Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 until her death, whose brutal persecution of Protestants earned her the nickname 'Bloody Mary' (1516-1558). LS in Early Modern English, signed “Mary the quene,” one page, 12.25 x 8.25, July 27, 1553. Letter to Lord Paget and the Earl of Arundel, in part: "Movinge us by our Mercye to Suspende and forebeare the arestynge and commyttinge of the Duke of Suff[olk] all contrarye to thinstruccions delyvered unto you from us, grounded uppon suche depe and weightie consideracions as you the Lord paget dothe knowe. We marvayl not a Lyttell, of this your so soden mutacyon and chaunge in a Matter of suche weight so Nerelye towchynge the state and Suertie of our parsons in this present case. And for that we hetherunto perceyve no cause whye to alter our former Determinacion. We will you therefore directlye to procede therein, accordinge to your said instruccions. And that you also gyve undelayed order for the apprehencyon, and commyttinge of Sir John Cheke knight unto the Tower of London." In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds, scattered red wax seal residue, and a tear to the right edge.
In this important political letter, Queen Mary insists on the imprisonment of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and John Cheke, a classical scholar. Grey was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as the ‘Nine Days Queen,’ who had been dethroned by Mary only days earlier. Lord Paget, a member of the Privy Council, had initially acquiesced to the Duke of Northcumberland’s attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne, following the death of Mary’s half-brother King Edward VI. When Northumberland left the capital to deal with Mary, leaving London under the control of the Duke of Suffolk, it was Paget, together with the Earl of Arundel, who led those members of the Council who remained in London to switch their allegiance and declare for Mary.
Despite the queen’s furious insistence that the Duke of Suffolk be imprisoned, he spent only a few days in the Tower of London before being allowed to retire to his home near London. The following year, however, he was caught conspiring with Thomas Wyatt to rise against Mary, and he was put to death on Tower Hill. The other man ordered to be imprisoned, John Cheke, served as one of the Principal Secretaries of State and was instrumental in producing the documents by which the Duke of Northumberland attempted to snatch the succession from Mary, and this was the reason for his arrest. He was a close friend of William Paget, who must have been deeply concerned by the orders contained in this letter. Cheke was nonetheless arrested and remained in the Tower for many months. A remarkable, historically significant letter from the start of Mary’s bloody reign.
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