Account of the Marriage of Queen Mary and King Philip
Account of the Marriage of Queen Mary and King Philip is in Tudor Letters.
Printed at the end of Leland's Collectanea, edit. 1774, vol. ii. "Copied out of a book of presidents collected by Ralph Brooke, York herauld, now remaining with sir Edward Dering; examined this 28th of Feb. 1634, by us, William Le Neve, Norroy, and Edward Whitley."
First, the said church was richly hanged with arras and cloth of gold, and in the midst of the church, from the west door unto the rood, was a scaffold erected of timber, at the end whereof was raised a mount, covered all with red say, and underneath the roode-loft were erected two traverses, one for the queen on the right hand, and the other for the prince on the left, which places served very well for the purpose. The quire was allso richly hanged with cloth of gold, and on each side of the altar were other two rich traverses as aforesaid, for the queenes majestie and prince.
The queen made her entry into the city of Winchester very richly in apparell, on saturday the 21st of July, and was lodged in the bishop's palace, and prince Philip made his entry into the said city on munday after, being the 23d of July; at whose entry the mayor delivered him the keys of the city, which he received, and delivered them back again, being lodged at the dean's house.
On wensday the 25th of July, being St. James's day, the prince, richly apparelled in cloth of gold, embroidered1, with a great company of the nobles of Spayne, in such sort as the like hath not been seen, proceded to the church, and entered in at the west door, and passed to his traverse, all the way on foot; and to the church he had no sword borne before him.
Note 1. "His breeches and doublet were white, the collar of the doublet exceeding rich, and over all a mantle of rich cloth of gold, a present from the queen, who wore one of the same; this robe was ornamented with pearls and precious stones; and wearing the collar of the Garter." Louvaine narrative. -- In Simon Renard's letter to the emperor, on the14th June, he reported, that "The quene has had a collar (of the Garter) made, which cost seven or eight thousand crowns, besides several rich dresses for his highnesg; but, except this, I see no great preparation by the nobility, or by the people, for his reception." Tytler, ii. 416.
Then came the queenes majesty, accompanied with a great number of the nobility of the realm, the sword being borne before her by the earl of Derby, and a great company of ladyes and gentlewomen very richly apparelled; her majesty's train was borne up by the marquesse of Winchester1, assisted by sir John Gage her lord chamberlayne; and so she pro ceeded to the church; the kinges and herauldes of arms in their coates going before her from her lodgiDg on foot to the church, where entering at the west door she passed on till she came to her traverse. Then the bishop of Winchester, lord chancellor of England, which did the divine service, assisted by the bishopes of London, Duresme, Chichester, Lyncoln, and Ely, all with their crosiers borne before them, came out of the quier to the mount.
Note 1. ie the lady marquess, or marchioness.
Then came the regent Figirola, whose name was (blank), and presented to the prince a solemn oration with a patent sent from the emperor to the prince, of the surrender of the kingdom of Naples, freely given to him and his heirs, as by the said patent was declared; which patent was fair sealed and inclosed in a cover of silver gilt. This done, the lord chamberlayn1 made a goodly oration to the people, which was in effect as followeth: Whereas the emperor, by his embassadors here in England, hath concluded and contracted a marriage between the queen's majesty and his chief jewell and son and heir Philip prince of Spain, here present, the articles whereof are not unknowen to tbe whole realme, and confirmed by act of parliament, so that there needeth no further rehearsall of that matter, &c. and so like wise declared that the queenes highness had sent the earl of Bedford and the lord Fitzwater embassadores unto the realme of Spain, for the performing of the said contract, which they have here brought, with the consent of the whole realme of Spayne, for the full conclusion of the same, as may appear by this instrument in parchment, sealed with a great seal, containing by estimation 12 leaves.
Note 1. This should be lord chancellor: see before, p.141.
Then the lord chamberlayn1 delivered openly for the solemnification of their highness' marriage, how that the emperor had given unto his son the kingdom of Naples. So that it was thought the queen's majesty should marry but with a prince, now it was manifested that she should marry with a king; and so proceeded to the espousals; and with a loud voice said that, if there be any man that knoweth any lawful impediment between these two parties, that they should not go together according to the contract concluded between both realmes, that then they should come forth, and they should be heard; or else to proceed to celebration of the said marriage, which was pronounced in English and Latin; and when it came to the gift of the queen it was asked who should give her. Then the marquess of Winchester, the earles of Derby, Bedford, and Pembroke, gave her highness, in the name of the whole realm.
Note 1. The lord chancellor.
