An inventory of the jewels of Queen Mary I of England, known as Princess Mary or the Lady Mary in the years 1542 to 1546, was kept by her lady in waiting Mary Finch.Frederick Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), pp. xii-xiii. The manuscript is now held by the British Library. It was published by Frederic Madden in 1831. Some pieces are listed twice.Frederick Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), pp. 175-201: British Library, Royal MS. V B xxviii. The British Library also has an inventory of the jewels she inherited on coming to the throne in 1553.British Library MS 7367, see external links.
Initial letters and gold crosses Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon died in 1536, and bequeathed Mary a gold collar or necklace which she had brought from Spain in 1501.James Gairdner, Letters and Papers Henry VIII, 10 (London, 1887), p. 15 no. 40. It had a gold cross which contained, according to Eustace Chapuys, a relic of the True Cross.Timothy Schroder, A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2020), pp 214-5. Thomas Cromwell ordered that the cross be sent to him. Chapuys reported that Cromwell returned it to Mary after finding its gold content was low and, as a Protestant, he had no use for the relic.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII (Routledge, 2017): Pascual de Gayangos, Calendar State Papers, Simancas, 1536-1538, 5:2 (London, 1888), pp. 16 no. 9, 60 no. 19, 70 no. 37.
Mary owned a letter "M" with three rubies and two diamonds and a large pendant pearl. She also had an "H" with a ruby and a pendant pearl.Frederick Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), p. 191. A gold scented pomander worn at her girdle was a gift from Mary Tudor, Queen of France.Jeri L. McIntosh, From Heads of Household to Heads of State (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), p. 27: Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, p. 114. Her miniature portrait painted by Lucas Horenbout in the 1520s depicts a diamond cross pendant with three pendant pearls, perhaps the little cross with four great diamonds listed in one of her later inventories.Nicola Tallis, All The Queen's Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display (Routledge, 2023), p. 138: Madden, Privy Purse, p. 176: Lucas Horenbout, NPG 6453: Queen Mary I Henry VIII gave Mary another cross, with 6 fair diamonds, and three pendant pearls, on 20 July 1546,Frederick Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), p. 186. and one of these crosses appears to be worn in a miniature by Susannah Horenbout, recently established to be a portrait of Mary.Richard Brooks, "After decades, tiny 500-year-old royal portrait is identified as Mary Tudor", Observer, 17 October 2024
Mary's royal status varied during her childhood, as her father divorced her mother Catherine of Aragon and made other marriages. Marriages were also planned for her, which entailed new clothes and jewels.Maria Hayward, Dress at the court of King Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), pp. 204–206. In July 1533, her chamberlain, John Hussey, and a lady in waiting, Frances Aylmer, were ordered to deliver her jewels to Thomas Cromwell.Melita Thomas, The King's Pearl: Henry VIII and his daughter Mary (Amberley, 2017), pp. 137, 142. In March 1534, the diplomat Eustache Chapuys wrote that Mary's "principal jewels and ornaments" had all been confiscated.Alison J. Carter, 'Mary Tudor's Wardrobe', Costume, 18 (1984), p. 10.
In 1536, Catherine of Aragon bequeathed her gold collar and cross to Mary, which was said to contain a relic of the true cross.Maria Hayward, Dress at the court of King Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 205. Catherine Howard gave Mary a gold pomander containing a clock while they were on a progress at Pontefract Castle in 1541. Catherine kept a gold chain set with turquoises, rubies, and pearls which was used to suspend the pomander from a girdle.Melita Thomas, The King's Pearl: Henry VIII and his daughter Mary (Amberley, 2017), pp. 251–2: Letters & Papers, Henry VIII, 16 (London, 1898), p. 637.
Court of Edward VI According to John Aylmer, during the reign of Edward VI, Elizabeth and Jane Grey wore relatively plain dress compared to Mary. Aylmer, (who was a tutor of Jane Grey), wrote to Henry Bullinger about suitable costume for young women, stating that "gold, jewels, and the braiding of hair" were not yet set aside at Edward's court.Leanda de Lisle, The Sisters who would be Queen (HarperPress, 2008), pp. 74–76: Hastings Robinson, Zurich Letters (Cambridge, 1846), pp. 278–279: Eric Ives, Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), pp. 54–55.
Goldsmiths and makers As well as jewels for her costume, Mary was surrounded with expensive furnishings and valuable plate.Jeri L. McIntosh, From Heads of Household to Heads of State (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), pp. 27, 31. In November 1525, the council for her household asked Cardinal Thomas Wolsey for advice about celebrating Christmas. They wondered if Mary should acquire a ship of silver (a nef), a silver alms dish, and spice plates, and what New Year's Day gifts she should send.Melita Thomas, The King's Pearl: Henry VIII and His Daughter Mary (Amberley, 2017), p. : Henry Ellis, Original Letters, Series 1 vol. 1 (London, 1824), p. 271.
Mary stored her jewels in a coffer made in 1542 by the craftsman William Green. A biography of Jane Dormer claims that she was in charge of the jewels which Mary kept in her bedchamber and wore regularly. John Mabbe, a London goldsmith, mended her jewelry and made her sets of aglets. Hans Holbein the Younger designed jewels for her. Two of his surviving drawings feature a ribbon with the inscription, "MI LADI PRINSIS", (My Lady Princess), for Mary or possibly Elizabeth.Diana Scarisbrick, Tudor and Jacobean Jewellery (London, 1995), p. 14: Diana Scarisbrick, Jewellery in Britain (Norwich, 1994), p. 68: David Starkey, Henry VIII: A European Court in England (London, 1991), p. 117.
