The Jewels of the Princess Mary, Later Mary I

Mary I, Queen of England, is often cast by historians and writers of period dramas as severe and serious, wearing dark colours and avoiding displays of excess. But the sources show a different woman who danced, wore costumes at masques and showed off a startling collection of jewels. 

An inventory of Mary's jewellery survives from her time as princess and it reveals something of her personality and tastes, along with her generosity to others and relationships within the court. Beginning in 1542, when Mary was around 26 years old, the inventory details items wrought in interesting shapes and with religious messages that may have resonated with her personally. Some are simply dazzling. The first item, a 'balas with one emerald, one ruby and one diamond crowned, with a great pearl pendant at the same, with three small stones on the backside' show the intricacy of Tudor jewellery and the skills of the craftsman that made them. A balas is a pink gemstone often likened to a ruby that was also favoured by her father Henry VIII earlier in his reign. There are a variety of other balas stones with ornaments and tablets. Another, 'one other balas set in a dolphin with one diamond table and a great pearl pendant at the same', shows more Tudor craftsmanship. 

Cropped image from Queen Mary blessing cramp rings. Oil painting by H. Hayman, 1916. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Mary also liked flowers, and had jewels set in the shape of various floral designs, some unsurprisingly featuring roses and rubies and pearls to mark the red and white of the Tudor Rose symbol. She also owned 'a flower with five great diamonds, two rubies, one emerald and a great pearl pendant', and another 'with five diamonds, one ruby in the midst and three pearls pendant at the same'. These 'three pearls pendant' bring to mind the famous necklace of Anne Boleyn, the 'B' with the three pearls dangling below it, showing that Mary owned something similar but representing a flower instead of an initial. In any case these jewels would have sparkled and shone in the candlelight of the Tudor court. 

She also owned a diamond cross set with pearls and with a pearl pendant which was given to her as a diplomatic gift by 'Duke Philipe', which Henry VIII requested she pass on to him, which she did. There were also gold chains in her possession, one with pearls and diamonds, along with brooches and tablets. Many of these had religious depictions, such as a 'brooch of gold of the History of Moses set with two little diamonds'. Others depicted St John the Evangelist, the History of Suzanne and the Story of Solomon, among others. One of these, a brooch of gold 'enamelled black with an agate, of the Story of Abraham with four small rubies' was given by the princess to Sir Anthony Browne as a gift after he drew her as his Valentine. An especially touching depiction is recorded in a 'book of gold with the king's face and her grace mother's' showing that even after Katherine of Aragon died, she kept her likeness to wear. She also owned a similar depiction in enamel of the king and his third wife, Jane Seymour. 

Some of these jewels Mary gifted to courtiers, but her half-sister and half-brother Elizabeth and Edward also received some. A 'pomander of gold with a dial in it' was gifted to Elizabeth, while Edward, while king, received a ring. After Mary became queen, she gifted Elizabeth on 21 September 1553 with 'a brooch of the history of Pyramus and Thisbe with a fair table diamond garnished with four rubies'. On the same day she also gave her a string of beads of white coral, trimmed with gold. The message behind Pyramus and Thisbe's love story may be significant. An ancient story later used by Shakespeare in modelling his play Romeo and Juliet, the tale revolves around a forbidden love between the children of two warring families and the eventual demise of both partners for love's sake. Is it possible that Mary gave Elizabeth the gift in recognition of her friendship (sometimes believed to have been more than this) with Robert Dudley, son of the disgraced Duke of Northumberland who Mary had executed just four weeks before she gave her sister the gift. The execution and the downfall of the Dudleys would have been fresh in Elizabeth's mind, and it's possible that, regardless of Mary's intention, she perceived the gift as a hidden message to be wary of involvement with the family. At the time, Robert Dudley was languishing in the Tower of London awaiting judgement. Mary was her father's daughter and suspicious of Elizabeth's influence and support, the timing of this gift being just right to give her sister a gentle and subtle warning to stay in line. She would imprison Elizabeth six months later after suspecting her plotting against her.

Other recipients of Mary's generosity included Margaret Lennox, Frances Brandon, Anne Seymour (Stanhope) and various courtiers to mark weddings. Mary also received some of her jewellery as gifts. Katherine Parr gave her a 'pair of bracelets of gold set with diamond and rubies and in either of them one emerald, given by the Queen's grace shortly after her marriage'. Katherine married Henry VIII in July 1543. 

She also owned girdles, which were secured around the waist, and habiliments, strips of jewels (often including pearls) which decorated the border of a headdress or neckline. Among some of the more unusual jewels owned by Mary included agate, crystal, coral and lapiz lazuli. One in particular, a string of lapiz lazuli beads trimmed with gold must have been especially eye-catching and colourful. 

The inventories end in July 1546, the year Mary turned thirty, and five months before the death of her father. Although I'm not aware that any other inventories of Mary's jewels survive for her later years, this one is fascinating as it demonstrates that Mary did in fact love jewels - something that was also remarked on later by an ambassador when she was queen - and was not the dowdy, frumpy princess of Tudor history. 

Like this? You might also like Mary I and Philip of Spain Visit Reading, Philip of Spain Arrives at Southampton in 1554 and Tudor Wedding Dresses. 

Interested in Tudor history? You might also like my second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, which explores the contributions couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII as well as Mary I and Philip of Spain are explored in their own dedicated chapters. Order your copy here. 

Source: Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, Daughter of King Henry the Eighth and Afterwards Queen Mary. Frederick Madden. William Pickering, London. 1831.