minervacasterly:On the 22ndof June 1536 the King’s eldest daughter, the Lady Mary Tudor, signed thed

minervacasterly:On the 22ndof June 1536 the King’s eldest daughter, the Lady Mary Tudor, signed thedocument titled “The Confession of Me the Lady Mary” in which she accepted thatshe was never the trueborn daughter of Henry VIII of England but a product ofincest born out of the unlawful union of her mother, Katherine of Aragon andher father the King. The Confession was signed twelve days after she hadexplicitly said no to her father’s ministers who had done the impossible andbullied her to get to accept. It was Chapuys and Cromwell who finally convincedher by telling her that if she didn’t sign then she would be deemed a traitorand tried as such. To her father, blood ties didn’t matter when the security ofthe realm was at stake. The articles of the confession go as follows:1.      First,I confess and acknowledge the King’s Majesty to be my sovereign lord and King,in the Imperial Crown of his realm of England, and do submit myself to HisHighness, and to all and singular laws and statues of this realm, as becometh atrue and faithful subject to do.2.      Ido recognize and accept and take and repute and acknowledge the King’s Highnessto be Supreme Head in Earth under Christ of the Church of England and doutterly refuse the Bishop of Rome’s pretended authority, power and jurisdictionwithin this realm heretofore usurped.3.      Ido freely, frankly recognize and acknowledge that the marriage, heretofore hadbetween His Majesty and my mother (the late Princess Dowager) was by God’s lawand Man’s law, incestuous and unlawful.Signed Mary TudorTheConfession would haunt Mary for the rest of her life. In signing it, she feltthat she was not only betraying what she believed in, but her mother who neverwavered in her faith and stopped calling herself Queen and fought for herdaughter’s right to be her father’s heir. No doubt, Mary was doing this forsurvival and the two men must have made a point that she would do more good toher cause alive than dead, especially Chapuys who had grown very close to theyoung woman. Following her surrender, she was welcomed back in court. Those who believedthey had beaten the former princess would soon be disappointed. If anything, itreshaped her character making her prouder, more resilient and optimistic abouther future.Sources:·        TheMyth of Bloody Mary by Linda Porter·        Insidethe Tudor Court by Lauren Mackay·        MaryTudor: England’s First Queen by Anna Whitelock -- source link
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