Days after her coronation, the new Queen of England, Elizabeth Tudor, fell ill, forcing her to postpone the opening of her first Parliament.
[1] What was originally thought to be a mere cold soon revealed itself as the same malady which was ravaging certain parts of the land, and which in the course of that year carried off thirteen of the Queen's bishops. The eager young Queen's delicate disposition was unable to resist and on the 29th of January she died, despite the desperate attempts and blood-lettings of her doctors.
Though the Queen refused to name her successor to the very last, her councilors conspired to ensure a happy, tranquil succession that would not disrupt the good work Elizabeth had commenced re- and uniforming England's religious establishment. Lead by Secretary Cecil, the councilors conferred the succession to the Queen's first cousin
Lady Frances Brandon, in accordance with the provisions of the 1543 Third Succession Act and Edward VI's 'devise'. Frances was then fourty-two and the mother of two surviving daughters,
Catherine and
Mary, respectively nineteen and fourteen. The right of these ladies to the throne was in contravention of the rights of
Mary, Queen of Scots and
Margaret Douglas, who were genealogically their seniors
[2] but had been purposely excluded from the line of succession by Henry VIII.
Frances Brandon, Queen of England
The sudden and unexpected succession of Frances caused several problems. England was broke and there was little money to spare for another coronation; England was still entangled in a continental war alongside Spain with France; the Crown's debts were through the roof; the religious reform was less than half-done; and above all both the Queen of Scots and Margaret Douglas, known by virtue of her marriage as Lady Lennox, were likely to put forward their own claims to the Crown imperial.
The threat of civil war and bankruptcy looming large, it was imperative that the new Queen establish a firm hold on the kingdom, make peace with her enemies abroad and pacify or subjugate her enemies at home. Unsurprisingly, she confirmed Cecil in his position of secretary, and, being unsure of how to proceed, empowered him and his associate Sir Thomas Parry to move on her behalf and secure for her the government and kingdom. Margaret Douglas and her sons were immediately confined to the Tower, as was the Earl of Huntingdon (another scion of England's medieval royal house) together with some of his kin.
A certain point of embarrassment was the low birth of the new Queen's husband,
Adrian Stokes. Formerly her master of the horse, the Lady Frances had married him for love, in the aftermath of her family's disgrace. Of low birth and no means whatsoever, it was thought unfitting that such a man should share the bed of the English Queen. At length the Council prevailed upon the Queen and her husband that he should not have any say in government nor pertain to any royal style; nevertheless, as the Queen's consort, he received immediate promotion and was made a Knight of the Garter and made Duke of Richmond and Somerset for life.
Cecil ensured to it that there was not the tarrying of Elizabeth's first months; Elizabeth was promptly buried and Frances' coronation set for March.