Mary I was a formidable power in mid-sixteenth century England. Married to Philip of Spain, she fused the Tudor dynasty to that of the Habsburgs, arguably the most powerful family in Europe. She was England's first queen regnant, ruling in her own right, with her husband serving as consort. Their union boasted military, political and financial power and triggered crucial debates over a woman's power as a ruler in sixteenth century England.
Mary was hard-working, decisive and had a clear image of the England she wanted to establish. She could be brutal, ordering the executions of those who rebelled, resisted or refused to follow her rules on power or religion. Very much her father's daughter, she also demonstrated the tenacity and determinedness of her mother, Katherine of Aragon. But what was it like to meet her?
Luckily, the Venetian ambassador Giacomo Sorranzo met Mary in 1554 and left a detailed description of this formidable queen. At the time of their meeting she was thirty-eight years old and had been crowned the year before. Here's what he wrote.
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Princess Mary, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain |
"The most serene Madam Mary is entitled Queen of England and of France, and Defenderess of the Faith. She was born on the 18 February 1515 [1516], so she yesterday completed her thirty-eighth year, and six months. She is of low stature with a red and white complexion, and very thin. Her eyes are white and large, and her hair reddish; her face is round, with a nose rather low and wide, and were not her age on the decline, she might be called handsome rather than the contrary. She is not of a strong constitution, and of late she suffers from headache, and serious affection of the heart, so that she is often obliged to take medicine, and also to be blooded. She is of very spare diet, and never eats till one or two p.m., although she rises at daybreak, when after saying her prayers, and hearing Mass in private, she transacts business incessantly until after midnight, when she retires to rest; for she chooses to give audience not only to all the members of her Privy Council, and to hear from them every detail of public business, but also to all other persons who ask it of her.
Her Majesty's countenance indicates great benignity and clemency, which are not belied by her conduct, for although she has had many enemies, and though so many of them were by law condemned to death, yet had the executions depended solely on her Majesty's will, not one of them perhaps would have been enforced; but deferring to her Council in everything, she in this matter likewise complied with the wishes of others, rather than with her own. She is endowed with excellent ability, and more than moderately read in Latin literature, especially with regard to Holy Writ; and besides her native tongue, she speaks Latin, French and Spanish, and understands Italian perfectly, but does not speak it. She is also very generous, but not to the extent of letting it appear that she rests her chief claim to commendation on this quality. She is so confirmed in the Catholic religion, that although the King her brother, and his Council, prohibited her from having the Mass celebrated according to the Roman Catholic ritual, she nevertheless had it performed in secret, nor did she ever choose by any act to assent to any other form of religion, her belief in that in which she was born being so strong, that had the opportunity offered, she would have displayed it at the stake, her hope being in God alone, so that she constantly exclaims, 'In te Domine confido, non confundar in eternam! Si Deus est pro nobis, quis contra nos?' ['In you, Lord, I trust; let me not be put to shame forever! If God is for us, who can be against us?'].
Her Majesty takes pleasure in playing on the lute and spinet, and is a very good performer on both instruments, and indeed before her accession, she taught many of her maids of honour. But she seems to delight above all in arraying herself elegantly and magnificently, and her garments are of two sorts; the one a gown such as men wear, but fitting very close, with an under petticoat which has a very long train; and this is her ordinary costume, being also that of the gentlewomen of England. The other garment is a gown and bodice with wide hanging sleeves in the French fashion, which she wears on State occasions, and she also wears much embroidery, and gowns and mantles of cloth of gold, and cloth of silver of great value, and changes every day. She also makes great use of jewels, wearing them both on her chaperon, and round her neck, and as trimming for her gowns, in which jewels she delights greatly, and although she has a great plenty of them left her by her predecessors, yet were she better supplied with money than she is, she would doubtless buy more."
This account is in contrast with a lot of modern misconceptions about Mary. She is often depicted in period dramas and caricature as short and overweight, but was actually thin. Her medical problems are documented in other sources, which also refer to her sparse appetite. The 'Bloody Mary' of legend, according to Sorranzo after their meeting, regretted the executions of her enemies, who were only murdered under the advice of her council, presumably needing to set a precedent to prevent future rebellion. It is also possible that she felt the same way about the religious discord and many that were burned for their religion during her reign. Anna Whitelock, in her book Mary Tudor: England's First Queen, has also wondered whether Mary considered her laws to be so horrific that no one would resist them, and was surprised when subjects continued to practice Protestantism and meet death at the stake. I do think that if we could meet Mary we would find a woman quite unlike the caricature of her in many history books today. She was generous, patient, loved jewels and fine clothing and was resolute in her following of the Catholic religion. Fluent in languages, she was busy and worked hard, but made time for any that wanted to speak to her personally. By the time she reached the throne she had overcome a huge amount of adversity, managing a difficult relationship with her father, experiencing the decline and death of her mother, a succession of stepmothers and being called illegitimate after the annulment of her parents' marriage. She overcame resistance to her rule and openly rallied her troops at a rebellion, standing defiantly to marry the man she believed could provide England with power, military resources and an heir. Sadly, she was never to bear a child, and the throne passed to her half-sister Elizabeth I. One thing is for certain: Mary was a three-dimensional character and far more complex than the stake-wielding 'Bloody Mary' of legend.
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Stone, J.M. The History of Mary I, Queen of England as found in the public records, despatches of ambassadors in original, private letters and other contemporary documents. Sands and Co, London. 1901.
Whitelock, Anna. Mary Tudor, England's First Queen. Bloomsbury, London. 2010..