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 The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

to regulate the future marriage and joint reign of Queen Mary I and Philip of Spain, son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

. In reality, the act seems to have served as a business contract between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

; 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 name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

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 form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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

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 A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

between

and

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 ''* ...

, Philip's son by a prior marriage, die childless. Mary I married Philip of Spain at Winchester on 25 July 1554.Mitchell Gould, 'Philip II of Spain: King, Consort, Son', Aidan Norrie, Carolyn Harris, J. L. Laynesmith, Danna R. Messer, Elena Woodacre, ''Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), p. 167.

Legacy

The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{refend Acts of the Parliament of England 1554 Repealed English legislation Succession to the British crown Mary I of England Marriage, unions and partnerships in England Marriage law in the United Kingdom Philip II of Spain

The act

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography