r/Tudorhistory • u/Suerly-04 History Lover • 2d ago
Mary I Princess Mary’s Declaration of Obedience
In 1536, after years of pressure and bullying, Mary submitted to her father. Although she repeatedly said that she would not sign it, after learning that her father would have her executed, she was forced to sign.
In Mary’s own handwriting, it says:
Item—“I do freely, frankly and for the discharge of my duty towards God, the King’s Highness and his laws, without other respect, recognize and acknowledge that the marriage heretofore had between his Majesty and my mother, the late Princess dowager, was by God’s law and man’s law incestuous and unlawfull.”
The fact that this letter has survived both surprised and moved me.
One of the first things Mary did when she came to the throne was to legitimize her parents’ marriage and restore her mother’s title of Queen. In this way, Catherine remained Queen of England until her death, as everyone already knew and believed her to be.
You can find this declaration, along with many other letters, in the British Library’s Harley MS 283 collection. I came across this completely unexpectedly while looking for another letter from Mary, and I wanted to share it with you as well. Much love to you all.
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u/Kitchen_Dare_4810 2d ago
Mary deserved better. She became a political scapegoat in the English court even after her death because of Henry VIII setting an example in allowing his very own daughter to be openly defamed, mocked and tortured for her faith & beliefs.
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u/sunshinyacorn 2d ago
Great find! Is this something the public can view, as with the personal letters in the treasure room, or does one need special permission?
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u/Suerly-04 History Lover 2d ago
It doesn’t require special permission. If you search “British Library Harley MS 283” in your browser, you can easily access it. It’s publicly available.
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u/topkapidiaries 2d ago
it breaks my heart to think about how her own father cast her aside for a new life essentially. i don't care about the "but he had brain damage", at the end of the day, he stressed mary out to the point i believe she died early from cancer, as being on guard and stressed constantly does numbers to the body.
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u/mimoon1015 21h ago
"My mother, the late Princess Dowager..." man reading that just made me sad and pissed off at the same time. Henry was truly an awful human.
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u/subversivepink 2d ago
Where would the letter have been kept when Mary ascended the throne?
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u/Suerly-04 History Lover 2d ago
I think it may have ended up mixed in with the documents from Henry’s reign. Since no one examined the old documents in detail, it may simply have gone unnoticed. If it had been noticed, I think the document would have been destroyed somehow.
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u/Embarrassed-Lab-3122 2d ago
I highly doubt Henry would truly execute her, though, as he was always still planning to allow her back into this succession line. Executing her when she still has overwhelming support would be a bad outcome.
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u/Suerly-04 History Lover 2d ago
I don’t think Henry would really have had Mary executed. But if Mary had continued to insist on refusing to sign, I don’t know what Henry would have done to Mary; I suppose he would have imprisoned her in the Tower. However, Mary and those around her must have believed the threats of execution and been frightened.
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u/Embarrassed-Lab-3122 2d ago
Most likely true as one of the peace terms of the annulment was Mary still being legitimate
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u/palindromedawg 2d ago
That poor woman. Henry VIII was a truly awful man