Free Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer Page B

draped across her chest. Even her horse was gorgeously arrayed, trapped in embroidered cloth of gold. The train of Mary's gown was so long and so heavy that it had to be carried on the shoulder of one of the gentlemen of her household.
    I had never seen such a public outpouring of affection, and I was excited and proud to be in a place of honor on that day of my sister's triumph. A tide of loving emotion swept over us as we slowly followed her through the city, stopping often to listen to choirs singing songs of praise. As we neared the Tower, cannons thundered so loudly that the ground shook and windowpanes shattered. At last Queen Mary entered the royal apartments so recently vacated by Queen Jane, now kept prisoner in another part of the Tower.
    On the first of October in 1553, wearing a crimson robe trimmed with ermine over my gown of white and silver, I carried my sister's train at her coronation. The pomp and ceremony exceeded even that of Edward's coronation, for the new queen had a flair for pageantry. After a ceremony lasting seven hours, I was the first to take the oath of allegiance to Queen Mary. At the banquet that followed at Westminster Hall, I was seated next to my sister. Thousands of dishes had been prepared for the feast, but the queen ate only the wild boar. These exhilarating days were a time of joy and celebration for everyone—everyone save those shut up in the Tower.
    I, too, rejoiced:
I shall be the next queen of England! I shall be the next to wear the crown!

CHAPTER 8
Queen Mary
    After her coronation Mary moved from her country manor into Whitehall Palace. Soon thereafter she invited me to join her at court. After all those months in the country, I was happy to take up residence in London. I settled into Somerset House, the city mansion I had acquired after the execution of its former owner, Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset. I had traded another property for this great mansion, which was much to my taste—a combination of classic simplicity and elegance. It was also close to Whitehall.
    One afternoon the queen's messenger delivered a note. I broke the royal seal.
Dearest Sister,
the note began.
We beg you to sup with us this day. We have much to discuss with you.
It was signed
Maria Regina
—Mary the Queen.
    I understood that she was using the royal
we.
And I wondered what it was
we
wanted to discuss. While the messenger waited, I penned a quick reply, assuring Her Majesty of my great pleasure, and so on and so forth.
    I was in a fine mood as I prepared to take supper with the queen. Kat Ashley watched as my maids dressed me in a black velvet gown with French sleeves over a white damask petticoat. Kat was no longer with me as a governess—I was now twenty—but I relied on her as I always had for her companionship.
    "No jewels, madam?" asked Kat, who was always urging me to wear one of the finely wrought pieces left me by my father. "The diamond-and-ruby necklace would be splendid with that gown."
    "No jewels," I said firmly, still feeling that a plain form of dress suited me best. Instead, around my waist I clasped a simple gold chain from which hung a girdle book, a miniature prayer book bound in gold. It had been a gift from my brother, and I treasured it. Then I called for Lady Marian and Lady Cynthia to accompany me and two gentlemen to ride with us to Whitehall Palace.
    Ushered into the queen's privy chamber, I dropped three times to one knee (Mary didn't require this be done five times, as Edward had) as I approached her chair. After we had exchanged the usual greetings, Queen Mary invited me to be seated on a low stool, my ladies on silken cushions with her ladies. Then she called for wine to be brought.
    I had scarcely taken the first sip from the golden goblet when Mary looked at me steadily and said in her deep, resonant voice, "And are you hearing Mass regularly, Elizabeth?"
    "I attend those services that it so pleases God for me to attend," I replied with care, "and I am down on my