The goldsmith Peter Richardson provided her New Year's Day gift for Henry VIII in 1544.Nicola Tallis, All The Queen's Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display (Routledge, 2023), p. 176. Cornelis Hayes, a Flemish jeweller, may have realised Holbein's designs.Ann Rosalind Jones & Peter Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory (Cambridge, 2000), p. 41: Timothy Schroder, A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 243-4. Holbeins's friend Hans of Antwerp and Rogier Horton worked for her. Another name that appears in her records is "Raynolds," which may refer to Robert Reynes or Raynes, who was granted a coat of arms in 1558.Frederick Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), pp. 20, 102, 234. On 25 July 1554, she ordered some of the jewels in the Tower of London to be delivered to her goldsmith "Affabel Partriche".John Gough Nichols, Chronicle of Queen Jane (London, 1850), p. vi: British Library, Cotton Titus B. IV.
Jewels at Mary's accession In April 1553, Lady Mary was given a table diamond with a pendant pearl which had belonged to Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset. At the same time, Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, was given a tablet locket with a clock, enamelled black, which had also belonged to the Duchess of Somerset.John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials, 2 (Oxford, 1822), p. 112 Robert Wingfield wrote that Mary was told of the death of Edward VI in July 1553 by her goldsmith Robert Raynes. Raynes was employed to engrave official seals, and provided gold chains and flagons for diplomatic gifts. He made the cramp rings which were distributed by the monarch on Good Friday.Judith Richards, "Examples and Admonitions", Alice Hunt & Anna Whitelock, Tudor Queenship (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), p. 37. Raynes was granted the manor of Stanford on Soar in Nottinghamshire in 1558.David Loades, Mary Tudor: A Life (Basil Blackwell, 1989), pp. 176, 369: John Roche Dasent, Acts of the Privy Council, 1552–1554, 4 (London: HMSO, 1890), pp. 357, 362, 426.Hervey Degge Sitwell, "The Jewel House and the Royal Goldsmiths", The Archaeological Journal, 116 (1960), p. 135. Richard Wilbram or Wilbraham was appointed keeper and master of the Jewel House.Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1555–1557 (London, 1938), pp. 112–113.
Mary got custody of jewels which had belonged to her father and mother, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, in 1553 when she became queen. According to Hugues Cousin le Vieux, an Imperial courtier and quartermaster, Henry Dudley had taken some jewels and rings from the royal treasury to reward potential supporters of the Duke of Northumberland and Lady Jane Grey in France.Charles Bémont, 'Les Révolutions D'Angleterre en 1553 et 1554 racontées par un fourrier de L'Empereur Charles-Quint', Revue Historique, 110:1 (1912), p. 63. The Imperial ambassador Simon Renard had reported this story as an unconfirmed rumour in July 1553.Royall Tyler, Calendar State Papers Spain, 1553 (London, 1916), p. 152. Some manuscript inventories of jewels from 1553, and published versions or derivatives, appear to be connected with Lady Jane Grey, Andrew Dudley and Arthur Stourton, Keeper of Westminster Palace, or with the Duchess of Somerset, but the evidence is unclear.Elizabeth Goldring et al., John Nichols's The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, 1 (Oxford, 2014), p. 54: Royall Tyler, Calendar State Papers Spain, 1553 (London, 1916), p. 185: Acts of the Privy Council, 1552–1554, p. 310. One list includes a zibellino, a sable skin with a gold head with a ruby tongue and gold feet and paws, which appears the inventory of Henry VIII.HMC Hatfield, 1 (London, 1883), 128: David Starkey, Inventory of Henry VIII (London, 1998), pp. 256 no. 11536, 430 no. 17535. Some of the jewels had been issued for weddings, and Edward VI had requested by warrant a diamond jewel with a pendant pearl for Mary to wear in April 1553.John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials, 3 (London, 1816), pp. 286–7, 437–8.
An inventory of jewels, held by the British Library (Harley 7376), has marginal notes recording gifts made by Mary in 1553 and later years, noting items taken for her coronation, and pearls delivered to her embroiderer Guilliam Brallot.See external links. Mary wore French hoods at this time, decorated with gold and jewel-set bands of "billiments".Emilie M. Brinkman, "Dressed to kill: The fashioning of Bloody Mary", Valerie Schutte & Jessica S. Hower, Writing Mary I: History, Historiography, and Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), p. 176. She gave pairs of billiments of "goldsmith work" to the ladies and gentlewomen in her coronation procession, including Mistress Anne Poyntz, mother of the maids.Henry King, 'Ancient Wills, 3', Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, 3 (Colchester, 1865), p. 187: BL Harley 7376 f. 29v & 32r.
These billiments were worn at the Royal Entry on 30 September 1553 before Mary's coronation. Mary wore a caul or veil of tinsel fabric set with pearls and precious stones, with a newly made gold circlet or coronet like a "hooped garland" also set with precious stones. According to some chronicle narratives, she had to hold these heavy items on her head with her hands.John Edwards, Mary I: England's Catholic Queen (Yale, 2011), p. 125: John Gough Nichols, Chronicle of Queen Jane and Two Years of Mary (London, 1850), p. 28. These comments may imply misogynistic criticism of the unprecedented female coronation, suggesting that the trappings of majesty were too weighty.Alice Hunt, The Drama of Coronation: Medieval Ceremony in Early Modern England (Cambridge, 2008), p. 131: Alice Hunt, 'Reformation of Tradition', in Alice Hunt & Anna Whitelock, Tudor Queenship: The Reigns of Mary and Elizabeth (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), p. 68.