Stoking the Fires: The Relationship between Mary Tudor and Eustace Chapuys, 1529-1545

Most published research regarding the court of King Henry VIII and the early years of the English Reformation has relied upon the correspondence of ambassador Eustace Chapuys. Although Chapuys’ assessments of the goings on in England at the time have been often disputed among scholars in regard to their accuracy, little research has been attempted to understand the man writing the letters that have so frequently been cited. During his sixteen years as ambassador Chapuys became a close friend of Henry’s eldest living child, Mary Tudor, who later became Queen Mary I. This relationship has previously gone unexplored. This thesis examines the relationship between Mary and Chapuys through research of primary documents from the letters of Chapuys and others. It also makes extensive use of works by researchers of sixteenth-century England, who have often misjudged Chapuys’ personality and role in the events that took place in the 1530s and 1540s