of philip’s public entry into london.
the court had not been long at windsor castle, ere most of the spanish grandees who had accompanied philip, finding that owing to the terms of the marriage-treaty, which were strictly enforced by gardiner and the council, no posts could be given them in the government, quitted england in disgust. as the duke of alva took leave of the king, he observed, “i am loth to leave your majesty with this people, but as you have no present need of my services, while i may be of use to the emperor, i deem it best to go.”
“have no fears for me, my lord duke,” replied philip. “i am perfectly secure. i have paid a heavy price for the support of the english nobles—but i think i can count upon it.”
“do not trust them, sire. the english nobles are treacherous as corrupt, and will fall off when most needed. had your majesty but listened to me, and pursued the bold course i suggested, you might now be king of england—not in name, merely, but in reality. it is not yet too late. say the word and i remain.”
“no; you must go, alva. i grieve to part with you, as with my other nobles, but your presence here is prejudicial to my plans.”
“i see not how that can be, sire. you yield too much to english prejudices. pardon me for saying so, but you 148ought to be lord and master in your own house, and not subject to your wife—albeit she is a queen.”
“why so i am, alva,” replied the king, smiling. “her majesty refuses me nothing.”
“except the matrimonial crown, sire,” said the duke, bluntly. “she will not give you that. neither will she place the supreme power of government in your hands, nor cause you to be declared presumptive heir to the crown.”
“she dare not do so, alva,” observed philip, coldly.
“i know not that,” said the duke. “for such a result all should be dared.”
“her majesty will accede to my wishes in due time,” said the king. “should there be an heir to the throne, all difficulties will be removed.”
“ay, if there should—but the event may never occur,” cried alva, impatiently. “again i say, why wait? with such a prize within your grasp, why hesitate to seize it? oh! that your majesty would leave the work to me.”
“i could not trust you,” said the king. “you would ruin all by precipitancy. my plan is slow, but sure. farewell, my lord duke. the saints give you a good journey to brussels. commend me in all love and duty to the emperor, and say that in due time i trust he will have a grandson.”
“would i could add that heresy were completely extirpated from the realm, and the papal supremacy re-established,” observed alva.
“that will follow immediately on the arrival of cardinal pole,” said philip. “most of the english nobles and men of wealth, as you know, have shared in the monstrous spoliation of the church that occurred during the two previous reigns, and these persons will never acknowledge the supreme authority of the pontiff, unless their ill-gotten possessions are secured to them. until this point be conceded by his holiness, the lord chancellor assures me it will be futile and even dangerous to propose the measure. mauriquez has been dispatched to rome to argue the matter with the pope, and, till the question be decided, cardinal pole must be detained at brussels. this you will explain to the emperor.”
“humph!” exclaimed alva. “i half hope the pope 149may refuse your majesty’s request, and then you will be compelled to have recourse to me to force these robbers to disgorge their plunder. ’tis a dreadful wrong to the church.”
“i feel the injustice as keenly as you can do, alva,” rejoined the king; “but since the grievance cannot be redressed, it must be borne in patience.”
“well, we must hope for better days, when these plunderers will meet their deserts on the scaffold and the gibbet,” said alva. “i now take my leave of your majesty.” so saying, he departed.
that any assumption of regal power on the part of philip would be resisted, was shown by a slight incident which occurred shortly afterwards. on the king’s installation as a knight of the garter, in order to give greater importance to the proceeding, the royal arms of england were taken down in st. george’s chapel by the chief herald, at the instance of simon renard, and the arms of castile and aragon set up in their stead. but as soon as the change was discovered by the earl of arundel and sir john gage, they sharply reprimanded the herald, and, at the risk of offending philip, caused the spanish arms to be forthwith taken down and those of england restored.
philip had many secret enemies, but none so active or so dangerous as the french ambassador. notwithstanding the ill success of his previous plot, and the narrow escape he had run, de noailles continued his intrigues among the factious and discontented. as mary could not refuse to receive him at court without embroiling herself with france, he had opportunities of carrying out a design which he had conceived, of occasioning a rupture between the king and queen. aware of philip’s infidelities, and of the queen’s jealousy of disposition, he did not despair of accomplishing this project. by means of spies, who were well paid for the service, he kept a strict watch over the king’s proceedings, hoping to make some discovery that might serve his purpose.
