"The BLOODY royal wedding!" A phrase I hear quite often from my British friends and colleagues! But, what do you know about the ACTUAL bloody wedding...that is, the wedding of Mary I ("Bloody Mary") to Philip of Spain? Despite dying childless and being buried alone alongside her sister Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey, she was married. Almost immediately after her coronation in July 1553 parliament began looking for a suitable husband for the new queen (not because they cared to make a fine match for her, but because they wanted her to give birth to an heir, preferably male!).
They decided on Prince Philip of Spain and in March 1554, Mary acted in a proxy betrothal, with the Count of Egmont standing in for Prince Philip. He eventually set sail for England on July 12, arriving at the Isle of Wight a week later. On July 23, he arrived at Winchester where he would meet his bride for the first time. It is not known exactly what language they used to converse (quite possibly Latin), but Philip and Mary talked into the evening and by all appearances seemed to be getting along well.
The marriage took place two days after their meeting, on July 25th, the day of St. James- patron saint of Spain. After the wedding, they were proclaimed:
Philip and Mary, by the grace of God, King and Queen of England, France and Naples, Jerusalem and Ireland, defenders of the faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and the Tyrol.
You can visit Winchester Cathedral, the biggest difference between it's structure now and on the day of Mary's wedding to Philip being the destruction of shrines and icons, which were destroyed on her father King Henry VIII's orders. It is not clear how many had been repaired/restored between his death and her wedding day.
The west (main) entrance of the cathedral
Ceiling of the great nave
Chantry chapels were one of the few more "Catholic" elements to survive the reformation. Dedicated for (and containing the remains of!) the bishops who were integral in the building of the New Minster (what is now the cathedral), they literally hold up the building, and would have be appeared just as they do today at Mary's wedding.
The great screen behind the altar, where the ceremony took place.
A lovely walk along the south side of the cathedral, which leads to Winchester College, which leads to the Cathedral Close. Just off from here is the house where Jane Austen lived her final days and died, next door to Winchester College, the oldest continuously running boys school in England.
Sources: TudorHistory.org
Photos: author's collection
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