Children Of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII 1547-1558 by Weir Alison

Author:Weir, Alison [Weir, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2011-04-17T23:00:00+00:00

Mary was delighted and moved to see them. After greetings were exchanged, the conversation was mainly about Henry Dudley’s arrest at Calais with incriminating evidence. Later, however, the Queen sent for one of the ambassadors to visit her in her private oratory to discuss more confidential matters, ‘entering by the the back door to avoid suspicion’. Renard was the chosen one. Mary warmed at once to this charming but ambitious lawyer, who had such a wealth of diplomatic experience behind him and appeared so wise and perspicacious. An ambitious, volatile man with a large ego, he quickly gained the Queen’s confidence, and she – who trusted none of her councillors – found herself wanting to confide in such a sympathetic and well-informed listener. All her life she had relied upon the Emperor’s counsels, and the likeable Renard would provide a direct link between herself and her beloved mother’s country. It was, of course, most unusual for an English sovereign to ask for confidential advice from a foreigner, and would have greatly displeased her advisers had they known about it, but Mary had no faith in the counsel of heretics and turncoats.

Renard, however, was feeling somewhat embarrassed, since he and his fellow envoys had done virtually nothing to support Mary’s cause until they had been convinced of the success of it. He therefore made scant reference to the momentous events of the preceding month and began by passing on the Emperor’s advice to go carefully in the first weeks of her reign and marry as soon as possible. Mary expressed warm gratitude to her cousin for his sage advice, confessing that, although as a private individual she had no desire to marry, she recognised that it was her responsibiltity to do so.

‘After God,’ she declared, ‘I desire to obey no one but the Emperor, whom I have always looked upon as a father. I am determined to follow His Majesty’s advice and choose whomsoever he might recommend.’ She hoped the Emperor would remember that she was now thirty-seven and would not wish to marry a man she had never met.

As for religion, however, she must declare herself a Christian and carry out her duty to lead her people back into the fold of the true Church. Renard had been observing her closely as she spoke, and noticed her eyes lighting constantly upon the Sacrament which stood on the altar. There was no doubt of her passionate sincerity.

‘I am determined to have a mass celebrated for my brother, to discharge my own conscience and out of respect for the will of the late King Henry, my father,’ Mary went on. ‘I wish to force no one to go to mass, but mean to see that those who wish to go should be free to do so.’ Renard warned her that she would alienate the people by having her brother buried with Roman rites, but she ‘felt so strongly on the matter of religion that she was hardly to be moved’. Renard suggested

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