from a cause which we shall proceed to explain, philip began to lose the popularity he had acquired on his first arrival. though he continued extremely affable and condescending to the english nobles—far more so than he was 150to those of his own nation—and though he made them large gifts, in the hope of securing their friendship, he never could overcome their distrust, which was kept alive by the subtle practices of the french ambassador. moreover, spanish usages began to prevail at court, and these were highly distasteful to the english. greater etiquette and formality were observed. the doors were not thrown open as they used to be, and those who desired an audience of their majesties, even on matters of urgency, were detained long in the ante-chambers. so that although the king did not meddle with the government—at all events not directly—it was soon felt that the court was absolutely under his control. none but those high in his favour were admitted to him without much form and ceremony, which was especially irksome to the older english nobles, who had enjoyed easy access to the sovereign in the reign of henry viii. and there was every appearance that this strictness would increase rather than diminish.
philip’s public entry into london was not made until the latter end of august. preparatory to the ceremony, the royal pair removed to richmond palace, where they stayed for two or three days, and then proceeded by water in a state barge, attended by all their retinue in other barges, to the bishop of winchester’s palace at southwark. they were received with great ceremony by gardiner, and passed the night under his roof.
next day, accompanied by a numerous and magnificent cortége, comprising all the chief officers of the court, together with many of the nobility, the royal pair passed over london bridge into the city. the queen, whose splendid attire of cloth of gold blazed with jewels of inestimable value, sat in a gilt chariot, drawn by six horses in housings of white satin, embroidered with gold, ridden by pages of honour in crimson satin. her majesty was accompanied by three of her principal ladies. mounted on his fiery andalusian barb, which was trapped with black taffetas, guarded with silver lace, philip appeared to great advantage in his black velvet doublet, short mantle bordered with pearls, and berret with black and white plumes. he was attended by fifty horsemen in trappings of crimson velvet, with the arms of spain embroidered on them in gold, with edges of 151silk and gold, and fringe of the same. besides these, there were fifty pages in liveries of carnation satin, passmented with silver and black lace, and black silk caps, adorned with carnation and black plumes. a troop of halberdiers in full equipments formed the vanguard of the royal procession, and another brought up the rear. in front of the cortége rode a large band of musicians, consisting of trumpets, clarions, kettle-drums, and other martial instruments. these musicians were accoutred in scarlet mandillions, guarded with gold, and had the royal badge on the front and at the back. the pennons of the trumpets and clarions were likewise embroidered with the royal arms, and all the horses were caparisoned in scarlet satin, guarded with gold lace. as the procession passed over london bridge, a loud peal of ordnance burst from the tower batteries, and was continued by the guns of all the ships moored off the wharves.
at the gate then defending the entrance to the city from the bridge, the three gigantic yeomen of the guard were stationed, who reverently saluted the king and queen as they passed by, and at the conduit of gracechurch street, which had been newly decorated for the occasion, was a large painting representing the nine worthies. noticeable amongst these august personages was henry viii., who was portrayed in armour. the idea of the artist had been to depict the great defender of the faith in the act of presenting the bible to his son and successor, edward vi., the sacred volume being inscribed in large characters verbum dei; but the device gave great offence to gardiner, who ordered the limner, on pain of losing his ears, to obliterate this part of the picture, which he accomplished more effectually than tastefully, by brushing out the king’s right hand.
in cheapside there was another large picture, representing the “five philips”—namely, philip of macedon, philip the emperor, philip the bold, philip the good, and philip, prince of spain and king of england.
many pageants were exhibited to the king and queen on their way through the city. all the houses were decorated with cloth of gold and silver, arras and velvet, while thousands flocked forth to welcome the queen and her royal consort. owing to the frequent stoppages, the progress of 152the cortége was slow, and it did not reach whitehall for some hours.
philip was by no means satisfied with the reception he had met with. the populace had cheered him but slightly; and murmurs against spain, and allusions to the inquisition, occasionally reached his ears. moreover, he remarked that many persons regarded him with ill-concealed looks of aversion.
“these citizens do not like me,” he thought. “ere long, they shall be taught to fear me.”
soon after this, a gloom was thrown over the court by the death of the duke of norfolk. the queen went into mourning for the venerable nobleman, to whom she was sincerely attached, and all festivities were suspended. their majesties removed to hampton court, where philip environed himself more and more in spanish form and etiquette. difficult of access before, he was now almost unapproachable.
