Agnes Strickland's Queens of England, Vol. 2. (of 3): Abridged and Fully IllustratedStrickland, Agnes
History
Agnes Strickland's Queens of England, Vol. 2. (of 3): Abridged and Fully Illustrated
Strickland, Agnes
Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography
The marriage was performed next day. One of the Spanish grandees
delivered a solemn oration, in which he announced that the emperor had
resigned the kingdom of Naples in favor of his son, so that Mary married
a king, not a prince. Then the ceremony proceeded in Latin and English,
after which the royal pair returned hand in hand from the high altar
and seated themselves until the mass was concluded, when they walked
together under the same canopy to the hall where the banquet was spread.
The seats for Queen Mary and her husband were on a dais under a canopy,
where their table was laid. Below the dais were various tables for
the queen's ladies, the Spanish grandees, their wives, and the English
nobility. Bishop Gardiner dined at the royal table. A band of musicians
played throughout the meal, and four heralds entered between the
first and second courses and pronounced a Latin oration in praise of
matrimony.
After the banquet King Philip returned thanks to the council and nobles,
and the queen spoke very graciously {049}
[Illustration: 0055]
{051}in Spanish. At six o'clock the tables were removed and dancing
began, which lasted until nine.
The Spanish fleet sailed for Flanders next day, having first landed
eighty of the most superb horses that ever were seen for Philip's use.
Four of five hundred Spaniards, among whom were a number of fools and
buffoons, were permitted to remain in England; but the queen's marriage
articles forbade the presence of a large number, so the rest were
obliged to return home.
Within a week of their marriage the royal couple gave a sumptuous
festival of the Garter at Windsor Castle to celebrate King Philip's
admission to that order. Later there was a grand hunt, and a large
number of deer were slaughtered.
The usual pageantry attended the public entry into London, which was
made with an imposing retinue of English nobles and Spanish grandees.
Philip had brought over enough gold and silver to fill ninety-seven
chests, each a yard and a quarter long. This treasure was piled on
twenty carts and drawn through the city so that everybody might see it
before it was taken to the Tower to be coined.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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