Edward VI died on 6 July 1553, aged 15.
[34] His will swept aside the
Succession to the Crown Act 1543, excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from the succession, and instead declared as his heir
Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister
Mary, Duchess of Suffolk.
[35] Lady Jane was proclaimed queen by the Privy Council, but her support quickly crumbled, and she was
deposed after reigning nine days.
[36] Mary rode triumphantly into London, with Elizabeth at her side.
[37]
The show of solidarity between the sisters did not last long. Mary, the country's first undisputed queen regnant,
[38] was determined to crush the Protestant faith in which Elizabeth had been educated, and she ordered that everyone attend
Mass. This included Elizabeth, who had to outwardly conform.
[39] Mary's initial popularity ebbed away when it became known that she planned to marry
Prince Philip of Spain, the son of
Emperor Charles V.
[40] Discontent spread rapidly through the country, and many looked to Elizabeth as a focus for their opposition to Mary's religious policies. In January and February 1554, uprisings broke out (known as
Wyatt's rebellion) in several parts of England and Wales, led by
Thomas Wyatt.
[41]
Upon the collapse of the uprising, Elizabeth was brought to court and interrogated. On 18 March, she was imprisoned in the
Tower of London, where Lady Jane Grey had been executed on 12 February to deter the rebels.
[42] The terrified Elizabeth fervently protested her innocence.
[43] Though it is unlikely that she had plotted with the rebels, some of them were known to have approached her. Mary's closest confidant, Charles V's ambassador
Simon Renard, argued that her throne would never be safe while Elizabeth lived; and the Chancellor,
Stephen Gardiner, worked to have Elizabeth put on trial.
[44] Elizabeth's supporters in the government, including
Lord Paget, convinced Mary to spare her sister in the absence of hard evidence against her. Instead, on 22 May, Elizabeth was moved from the Tower to
Woodstock, where she was to spend almost a year under house arrest in the charge of
Sir Henry Bedingfield. Crowds cheered her all along the way.
[45][46]
The remaining wing of the Old Palace,
Hatfield House. It was here that Elizabeth was told of her sister's death in November 1558.
On 17 April 1555, Elizabeth was recalled to court to be closely attended during the final stages of Mary's apparent pregnancy. If Mary and her child died, Elizabeth would become queen. If, on the other hand, Mary gave birth to a healthy child, Elizabeth's chances of becoming queen would recede sharply.
[45] When it became clear that Mary was not pregnant, no one believed any longer that she could have a child.
[47] Elizabeth's succession seemed assured.
[48] Even Philip, who became King of Spain in 1556, acknowledged the new political reality. From this time forward, he cultivated Elizabeth, preferring her to the likely alternative,
Mary, Queen of Scots, who had grown up in France and was betrothed to the
Dauphin of France.
[49] When his wife fell ill in 1558, Philip sent the Count of Feria to consult with Elizabeth.
[50] This interview was conducted at Hatfield House, where she had returned to live in October 1555. By October 1558, Elizabeth was already making plans for her government. On 6 November, Mary recognised Elizabeth as her heir.
[51][52] Eleven days later, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne when Mary died at
St. James's Palace on 17 November 1558.
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