I have endeavoured, where possible, to give the story in the words of each individual ambassador or annalist, in order to preserve, if it might be, the atmosphere of the times, in a manner unattainable by our modern phraseology. In most instances, I have been careful to reproduce even the eccentricities of the spelling in the English documents quoted, but in others, where I have given somewhat lengthy extracts from our chroniclers, the spelling has been modernised to avoid tedium. It has not come within the scope of the present work to deal exhaustively with Mary’s correspondence, and many of her most interesting letters have been unavoidably omitted, preference being given to those which relate to the more crucial points in her history. One word may not be out of place here, as to the now fully recognised necessity of bringing historical imagination to bear upon any period under consideration; for unless we throw ourselves into the spirit, the views, the interests of that period, we shall utterly fail to form a correct notion of its merits and its short-comings. The thoughts and opinions, the virtues and vices of the sixteenth century are not those of our own day, and the only way in which we can form a just estimate of them is by divesting ourselves of every preconceived notion, and by judging each individual case according to the standard which then prevailed. Whether, bearing this necessity in mind, and with the colours at my disposal, I have succeeded in painting a picture vivid enough to supersede the old traditional, but generally spurious, portraits of Queen Mary, I must leave to the kind judgment of my readers. J. M. S. APRIL, 1901. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD—EARLY MARRIAGE PROJECTS. 1516-1525 1 CHAPTER II. PRINCESS OF WALES. 1525-1527 23 CHAPTER III. THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE. 1527-1533 35 CHAPTER IV. _VIA DOLOROSA._ 1533-1536 62 CHAPTER V. THE GREAT RENUNCIATION. 1536 96 CHAPTER VI. AFTER THE STORM. 1536-1537 131 CHAPTER VII. THE DESIRE OF ALL EYES. 1537-1547 155 CHAPTER VIII. THE KING’S SISTER. 1547-1553 187 CHAPTER IX. THE COMING OF THE QUEEN. 1553 215 CHAPTER X. AGAINST THE TIDE. July-December 1553 233 CHAPTER XI. THE COMING OF THE KING. January-July 1554 270 CHAPTER XII. PHILIP AND MARY. July 1554-August 1555 315 CHAPTER XIII. THE MARTYRS. 352