ELIZABETH
AND
MARY
Cousins, Rivals, Queens
JANE DUNN
DEDICATION
In memory of a much loved father
DAVID ROLF THESEN
1923–2002
‘out of the strong came forth sweetness’
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Chronology
Preface
1 The Fateful Step
2 The Disappointment of Kings
3 The Education of Princes
4 Apprenticeship for a Queen
5 Wilfulness and God’s Will
6 Complicity and Competition
7 Raison de Coeur: Raison d’État
8 Seeking a Future King
9 Outrageous Fortune
10 Double Jeopardy
11 Singular Foes
12 The Consequence of the Offence
Select Bibliography
Index
P.S.
About the Author
About the Book
Read On
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Author’s Note
Notes
By the Same Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
CHRONOLOGY
1457
28 JAN
Henry VII born
1485
15 DEC
Catherine of Aragon born
1486
19 SEPT
Arthur, Prince of Wales, born
1489
29 NOV
Margaret Tudor born (grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots)
1491
28 JUNE
Henry VIII born
1501
14 NOV
Catherine of Aragon marries Arthur, Prince of Wales
1501
Possible year of Anne Boleyn’s birth
1502
2 APRIL
Arthur, Prince of Wales, dies (aged 15)
1509
22 APRIL
Henry VII dies (aged 52); Henry VIII ascends t the throne (aged 17)
11 JUNE
Catherine of Aragon marries Henry VIII
1512
10 APRIL
James V of Scotland born
1515
20 NOV
Mary of Guise born
1516
18 FEB
Mary I born
1520
13 SEPT
William Cecil, Lord Burghley, born
1532
1 SEPT
Anne Boleyn becomes Countess of Pembroke
1533
25 JAN
Anne Boleyn marries Henry VIII
23 MAY
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, pronounces marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII invalid
28 MAY
Cranmer pronounces Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn married
1 JUNE
Anne Boleyn crowned
11 JULY
Henry VIII excommunicated
7 SEPT
Elizabeth I born; possible date of birth of Robert Dudley
10 SEPT
Elizabeth baptized at Greenwich
1534
20 APR
Elizabeth Barton, ‘Maid of Kent’, executed
1535
22 JUNE
Bishop John Fisher executed
6 JULY
Sir Thomas More executed
1536
7 JAN
Catherine of Aragon dies (aged 50)
29 JAN
Anne Boleyn miscarries a son
17 MAY
George Boleyn, Anne’s brother, executed
19 MAY
Anne Boleyn executed (Elizabeth aged 2 years 8 months)
20 MAY
Henry VIII betrothed to Jane Seymour
30 MAY
Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour
1 JULY
Mary Tudor and Elizabeth declared illegitimate
1537
5 JULY
Queen Madeleine, wife of James V of Scotland, dies
12 OCT
Edward VI born
24 OCT
Jane Seymour dies (aged 28)
1538
9 MAY
James V of Scotland marries Mary of Guise
1540
22 MAY
James, Prince of Scotland, born
28 JULY
Thomas Cromwell executed
1541
APR
Robert, Duke of Albany, James V and Mary of Guise’s second son, born
29 APR-MAY
Both Scottish princes, Robert and James, die within days of each other
1542
24 NOV
Scottish forces routed by English at Solway Moss
8 DEC
Mary Queen of Scots born
13 DEC
James V dies (aged 30) and Mary becomes Queen of Scotland (aged 5 days)
1543
JUNE
Mary Tudor and Elizabeth reinstated in the succession
JULY
Treaties of Greenwich; allowing for marriage of Mary to Prince Edward, Henry VIII’s heir
12 JULY
Catherine Parr marries Henry VIII
9 SEPT
Mary Queen of Scots crowned at Stirling Castle
1544
19 JAN
Francois II of France born
14 SEPT
Henry VIII’s forces capture Boulogne
1545
7 DEC
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, born
1547
28 JAN
Henry VIII dies (aged 55); Edward VI ascends to throne (aged 9)
20 FEB
Edward VI crowned, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector
3 MAR
Francois I dies (aged 52); Henri II succeeds to French throne; Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr betrothed
10 SEPT
English rout of the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh
1548
7 JULY
Marriage contract between Mary Queen of Scots and the Dauphin Francois
29 JULY
Mary Queen of Scots sails to France
5 SEPT
Catherine Parr dies (aged 36)
1549
16 JAN
Arrest ordered of Sir Thomas Seymour, Lord Sudeley
20 MAR
Sir Thomas Seymour executed
1550
Mary of Guise visits her daughter Mary Queen of Scots
4 JUNE
Lord Robert Dudley marries Amy Robsart
1551
2 MAY
William Camden born (died 1623)
1552
22 JAN
Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, executed; John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, new Protector
1553
21 MAY
Lady Jane Grey marries Guildford Dudley
6 JULY
Edward VI dies (aged 15), succeeded by Mary I
10 JULY
Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen of England
20 JULY
Mary Tudor proclaimed Queen of England
3 AUG
Mary I and Elizabeth enter London
21 AUG
John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland, beheaded
30 OCT
Mary I crowned
1554
FEB
Wyatt Rebellion
12 FEB
Lady Jane Grey executed (aged 16)
18 MAR
Elizabeth in Tower
11 APR
Sir Thomas Wyatt executed
19
MAY
Elizabeth released from Tower and goes to Woodstock
25 JULY
Mary I marries Philip II of Spain
16 OCT
Bishops Ridley and Latimer burnt at stake at Oxford
