Survival under Mary I
The reign of Mary I
Henry VIII’s Reformation had made the monarch the spiritual as well as secular head of the realm, with Protestantism coming in under Edward VI. Mary reversed all of this when she came to power in 1553. She restored Roman Catholicism as the state religion and the Pope as the head of the church. Mary always put principles first and enforced a campaign of harsh persecution for those who would not conform. During her reign some 300 people were burned at the stake and another 100 died in prison for being 'heretics', earning her the name of 'Bloody Mary'.
Mary's initial popularity faded quickly – from resentment, fear about the religious changes she was bringing in and hostility towards her intended marriage to her cousin, Prince Philip of Spain, soon to become Philip II.
There were deep divisions in her council on the matter: many had no desire for England to become a subordinate of Spain and preferred Mary to marry an Englishman. Mary finally got her council to agree but had not counted on the strength of popular feeling against the union.
Wyatt's revolt
Opposition to Mary's forthcoming marriage culminated in Wyatt's Revolt of 1554. Led by Sir Thomas Wyatt, the aim of the rebellion was to depose Mary, marry Elizabeth to Edward Courtenay, an English descendant of the House of York, and place them both on the throne. The uprising was crushed, Wyatt was executed and for the second time in her life, Elizabeth was suspected of treason.
Mary and Elizabeth were not close – the half-sisters were separated by age and religion, and Mary had always resented Elizabeth as the daughter of the woman who replaced her mother. As Mary's Protestant heir, Elizabeth was the natural focus for those discontented with Mary and it took little convincing for her to believe that Elizabeth was involved in plots against her.
Although there was no hard evidence to link Elizabeth with the Wyatt conspiracy, Mary believed that she was involved and hoped that Elizabeth would confess under interrogation.
Elizabeth wrote to her half-sister pleading for an audience with her, while two of Mary's councillors waited to escort her by barge from Whitehall Palace to the Tower. She begged Mary not to condemn her unheard and reminded her 'that a king’s word was more than another man’s oath’. She refuted the evidence against her and strongly proclaimed her innocence.
Let me not be sent to the Tower, a place more wonted for a false traitor than a true subject. I protest before God, who shall judge my truth whatsoever malice shall devise, that I never practised, concealed, nor consented to anything that might be prejudicial to your person any way, or dangerous to the state by any mean.
With the threat of execution hanging over her, Elizabeth was writing for her life. She filled the remainder of the second page of her letter with diagonal lines to prevent anyone inserting forged material and added a postscript: 'I humbly crave but one word of answer from yourself.'
Survival
Mary was not moved and refused to see Elizabeth. She was taken to the Tower the next day and imprisoned there for two months. Elizabeth did not crack under interrogation and continued to protest her innocence. Without enough hard evidence to put her on trial, she was eventually released and placed under house arrest at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and kept under close supervision.
Mary's popularity continued to plummet as the persecution of Protestants continued and England became a pawn in Spain's war with France. This led in 1557 to the loss of Calais, England's last remaining possession in France and her only overseas territory. Mary desperately wanted a child to secure England's future as a Catholic nation but, after a number of false pregnancies, realised she was to die childless. Without ever mentioning Elizabeth by name, Mary reluctantly consented to the next successor according to the terms of Henry VIII's will. Mary died on 17 November 1558 and Elizabeth, third in line to the throne after her father's death, became Queen. It was an extraordinarily smooth succession, particularly in light of Elizabeth's difficult apprenticeship.
Elizabeth had to work hard to survive until the time of her accession, learning many important lessons along the way about politics and diplomacy. She had survived being investigated for treason twice, had been placed under house arrest and had learnt the power of emotion and manipulation.
From her father she had a model of how to rule above factions and parties and, from the reigns of her brother and sister, examples of the divisions and problems caused when ruled by them. She had also learnt from Mary that popularity and public opinion were very important, that her choice of husband would be a very thorny issue and that whoever was named as her successor could easily become a focus of opposition. These formative experiences and lessons were profound influences on the young Elizabeth and would colour her own behaviour when Queen.