The Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain (1 Mar. Sess. 3 c. 2), or Queen Mary's Marriage Act, was an
Act of the
Parliament of England, which was passed in April 1554 to regulate the future marriage and
joint reign of
Queen Mary I
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
and
Philip of Spain, son and
heir apparent of the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Charles V.
In reality, the Act seems to have served as a business contract between
England and
Spain; it specifies what Spain could expect from the union, while at the same time assuring the
English that England would not become a satellite of Spain.
The Act
Under the terms of the marriage treaty,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
was to enjoy his wife's titles and honours as
King of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
and
Ireland for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including
Acts of Parliament, were to be dated with both their names (with Philip's preceding
Mary's as deemed proper for husband and wife), and the
Parliament of England was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. The Act stated that King Philip would take part in governing Mary's realms while reserving most authority for Mary herself. Formally, King Philip was to co-reign with his wife according to the Act, which nevertheless ensured that the new king would not become too powerful; the Act prohibited him from appointing foreigners to any offices, from taking his wife or any child that might be born to them outside her realm, or from claiming the crown for himself should he outlive his wife.
The Act presumed that Mary would have children with Philip and allowed full
personal union between
England and
Ireland and all the realms Philip was to inherit from his father or from his grandmother,
Queen Joanna, should
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, Philip's son by a prior marriage, die childless.
Repeal
The Act was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
See also
* ''
Jure uxoris
''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...
''
*
Treason Act 1554
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
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1554 in law
1554 in England
Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603)
Succession to the British crown
Mary I of England
Marriage, unions and partnerships in England
Marriage law
Repealed English legislation
Philip II of Spain