Then all the people gave a great shout, praying God to send them joy; and, the ring being laid upon the book to be hallowed, the prince laid also upon the said book iij. hand-fulls of fine gold; which the lady Margaret1 seeing, opened the queen's purse, and the queen smilingly put up in the same purse. And when they had inclosed their hands, immediately the sword was advanced before the king, by the earl of Pembroke.
Note 1. This was the lady Margaret Clifford, the queen's only female relative that was now with her. Miss Strickland (who quite misinterprets the present passage, in her Lives of the Queens, vol. v. p. 380,) supposes the purse-bearer to have been the lady Margaret Douglas; but that lady was now Countess of Lennox. See the dates before given in p. 84
This done, the trumpetes sounded; and thus both returned hand in hand, the sword being borne before them, to their traverses in the quier, the queen going always on the right hand, and there remained until mass was done; at which time wine and sops were hallowed, and gave unto them; and immediately after, Garter king of arms, with the other kinges and herauldes, published and proclaimed their titles in Latin, French, and English; and so they returned to the bishop's palace both under one canopy, born by vij. knightes, the queen on the right hand, and their swordes borne before them; and so proceeded to the hall, where they both dined under one cloth of estate.
Of the marriage banquet the narrative of Edward Underhill supplies some account1:
"On the maryage daye, the kynge and the quene dyned in the halle in the bushop's palice, sittynge under the clothe of estate, and none eles att that table. The nobillitie satte att the syde tables. Wee2 weare the cheffe sarveters, to cary the meate, and the yearle of Sussex ower capetayne was the shewer (sewer)3. The seconde course att the maryage off a kynge is gevyne unto the bearers; I meane the meate, butt nott the disshes, for they weare off golde. It was my chaunce to cary a greate pastie of a redde dere in a greate charger, very delicately baked; wiche for the weyght theroff dyvers refused; the wiche pastye I sentt vnto London to my wyffe and her brother, who cherede therwith many off ther frends. I wyll not take vppon me to wryte the maner off the maryage, off the feaste, nor off the daunssyngs of the Spanyards thatt daye, who weare greately owte off countenaunce, specyally kynge Phelip dauncesynge, when they dide se me lorde Braye, Mr. Carowe, and others so farre excede them; butt wyll leve it unto the learned, as it behovithe hym to be thatt shalle wryte a story off so greate a tryoumffe."
To the foregoing narrative a list of the Spanish grandees who visited England on this occasion is annexed, but they are evidently much disarranged, and nearly every name is repeated, and some more than once. They may be reduced to some order, as follows, though it would require a Spanish herald to give them their due precedency:
Don Cesar de Gonzaga, eldest son of Don Ferdinando, governor of Milan4.
The duke of Alva, and his wife.
The duke of Medina Celi.
The admiral of Castille, don Antonio de Toledo, ... to the duke of Alva.
The marquis of Pescara.
The marquis de Savia.
The marquis de los Valles.
The marquis d'Aquillara.
The marquis de las Naves.
The conde de Feria.
The conde de Chinchon.
The conde d'Olivares.
The conde de Saldanha.
The conde de Modica.
The conde de Fuensalida.
The conde de Castellar.
The conde Landriano.
The baron of Cuença5.
Don Diego de Mendoça.
The grand commander of the cross of Calatrava.
The major of Valladolid.
The major of Vallefiguiere.
Rui Gomez de Silva, grand chamberlain of the prince.
The count of Egmont.
The count of Hornes.
The marquis of Berghes.
The sieur de Martini.
Note. Don Juan Figueroa, the ambassador who witnessed the marriage contract (see p. 168 ante) is thus noticed in a news-letter of the day: --
"Upon Tewesdaye in Whytsen weke came the byshope of Norwyche to the courte. Upon Wednysday, the day foloynge, came over the ancyent imbassytor, with grey berde ,that was here when the kynge dyed; and, as the breute gothe, he shalbe mershall, and execute mercyall lawes of all strangers that come in." Robert Swyft to the earl of Shrewsbury, 20 May, 1554, Lodge's State Papers, i 193.
Note 1. MS. Harl. 425, f. 97 .
Note 2. ie the gentlemen pensioners.
Note 3."At the banquet, the earl of Arundel presented the ewer, the marquess of Winchester the napkin; none being seated except the king and queen: but, as to the rest of the entertainment, it was more after the English than the Spanish fashion. The dinner lasted till six in the evening, after which there was store of music; and before nine all had already retired." Narrative from the archives of Louvaine, in Tytler, ii. 432.
Note 4. The evening before his landing Philip sent the prince of Gonzaga [misprinted Gavze in Tytler] aml count d'Egmont, to the queen then at Winchester, to inform her of his arrival and good health. Narrative on record at Louvaine.
Note 5. The list at Louvaine says, the bishop of Cuença Tytler, ii, 433.