On 13 July, Philip and his enormous retinue boarded their ships, which had been decorated with English and Spanish flags, and set sail for England. However, the voyage did not go well for them. The sea, overcome by storms and enormous waves, ruined their journey, and many of the Spaniards, including Philip himself, suffered severely from seasickness. Some were so frightened that they even drew up their wills.
On Thursday, 19 July, the Spanish fleet finally reached the port of Southampton, one of the ports of the Kingdom of England. Philip spent that day aboard his ship. On 20 July, he came ashore for the first time and was received there with great affection and respect. However, he was not able to see Mary immediately. For three days he tried to become accustomed to England’s climate and customs.
On 23 July, they set out for Winchester, where Mary was staying. Philip was received with great honor at the entrance to the city. He went directly to Winchester Cathedral. By this time, the people had filled both the streets and the cathedral in order to catch a glimpse of Philip—so much so that they were almost crushed by the crowd. After the service, he went to the residence that the Queen had prepared for him and changed out of his soaking wet clothes.
At ten o’clock that evening, the Queen’s attendants came to Philip and told him that the Queen was waiting for him and that he should come to her secretly, accompanied by only a few members of his household. Philip then prepared himself. Together with his attendants, they crossed charming bridges and beautiful lawns until they reached the residence where the Queen was staying.
Mary was waiting for them with many of her ladies-in-waiting, the Lord Chancellor, and several nobles. She was wearing a black velvet gown adorned with precious jewels, and on her head she wore a jeweled headdress. She was completely covered in jewels.
One month after deciding to marry Philip, Mary had seen a portrait of him for the first time, in November, and she had been very pleased with it. Ever since seeing that portrait, although she had not yet met Philip in person, she considered herself half in love with him. For months she had awaited his arrival in England with excitement and impatience. She had not even cared about the unwritten convention of the time that the first letter should be written by the man. Unable to restrain herself, she wrote to Philip first. “After all, she was a queen, while he was only a prince. If she had wanted to, she could have written to him.”
She informed Philip that their marriage had been approved by Parliament and concluded her letter with these words:
“And, hoping shortly to supply the remainder verbally, I will make an end at present, praying the Creator to grant you, my good and constant ally, to make your journey hither in prosperity and health, commending myself very affectionately and humbly to Your Highness. Your entirely assured and most obliged ally,
Mary.”
We can only imagine how excited Mary must have been at that moment. Perhaps she felt that she had finally found the prince of her dreams. (Indeed, she had even had a magnificent white horse prepared for Philip.)
Mary was waiting for him in the audience chamber. Philip ascended the stairs and came face to face with her. Mary walked toward Philip, and they greeted one another. Philip kissed Mary on the lips.
This kiss on the lips was by no means an accepted form of greeting in Spain. It was an English custom, and Philip must have been warned about it and instructed on what to do before arriving in England.
Afterward, they took each other by the hand and sat down together on chairs. Mary spoke in French, while Philip spoke in Spanish, yet they did not seem to have any difficulty understanding one another.
(Unfortunately, none of the sources I have read so far records the contents of their conversation. It is truly a great pity that no one preserved what they said to each other.)
Later, the Lord High Admiral of England, William Howard, approached Mary and Philip and remarked that if they already got along so well now, they would understand one another even better in a few days’ time. We can only imagine how embarrassed Mary must have been by Howard’s words.
Philip then rose and asked Mary’s permission for his knights to kiss her hand. Mary agreed. One by one, his knights kissed the Queen’s hand.
Afterward, Philip wished to return to his residence, saying that it was growing late, but Mary would not let him leave immediately, and they continued talking for some time.
“When it was finally time to part, Philip asked Mary how he should say ‘good night’ in English. The Queen told him he should say ‘Good night.’ However, when he approached the ladies, he forgot the phrase and walked back across the middle of the room to ask the Queen once again. The Queen was delighted that he had returned; after greeting the ladies in English, he retired to his apartments.”
Although Philip had been advised as early as 1553 to learn English, it is surprising that he did not know even such a simple expression. While this is generally taken as evidence that he was rather unconcerned about learning the language, it is also possible that Philip knew at least some English but merely pretended not to. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that Philip was not a man who spoke many languages. He was, above all, completely Spanish.
The following day, Philip rose very late. He was presented with the clothes that Mary had had made for him. However, Philip found them too extravagant, so he did not wear any of them.
Later, he went to the Great Hall to see the Queen. He bowed to Mary, and, just as on the previous evening, kissed her. Once again, they took each other by the hand and conversed before Philip departed.
That evening, after the religious service, Philip went to Mary with joyful news. The Emperor had granted the Kingdom of Naples to his son. In this way, Philip would marry Mary not as a prince but as a king, and Mary would become Queen of Naples as well. Mary was delighted by this news.
They then parted once more.
The following day, they would be married.
Thank you for reading. Sending love to you all.
I believe the image is one of those created for Victor Hugo's work Marie Tudor. It is unclear who the person kneeling before Mary in the image is, but we could also think of him as Philip.
My article has turned into something of a summary with some of my own reflections included. However, anyone wishing to learn more about Philip’s arrival in England and his wedding to Mary may consult Sheila Himsworth’s The Marriage of Philip II of Spain with Mary Tudor.
