The Ambition of the Earl of Warwick, Who Named Himself Duke of Northumberland; the Death of King Edward and the Succession of Queen Mary1
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Book 2, chapter 9 The Ambition of the Earl of Warwick, Who Named Himself Duke of Northumberland; The Death of King Edward and the Succession of Queen Mary1 Having preemptively rid himself of his enemy and put an end to the affair (happily, he believed), Dudley conceived hopes of further, greater successes— and of claiming the throne. With the whole government in his hands, as well as the king himself, who was ill with a chronic sickness that was slowly consum- ing him,2 it all seemed within his grasp. And even if it was not, Dudley judged that it could be whenever he pleased, since he had Edward in his power: how easy it would be to snatch away his crown together with his life, as well as those of his sisters and heirs! Now, King Henry had had two sisters: Margaret, the elder, who had married the king of Scotland,3 and Mary, the younger, who had wed King Louis xii of France, and then the duke of Suffolk, by whom she had a daughter, called Frances, who married Henry, marquess of Dorset, who was given the title of duke of Suffolk through Dudley’s favor.4 By this lady the duke had three daughters, who, as daughters of the king’s niece and granddaughters of his sister, appeared to have a very strong claim to the throne—if Henry’s children did not interfere.5 For although they were the granddaughters of the younger sister, and logically the children and heirs of the elder, the queen of Scotland, should have been preferred, Dudley insisted that what was in Scot- land did not matter, only what was here in England. Thus, the dukes of Suffolk and Northumberland met and took counsel together, agreeing that the three daughters of Suffolk and his wife (King Henry’s niece) should marry as follows: the two younger ones with the firstborn sons of the earls of Pembroke and of Huntington (both very wealthy lords), to secure their loyalty and bind them through kinship, and the eldest, named Jane (who would, if the line of Henry 1 Sander, De origine ac progressu, 319–22. 2 In early 1553, Edward fell ill with “a chronic infectious disease in the chest […] almost inca- pable of treatment in the days before antibiotics.” Loach, Edward vi, 162. 3 Margaret Tudor (1489–1541) married James iv, king of Scots (r.1488–1513), in 1502. 4 Frances Brandon married Henry Grey, then marquess of Dorset. Grey became duke of Suffolk on October 11, 1551. Retha M. Warnicke, “Grey [other married name Stokes], Frances [née Lady Frances Brandon], duchess of Suffolk (1517–1559),” in odnb, 23:836–37, here 836. 5 Henry and Frances Grey had three daughters: Jane, Catherine (1540–68), and Mary (c.1545–78). © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi �0.��63/97890043�3964_065 <UN> 360 Book 2, chapter 9 failed, come to the throne), with Dudley’s fourth son, called Guildford, and that once these nuptials were concluded, they would eliminate Henry’s heirs. The marriages between Suffolk’s two daughters and the sons of Pembroke and Dudley took place in London on the same day with enormous pomp and cer- emony; at just that point the king became sick (or sicker) and began slowly wasting away.6 To lose neither time nor opportunity, Dudley summoned Princess Doña Mary (whom alone he feared), so as to have her in London, under a strong guard and in his power.7 Totally unaware, she came at Dudley’s request: as she approached London, she was warned by her servants that the king her brother was nearing the end of his life, and that this summons was not well- intentioned, with some treachery or ambush undoubtedly prepared for her. This was a warning from God, for the pious maiden abandoned the path she had taken, and by a long journey reached a (not very strong) fortress of hers.8 6 At Whitsuntide (late May) 1553, Northumberland helped arrange a series of marriages in- volving his family, the Greys, and other aristocratic clans. Grey’s eldest daughter, Jane, was to marry Lord Guildford Dudley (c.1535–54), Northumberland’s fourth surviving son. The second daughter, Catherine, married Henry Herbert (c.1538–1601), eldest son of William Her- bert, first earl of Pembroke (c.1501–70). Ribadeneyra, following Sander, elides Mary Grey with Northumberland’s daughter, Katherine (c.1538–1620). Mary Grey was betrothed to her cousin Arthur Grey (1536–93), eldest son of William Grey, thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton (c.1508– 62). It was Katherine Dudley who married Henry Hastings (c.1535–95), eldest son of Francis Hastings, second earl of Huntingdon (1514–61). Scholars remain divided as to whether these marriages should be seen as the first stage of the attempt to settle the throne on Jane, or merely a (significantly timed) example of the kinship alliances so common to the aristocra- cies of every nation. Ives, Jane Grey, 152–53. Loades, Reign of Mary Tudor, 15–16. 7 This was certainly the surmise of Jean Scheyfve (c.1515–81), the imperial ambassador, who a month before Edward’s death had written to the emperor, “It is therefore to be feared, Sire, that the Duke may dissemble with the Princess until the King dies or is very near his end, when he may suddenly arrest the more important men among those who might take her side, throw them into the Tower and keep them there under colour of preventing any pos- sibility of disturbances. He may then send a body of horse, secretly and by night, to the Prin- cess, inform her of the King’s death, and summon her to come to London for the Crown. He may urge the advisability of this course for the tranquillity of the realm, and conduct her to the Tower.” csps, vol. 11, p. 49. There is some evidence that this was the case. According to a letter of Cecil’s, Mary was being enticed to Hunsdon, her estate closest to London, by the royal council. Ives, Jane Grey, 173–74. 8 Scheyfve reported on July 4 that Mary “was warned by a friend yesterday that she had bet- ter go further away into the country; and it has been decided that it will be wiser for her to retire to her house of Framlingham in Norfolk, sixty miles from London. She is at present at Hunsdon, twenty miles from London, where it would be much easier to seize her. She has confidence in her friends in Norfolk.” csps, vol. 11, p. 70. <UN>.