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.Raynes said he had been sent by Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, which made Mary very suspicious.Why should Throckmorton help her? Was the news true? Or was this another bait with which to trap her? It might be that Northumberland was provoking her to declare herself queen while her brother still lived, in which case she would be guilty of high treason.It would be better to keep the news to herself and continue on her way, hoping for confirmation from another source.At Norwich, the people shut their gates against her, and she was warned that Lord Robert Dudley and his men were closing in on her.Disguising herself as a serving maid, she rode pillion behind a man left by John Huddlestone to guide her until she was well on the way to Kenninghall.Soon she was intercepted, not by Robert Dudley, but by a courier sent by Scheyfve, who confirmed the report of her brother's death and warned her that she could not hope to prevail against Northumberland; nor could she escape from England because the way was barred by the ships stationed off the eastern coast.The Duke had sent men after her, and it would be wiser to negotiate terms while there was still time.Mary answered that she would respond to Scheyfve's message when she had had time to think about it.She arrived at Kenninghall on Sunday, 9 July, having been joined by about thirty loyal gentlemen on the way.During Henry VIII's reign, the Duke of Norfolk had built himself a magnificent brick manor house beyond the moat of the ancient castle.When the Duke was attainted in 1547, Kenninghall passed to the Crown, and presently to Mary.The spacious accommodation included a great chamber, hung with fourteen tapestries depicting the labours of Hercules, a long gallery boasting twenty-eight portraits of'divers noble persons', an armoury well-stocked with weapons, and a chapel made resplendent with six tapestries, each nine yards square, illustrating the story of Christ's passion.No sooner had she arrived than Mary received news via Dr Thomas Hughes that confirmed the report from Scheyfve.Knowing that there was no longer any doubt that King Edward had died, Mary took counsel with her chief officers and then summoned every member of her household into the great chamber and proclaimed herself the rightful Queen of England 'by divine and human law'.Her servants responded with heartfelt cheers, but Mary knew that there were almost insurmountable obstacles to be overcome before she was queen in deed as well as tide.First of all, she must inform Northumberland of her intentions, and to this end she dispatched her man Thomas Hungate to the Council with a letter bearing the unmistakable tone of royal command:My lords, we greet you well, and have received sure advertisement that our dearest brother the King is departed to God, which news, how they be woeful unto our heart, He wholly knoweth to whose will and pleasure we must and do humbly submit us and our will.But in this lamentable case, that is to wit now after his death, concerning the crown and governance of this realm of England, what has been provided by Act of Parliament and the last will of our dear father, the realm and all the world knoweth, and we verily trust that there is no good true subject that can or will pretend to be ignorant thereof.And of our part, as God shall aid and strengthen us, we have ourselves caused, and shall cause, our right and tide in this behalf to be published and proclaimed accordingly.And albeit this matter being so weighty, the manner seemeth strange that, our brother dying upon Thursday at night last past, we hitherto had no knowledge from you thereof.Yet we considered your wisdoms and prudence to be such that, having eftsoon amongst you debated, pondered and well-weighed this present case, we shall and may conceive great hope and trust and much assurance in your loyalty and service, and that you will, like noble men, work the best.Nevertheless, we are not ignorant of your consultations and provisions forcible, there with you assembled and prepared, by whom, and to what end, God and you know, and Nature can but fear some evil.But be it that some consideration politic hath hastily moved you thereto, yet doubt you not, my lords, we take all these your doings in gracious part, being also right ready to remit and fully pardon the same freely, to eschew bloodshed and vengeance.Trusting also assuredly you will take and accept this grace and virtue in such good part as appeareth, and that we shall [not] be enforced to use the service of other our true subjects and friends, which in this, our just and rightful cause, God, in whom our whole affiance is, shall send us.Wherefore, my lords, we require and charge you, for that allegiance which you owe to God and us, that, for your honour and the surety of your persons, you employ yourselves and forthwith, upon receipt hereof, cause our right and tide to the crown and government of this realm to be proclaimed in our city of London and such other places as to your wisdoms shall seem good, not failing hereof, as our very trust is in you.And this letter signed with our hand shall be your sufficient warrant.Given under our sign[et] at our manor of Kenninghall, the 9 July 1553, Mary.Copies of this letter were sent to cities and towns throughout the kingdom, and to many men in public office.Bearing in mind the Emperor's advice to dissemble, Mary then made it known that she would maintain the religion of England as established by her brother and make no drastic changes.This was a popular move and encouraged several local gentlemen with their tenantry to join her at Kenninghall.At the same time, Mary sent out letters to towns as far away as Chester and messengers throughout East Anglia 'to draw all the gentlemen of the surrounding countryside to do fealty to their sovereign', and was astounded at the speed with which they responded to her summons; it was almost as if they had been waiting for it.The first to arrive was Sir Henry Bedingfield of Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, whose father had been Katherine of Aragon's gaoler in the 1530's; then came the wealthy Sir Richard Southwell, who brought with him men, arms, money and provisions, and after him John Bourchier, Earl of Bath (whose kinswoman, Lady Bryan, had been Elizabeth's governess) and Henry Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, each with men of their affinity.Meanwhile, at Paul's Cross in London on that Sunday, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, acting on Northumberland's orders, preached a sermon in which he branded both Mary and Elizabeth as bastards, at which 'the people murmured sore' and shouted so loudly in derision that Ridley had difficulty in making himself heard.The Lady Mary, he cried, was a papist who would be swayed by foreign influence, but the crowd would not listen.Elsewhere, Bishop Latimer thundered from the pulpit that it would be better if both princesses were taken by God than that they should endanger the true religion by marrying foreign princes.At this stage, the councillors appeared united behind Northumberland even if some of their number - among them Northampton, Arundel, Huntingdon and Pembroke - had qualms about the legality of his plans.Knowing that Mary was still very much at large, Northumberland stressed the urgency of having Jane proclaimed queen without further delay.Since the councillors 'were as afraid of Northumberland as mice of a cat', they concurred in this, having been suborned 'by terror and promises' [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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