip of Spain, son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The wedding took place at Winchester Cathedral and the ceremony was performed by Stephen Gardener, Bishop of Winchester and Mary’s chancellor.
In the appendix of The Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary, and especially of the Rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt, written by a Resident in the Tower of London, edited by John Gough Nichols, there is an official account of the preparations for the wedding and the wedding itself by the English Heralds:
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On 19th July 1553, thirteen days after the death of her half-brother Edward VI, Mary, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, was proclaimed queen in London in place of Queen Jane, who had been proclaimed queen on 10th July.
The Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London records:
[Read More...]Mary was born on 18 February 1516 at Greenwich Palace and was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. She was an intelligent girl, was known as a linguist and loved music and dancing. Mary was made illegitimate and removed from the succession after the annulment of her father’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1533 and the subsequent birth of her half-sister Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She and Elizabeth (who had been removed from the succession in 1536 after the fall of her mother) were restored to the line of succession, after their half-brother Edward, by Parliament in 1543 but Edward VI chose to remove his half-sisters from the succession as he lay dying in 1553 and chose Lady Jane Grey as his heir. Mary was forced to fight for the throne and was proclaimed queen on 19 July 1553.
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On 17th February 1565, Mary, Queen of Scots met Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley at Wemyss Castle in Scotland, and fell in love.
It seemed like a fairy tale. Darnley was young, tall, handsome, and charming. He was of royal blood, with claims to both the Scottish and English thrones. He was the son of Lady Margaret Douglas—Mary’s own cousin—and Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox, whose family had spent years in exile after being declared traitors. The House of Lennox had once supported Henry VIII’s attempts to control Scotland, and by the 1560s, they were eager to regain their influence.
But for Mary, Darnley appeared to be the perfect husband – a man who could help her strengthen her claim to the English throne, provide her with heirs, and reinforce her position in Scotland. Plus she’d rather fallen under his spell – he was quite the charmer.
Yet, this love match was one of the worst decisions she ever made – a decision that set her on a course toward scandal, betrayal, and ultimately, her downfall.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th February 1587, a fateful message arrived at Fotheringhay Castle – the execution warrant for Mary, Queen of Scots. After years of imprisonment and political intrigue, her fate was sealed. But how did Mary react when she was told she would die the next morning? What did she do in her final hours?
Today, we’re travelling back in time to Mary’s last evening on earth—her defiant words, her final prayers, and the preparations she made for her death. This is the story of a queen who faced the axe with courage and unwavering faith.
Mary, Queen of Scots, had been tried for treason in October 1586 after being implicated in the Babington Plot, a plot to depose Queen Elizabeth I and to replace her with Mary. She had been found guilty and sentenced to death, but Elizabeth would not sign the execution warrant, not wanting the responsibility of killing an anointed queen. However, Mary’s gaoler, Sir Amias Paulet, would not agree to quietly doing away with Mary, and after pressure from her council and petitions from Parliament, Elizabeth finally signed the warrant, although she later said she had asked for it not to be sent to Fotheringhay yet.
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Did you know that the first assassination of a head of government by firearm happened in 16th-century Scotland?
On this day in history, 23rd January 1570, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the young King James VI and half-brother to Mary, Queen of Scots, met his tragic end in a story of power, betrayal, and vengeance.
Moray, who was about 38 or 39 years of age at his death, was the second eldest of seven – yes, seven – illegitimate sons fathered by King James V of Scotland. The king had nine illegitimate children in all, all born to different mothers. Moray’s mother was Lady Margaret Erskine, daughter of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine, and wife of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven. His biographer, Mark Loughlin, notes that the king’s affection for the young Moray and his mother are shown clearly from the generous provision that was made for him, and that the king even consulted the pope regarding a divorce for Margaret so that he could marry her. Sadly for Moray, it didn’t happen. But he did become a powerful man.
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th January 1515, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the king sent his best friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, on a diplomatic mission. His task? To escort the king’s recently widowed sister, Mary Tudor, Queen of France, back to England.
But things didn’t go to plan… because Mary and Brandon had a secret—and scandalous—plan of their own.
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Tudor fans are invited to the Mary Rose Museum on July 20th to create their own Tudor-inspired pottery piece. In collaboration with the local pottery studio Fatclay Pottery, participants will learn from experts – no previous pottery experience required.
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In 1561, Elizabeth I received a rather unusual New Year’s gift. It wasn’t the normal gilt plate, it wasn’t even jewellery or a piece of clothing, it was a girl…
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Following the death of her husband, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Mary Howard’s father, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, put forward the idea that his daughter should marry the up and coming Thomas Seymour, but Mary wasn’t keen. In hindsight she had a rather lucky escape.
Let me tell you more…
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Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank in 1545 with her crew and the ship’s dog, Hatch.
Find out more about Hatch and what he was doing on board The Mary Rose…
On this day in Tudor history, 25th September 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, was moved to Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, and Elizabeth finally backed down and agreed to the appointing of 36 commissioners to act as judges in her trial. Mary would never leave the castle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th September 1514, in the reign of King Henry VIII, King Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, married by proxy in Paris.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th July 1543, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Mary Boleyn died. It is not known where she was laid to rest.
Mary was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and his wife, Elizabeth Howard. She was the granddaughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. At some point, she had been King Henry VIII’s mistress, but nothing is known of their relationship.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th July 1553, the day after the death of King Edward VI, his half-sister, Mary, received news of his death.
Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had left Hunsdon on 3rd July after hearing that Edward was dying and that there was a plot against her. She set off for her estates in East Anglia, where she had support.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th June 1566, Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to a son at Edinburgh Castle. He was her only son and he was fathered by her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.
The little boy was baptised Charles James in a Catholic service on 17th December 1566 at Stirling Castle. The name Charles was in honour of his godfather, Charles IX of France, Mary’s former brother-in-law, but he was known as James, after his grandfather, James V, and the other Stewart kings.
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On this day in Tudor history, 8 June 1536, Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary, wrote to her father in hope of a reconciliation now that her stepmother, Anne Boleyn, was dead.
Mary had been out of favour due to her refusal to accept the annulment of her parents’ marriage, her father’s supremacy and her status as illegitimate. She believed that Anne Boleyn was solely to blame for her troubles, writing that she understood that the king had “forgiven all her offences and withdrawn his displeasure”.
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There’s nothing like researching Tudor primary sources for yourself and a lot have been transcribed and digitised, making it possible to access them from the comfort of your own home.
Here on the Tudor Society, we have lists of primary sources for each monarch as well as different topics, such as Tudor Life.
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th April 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, sixteen year-old Catherine Carey married Francis Knollys.
Catherine was the daughter of William Carey and Mary Boleyn, and the niece of Queen Anne Boleyn. Although some believe that she was Henry VIII’s daughter, there is no evidence for this.
Catherine served as a maid of honour to Anne of Cleves, and went into exile with her family in Mary I’s reign.
Catherine was appointed to her cousin Elizabeth I’s bedchamber in 1559. She served there until her death in 1569.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th April 1512, Henry VIII’s warship, The Mary Rose, began her first tour of duty in the English Channel on the hunt for French warships.
Here are some facts about The Mary Rose:
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