30 NOV
Philip Sidney born
1555
18 OCT
Elizabeth goes to Hatfield
25 OCT
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V hands on his imperial position to brother Ferdinand, and sovereignty of the Low Countries to son Philip II
1556
21 MAR
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer burnt at stake
1557
7 JULY
Mary I declares war on France to support Philip II
1558
5 JAN
Calais lost to the French
24 APR
Mary Queen of Scots marries Francois, Dauphin of France
21 SEPT
Charles V dies
17 NOV
Mary I dies (aged 42); Elizabeth I succeeds to the throne
Henri II declares Mary Queen of Scots Queen of England and Ireland
1559
15 JAN
Elizabeth I crowned Queen of England and Ireland
2 APRIL
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis between England and France
2 MAY
John Knox returns to Scotland
8 MAY
Elizabeth’s Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity passed, implementing the Elizabethan religious settlement
10 MAY
Scottish Lords of Congregation rebel against Mary of Guise’s regency
20 JUNE
Henri II seriously injured in jousting tournament
22 JUNE
Elizabeth’s prayer book issued
10 JULY
Henri II dies; Francois II becomes King of France and Mary his queen,
18 SEPT
Francois II crowned; he and Mary claim they are King and Queen of England and Ireland too
21 OCT
Mary of Guise deposed for allowing French to fortify Leith
18 DEC
Elizabeth sends aid to Scottish rebel lords
1560
27 FEB
Treaty of Berwick
MAR
Tumult of Amboise, failed coup d’état against Guise domination and French persecution of Protestants
11 JUN
Mary of Guise dies (aged 44)
6 JUL
Treaty of Edinburgh between Scotland and England, Mary’s claims on English throne nullified, but Mary refuses to sign treaty
11 AUG
Scottish Parliament establishes the reformed Protestant religion in Scotland
8 SEPT
Lady Dudley (Amy Robsart), Lord Robert’s wife, found dead
5 DEC
Francis Bacon born
1561
22 JAN
Francois II dies (aged 15) Mary becomes dowager queen of France; Charles IX King of France, Catherine de Medici as regent
14 AUG
Mary leaves France
19 AUG
Mary Queen of Scots returns to Scotland (aged 18)
1562
1 MAR
Massacre of Protestants at Vassy, instigated by Duc de Guise, beginning of French wars of religion
26 MAY
OCT
Elizabeth seriously ill with smallpox
28 OCT
Mary victorious over Earl of Huntly and his men at Corrichie
1563
22 FEB
Pierre de Chastelard executed
24 FEB
François, Duc de Guise, assassinated (aged 44)
JUNE
Mary’s first Parliament
27 JUL
Havre surrendered to French
1564
6 FEB
Christopher Marlowe born
23 APRIL
Reputed birthday of William Shakespeare
25 JULY
Maximilian I succeeds as Holy Roman
Emperor, as King of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary on death of Ferdinand I. Rest of Hapsburg dominions to Archduke Charles
29 SEPT
Lord Robert Dudley created Earl of Leicester
1565
29 JULY
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, enters Scotland
FEB
Mary Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (she is 22, he 19)
AUG-OCT
The Chaseabout Raid when Mary suppresses Moray’s rebellion
1566
1 JAN
Mary’s pregnancy announced
9 MAR
David Rizzio murdered
19 JUN
James, Mary’s son, born (James VI and I 1566–1625)
NOV
Mary at Craigmillar Castle where she discusses the Darnley problem
10 NOV
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, born
17 DEC
Prince James of Scotland baptized at Stirling Castle
1567
10 FEB
Darnley murdered at Kirk o’ Field, just outside Edinburgh (aged 21)
19 APRIL
Ainslie Bond signed by Scottish nobles accepting Bothwell’s suit of Mary
24 APR
Mary ‘abducted’ by James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell
7 MAY
Lord and Lady Bothwell granted a divorce
15 MAY
Mary marries Bothwell as her third husband
15 JUNE
Mary surrenders to Confederate Lords at Carberry; Bothwell escapes
17 JUNE
Mary imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle
24 JULY
Mary forced to abdicate, James is declared King of Scotland (aged 13 months)
29 JULY
James VI crowned at Stirling, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, becomes regent
1568
17 JAN
Lady Catherine Grey (Lady Catherine Seymour), Countess of Hertford, dies (aged 29)
2 MAY
Mary escapes from Loch Leven
13 MAY
Mary and supporters defeated at Langside
18 MAY
Mary lands in Cumbria and conducted to Sheffield Castle
23 MAY
Prince William of Orange defeats Spanish at the start of revolt in Low Countries
15 JULY
Mary moved to Bolton Castle
OCT
York conference to investigate Mary’s part in Darnley’s murder
25 NOV
Enquiry moves to Westminster
1569
26 JAN
Mary moved into custody of Earl of Shrewsbury at Tutbury Castle
APRIL
Elizabeth decides Mary must be returned to Scotland
JULY
Moray declines to have Mary back
10 OCT
Duke of Norfolk arrested
14 NOV
Northern earls take possession of Durham Cathedral in Northern Rebellion
22 NOV
Mary moved south to Coventry
16 DEC
Northern earls flee to Scotland
1570
21 JAN
James Stewart, Earl of Moray and regent, assassinated