Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

The 4th August 1598 saw the death of William Cecil, Lord Burghley. Cecil had first come into royal circles in the reign of Edward VI, in the employ of Protector Somerset. After Somerset’s fall, and a brief spell of imprisonment, he reconciled with Northumberland’s regime and became secretary to the Privy Council. He was a Reformist in religion, but not a zealot. He was one of the signatories to the Devise for the Succession that attempted to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne, although he claimed later that he signed only as a witness.

During Mary’s reign, he held no office. Having acted for the Lady Elizabeth in the management of her estates, on her accession he became her right-hand-man and remained such until his death. He was more radical in religion than the Queen, and he constantly promoted the cause of Protestant rebels in Scotland and the Netherlands. Married twice, both times to ladies of exceptional learning, he is the ancestor of both the Marquesses of Exeter and the Marquesses of Salisbury. Burghley House in Lincolnshire, and Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, are his creations.

On 3rd August 1553, Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon, entered London as Queen. It was her moment of glory, as cheering crowds surrounded her on her procession through the City, which she entered from the east. Mary, who back in the 1520s had been treated as Princess of Wales, and the King’s most likely heir, had then been set aside, demoted to bastard status, harassed and persecuted. She only regained a place at her father’s court by compromising her principles, when, aged 20, she had been bullied and browbeaten into accepting the annulment of her parents’ marriage and the casting off of papal authority.

But the girl who had succumbed to pressure in 1536 was now a woman of 37, who was prepared to fight for her rights against the whole power of the Tudor government which had put forward her young cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as Queen, against Mary’s statutory rights under the Succession Act of 1544 and Henry VIII’s will. Mary had raised an army and prepared to stake her claim. Opposition collapsed, and without any need for bloodshed, the new Queen entered her capital in triumph.

On 2nd August 1552, the Peace of Passau was signed, putting an end to thirty years of religious warfare in Germany. Whilst the Emperor, Charles V, had hoped to unite all of Germany in reconciliation to the Catholic faith, this had proved impossible. Lutheranism had gained a strong following, not only amongst the people, but also amongst many of the German princes.

The Schmalkaldic League had been formed after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 which had given an ultimatum to the Lutherans to return to the Catholic fold. Formed by the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Elector of Saxony, it was a defensive league, promising mutual aid should their feudal overlord, the Emperor, attempt to re-impose Catholicism by force.

Although Charles had defeated the League in the field by 1547, he could not hope to maintain control as the League allied with France (mired in its own religious conflicts) and Protestantism had spread too far. The Peace of Passau brought the war to an end, pending a full resolution of religious differences to be undertaken at Augsburg. Eventually, at the Peace of Augsburg, it was agreed that local rulers could choose between the Catholic or the Lutheran faith – Calvinism and other Protestant faiths were not permitted.