Stability of the monarchy Flashcards
Problem of Edwards age
- Third revision of the succession acts put him on the throne
- The regency council could not work if they were all equal
- Henry III - 9 - civil war broke out when he came of age
- Richard III - 10 - diposed bc of his rule after he came of age
- Henry VI - 8m - wars of the roses
- Edward V - 12 - probably murderd
Concerns:
- unable to lead troops in battle
- may look weak to other states
- there had just been civil war
- image concerns
Issues of a female monarch
- The last time England was ruled by a female monarch, there was civil war
- it was thought a woman couldn’t control the faction/ lead an army
If she married (as she was expected to) her husband would have more power so who should she marry? and English man who’s family would dominate the court or a foreigner and England would be controlled by foreign influences
Mary’s marriage candidates
- Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, backed by Gardener
> Royal blood - Philip of spain, backed by Paget
> stronger
> Mary could get dragged into spain’s wars
Marys marriage treaty
she presented it to the council 27th October 1553 and accepted 7th Jan 1554
- it said that Phillip would have to uphold English laws, customs, privileges
- Mary would retain a certain amount of control
- England couldn’t be forced into Spain’s wars but Spain had to protect England from France
Devise and succession: why it changed 1553
Edward falls ill** early 1553**. Mary is set to be the next monarch but a plot was developed to change this by
Northumberland as the driving force:
he wanted to:
- preserve his power
- keep Catholics off the throne
- His son married Lady Jane Grey who became the heir
Edward as the driving force:
- he had a greater role in the privy council and setting agendas
- he was a committed protestant
- He had started religious reform and wanted them to continue
- The plot was poorly managed
Devise 1553
- May 1553
- Named the male heir of Lady Jane Grey as successor (of which she had none)
- the devise was changed to name Lady Jane grey as successor
How Mary took the throne
- Mary was not captured, their were not sufficient forces to keep control and no propaganda campaign had been prepared
- Mary responded quickly to Edwards death writing letters to the Privy council and important towns proclaiming herself as queen, behaving as if she considered herself the rightful and legitimate monarch
(it was in the ruling classes interest to support the legitimate claim because supporting the wrong claim could lead to question over their right to land)
Succession 1558
- No attempt to alter succession by Mary, she only tried to persuade Elizabeth to maintain Catholicism
- Suggests legitimacy and Henry’s third succession act are more important than religious belief
Impact of faction 1549-53
- the factional struggle seemed to end with the triumph of somerset and the ‘reformist’ faction over the ‘catholic’ faction
- their were concerns among the elite around rebels and the personal nature of somersets government leading to an anti-somerset faction
Somerset loss of power
- Somerset 1949 gave the anti somerset faction chance to act
- power declined when he took Edward to Hampton court and then Windsor castle on 5th and 6th OCT
- Edward fell ill, claimed he was a prisoner, and stated that somerset was threatening riots if he was removed from power
- Somerset couldn’t denounce the king and was removed from power within the week
- Somerset was released from jail, goods and position in the Privy council restored, daughter married to Warwick’s son
- He continued to plot to get his power back and was executed 22nd January 1552. evidence for justification may have been fabricated.
Warwick’s increase in power
- He was not trusted by the mostly religiously conservative council.
- He brought in his own allies so their was a protestant majority but in early December their were rumours of a catholic plot to remove him
- He declared that any who attacked him were attacking somerset and by Jan 1550 leading catholic earls Arundel and Southampton had been dismissed and Warwick was lord protector
- He put his own supporters in positions around Edward but had had to ally with more religiously radical people.
Faction under Mary
- One concern of a female ruler was that she wouldn’t be able to control faction.
- there were fears that her marriage to Phillip would cause strife among English courtiers
Division within the Privy council
Mary brought in a lot of supporters who helped get her the throne and experienced administrators.
- some argue that because of this the council was ineffective (because it was so big/divided)
HOWEVER
- it was rare for everyone to attend meetings (average meeting size was the same as under Northumberland)
- 1554 committees were established excluding ‘casual councillors’
- 1555 an inner council was established
- Phillips departure (1555) and Gardeners death (Nov 1555) allowed Paget to dominate and establish conciliar government
Clashes of Gardener and Paget in the privy council
- Marriage
- revival of heresy laws (rejected by parliament Apr 1554 until guarantees that monastic land would not be returned to the church)
- They were largely able to put their differences aside
Impact of Pole in the privy council
- their is an argument that Pole changed the nature of politics because Mary was aware of the divisions in the council so didn’t trust them and instead differed to him and the Spanish ambassador Renard
- BUT debate in the council were usually constructive and factions could be used against each other (point against Mary not trusting the council)
