Early in January Count Egmont came to England as ambassador from Spain, to conclude the marriage treaty between Mary and Philip. He was almost torn to pieces when he landed in Kent, so opposed were all the British subjects to this union. But the queen was determined to marry whom she pleased, and after an interview with the count she told him that he might confer with her ministers. On the 14th the articles of the queen's marriage were communicated to the lord-mayor and the city of London.
They agreed that each sovereign was to govern his kingdom separately. None but natives of England were to hold offices in the queen's court or even in the service of her husband. If the queen had a child it was to succeed to her dominions. Her majesty was never to be carried out of her dominions without her special request, and Philip was not to engage England in his father's French wars, nor to appropriate any of the revenue, ships, ammunition, or crown jewels of England.
A.D. 1554. The week after these articles became public three insurrections broke out in different parts of the realm. Two of them were soon suppressed, and their leaders, who had proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen in every town, fled; but the third was headed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, a young man of twenty-three, who was not so easily managed. He was a Catholic, but when a boy he had accompanied his father on an embassy to Spain, and remembered how nearly that parent had become a victim to the inquisition. This made him fear and detest the Spanish government, and his motive of revolt was to prevent similar tyranny from being established in England, by the marriage of the Queen and Philip of Spain.
Wyatt's rebellion began in Kent, whither Mary sent the aged Duke of Norfolk with her guards and artillery, accompanied by five hundred of the London trained companies of soldiers, commanded by Captain Brett. This person was secretly in league with Wyatt, and actually went over to his side when they met at Rochester. This treasonable act caused the loss of the queen's artillery, and gave such encouragement to the rebels that Wyatt advanced to Deptford with fifteen thousand men. There he dictated his own terms, which were that the queen and her council were to be surrendered into his hands. Mary had too much pluck and determination to listen to such an absurd demand, and prepared for open war.
The whole city was filled with consternation when the desertion of the Duke of Norfolk's forces was known, for every one was aware that the defences of the royal residence at Westminster were weak. All the queen's council, chaplains, and bishops went about with a complete suit of armor underneath their customary clothing, prepared to fight when the time came.
The queen remained calm and collected. She ordered her horse, and attended by her ladies and councillors, rode to London, where she made such an eloquent speech, encouraging the citizens to stand by her and put down the rebellion, that the crowd who filled Guildhall and its court shouted, "God save Queen Mary and the Prince of Spain!".
She was then rowed to Westminster, where she held a council, appointing the Earl of Pembroke general of her troops, then gathering to defend St. James's Palace and Whitehall.
In the meantime Wyatt, finding the city too strongly defended on the river side, decided to move his forces, but before doing so Winchester House was plundered, and Bishop Gardiner's books so torn to pieces as to leave not a single one in his whole library fit for use.
At two o'clock one morning a deserter from the rebels arrived at the palace of Whitehall with the information that the enemy would be at Hyde Park Corner within two hours. The bustle and alarm that ensued may be better imagined then described. Barricades were raised at the points liable to attack, guards were stationed at the queen's chamber-windows and private apartments, and the palace echoed with the sobs and cries of the ladies. But Mary did not lose her presence of mind for a moment, and when her ministers and councillors crowded around her imploring her to take refuge in the Tower, she answered: "That she would set no example of cowardice; and if Pembroke and Clinton proved true to their posts she would not desert hers."
At four o'clock the drums beat to arms, but the rain was pouring in torrents on that cold winter's morning, and delayed the rebels until nine o'clock. Wyatt divided his army into three parts, and a desperate battle was the result of their attack. Queen Mary stood at a window, whence she not only saw the struggle, but spoke brave words to the soldiers who came near enough to hear her, and scouted at any one who approached her with a discouraging report.