Wyatt's Rebellion and the fight against Queen Mary I

During the first half of the sixteenth century, England experienced a violent pendulum swing between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Henry VIII’s break from Rome in the 1530s created the Church of England and established royal supremacy over religious matters.

Yet despite the legal shift, many Catholic practices remained, and large parts of the population still felt loyalty to the old faith.

After Henry’s death in 1547, his young son Edward VI introduced a stricter form of Protestantism.

The Book of Common Prayer became mandatory, Latin rituals were banned, and Catholic bishops were removed.

Religious dissenters risked fines, imprisonment, or worse. However, Edward’s reign ended with his death in 1553, and he had no heir.  

As Edward lay dying, his council attempted to exclude his Catholic half-sister Mary from the succession.

They proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen, but Mary quickly gathered armed support in East Anglia and entered London as the victorious, rightful monarch.

Mary immediately began undoing Protestant reforms. She restored papal authority, reintroduced Latin Mass, and began what became known as the Marian Persecutions.

In the opening months of her reign, the atmosphere felt unstable and unsteady. 

Many English subjects felt uncertain of how to react to the sudden reversal in religious policy. 

Hundreds of Protestants were executed by burning between February 1555 and November 1558.

Widespread opposition to Queen Mary’s proposed marriage to Philip II of Spain sparked the initial unrest.

English councillors and commoners feared that the alliance would bring the kingdom under Spanish control.

The marriage treaty, announced in January 1554, offered Philip the title of king but blocked him from appointing foreigners to English offices.

Yet many believed that Philip’s presence would dominate Mary’s rule and drag England into Habsburg conflicts.

The prospect of Spanish influence caused anxiety across classes, particularly among nobles who valued their independence and merchants who worried about economic involvements. 

Religious concerns also fuelled the unrest as Protestant nobles who had prospered under Edward VI viewed Mary’s Catholic restoration as a direct threat to their beliefs, influence, and even their lives.

The return of heresy trials and the potential persecution of Protestant elites stirred fears of political purges.

Mary’s reliance on Catholic advisors, many of whom had spent time in exile during Edward’s reign, created a perception that a foreign-backed Catholic group now controlled the kingdom.

Some conspirators feared that the marriage would allow Mary to restore papal authority even more forcefully, under Spain’s protection. 

Certain nobles hoped to restore influence lost during Mary’s early reforms, while others saw an opportunity to alter the succession.

A few rebels planned to replace Mary with her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth.

Though there was no united aim among the conspirators, they all agreed that Mary’s policies threatened the kingdom’s stability.

Sir Thomas Wyatt, a respected landowner from Kent, became the leader of the most determined faction.

After secret planning in late 1553, a group of nobles coordinated separate risings across the country in early 1554.

Their leaders included Sir Thomas Wyatt in Kent, Sir James Croft in Herefordshire, Sir Peter Carew in Devon, and the Duke of Suffolk, the father of Lady Jane Grey, in Leicestershire, among others.

The plan relied on a swift and simultaneous series of revolts, designed to overwhelm royal forces before Mary could respond.

However, the scheme collapsed almost immediately. The government uncovered the plot in late January and arrested several conspirators.

Most rebel leaders failed to gather support. Their men deserted or surrendered, and Croft, Carew, and Suffolk fled or were captured before advancing. 

Only Wyatt succeeded in raising a sizeable force. On 25 January 1554, he issued a proclamation in Kent, making clear that his revolt targeted only the Spanish marriage rather than opposition to the queen.

Thousands of men joined him, including London apprentices and local gentry.

Wyatt promised to defend the kingdom’s independence by protecting Protestant worship against foreign intervention.

As he marched towards London, he avoided looting and maintained discipline, which encouraged others to rally to his banner.

He hoped that the capital would open its gates and support the revolt. 

Mary’s court reacted with urgency and she gave a rousing speech to Londoners at Guildhall on 1 February, declaring that she would stand and fight for her crown.

She condemned the rebels as traitors, reassured the crowd that her marriage treaty protected English interests, and insisted that she ruled by divine right.

Her public stance impressed many, and the city’s mood turned in her favour.

Authorities fortified the city, closed gates, and stationed guards at key points. 

Wyatt reached Southwark on 3 February. He hoped to cross London Bridge, but he found it heavily defended.

He moved west and tried to enter the city through Kingston on 6 February, which lay less protected.  His men managed to break through a gate and briefly fought their way to Ludgate on 7 February.

However, Londoners refused to join them, and Mary’s forces blocked their path.

Surrounded and outnumbered, Wyatt surrendered. His remaining men were captured or scattered and the rebellion collapsed. 

In the weeks that followed, Queen Mary ordered quick punishment. Wyatt faced trial for treason and was executed on 11 April 1554, two months after his arrest.

He gave a final speech from the scaffold, claiming that he had never intended to harm the queen and had acted only to oppose the Spanish marriage.

The government also executed the Duke of Suffolk and Lady Jane Grey. Jane had played no part in the uprising but remained a Protestant figurehead.

Her continued existence posed a threat to Mary’s rule, and the rebellion gave a reason to remove her permanently. 

Almost 500 others were arrested and contemporary estimates suggest that between 100 and 150 rebels were executed across southern England, with their heads displayed on spikes to deter future uprisings. The remainder were pardoned or fined.

The crackdown aimed to restore order and send a message of royal authority. Yet the violence also stirred up public fear.

Mary’s reliance on executions created the view that her reign would be associated with bloodshed.

Ultimately, her image suffered, particularly among those who already doubted her religious policies. 

The rebellion’s greatest political consequence concerned Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Although she had played no role in the plot, some rebels had named her as a possible alternative to Mary.

Suspicion fell on her as a Protestant figure who might inherit popular support.

Mary’s council arrested Elizabeth on 17 March and imprisoned her in the Tower of London the following day.

Interrogators demanded confessions, but Elizabeth maintained her innocence. She denied all knowledge of the rebellion and refused to implicate others. 

No evidence ever emerged that linked Elizabeth to Wyatt or the conspirators.

Eventually, under pressure from foreign ambassadors and her own advisors, Mary released Elizabeth in May and placed her under house arrest at Woodstock.

The experience left Elizabeth wary. She learned how quickly political favour could disappear and how easily suspicion could lead to imprisonment or death. 

In retrospect, Wyatt’s Rebellion failed to overthrow Queen Mary, but it showed how weak royal power could appear when the monarch continued with policies many disliked.

Though Mary survived the uprising, she never fully regained the confidence of her people.

The threat posed by Protestant resistance never disappeared, and the shadow of rebellion lingered over the rest of her reign.