Mary I (1516-1558) was the oldest daughter of King Henry VIII who ruled as Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 until her death at which time her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I, ascended to the British throne. Her brutal persecution of Protestants earned her the nickname 'Bloody Mary.' Philip II (1527-1598) was the King of Spain from 1556 until his death. Phillip’s eventful reign included Spain’s conquest of the Philippines (named for him), the establishment of a colony in Florida, and the historic defeat of the Spanish Armada by the British in 1588 earning him the name 'Philip the Prudent.' After the death of his first wife and cousin, Princess Maria of Portugal, in 1545, Philip married his first cousin once removed, Mary I, in 1554. The strategic alliance formed by the marriage of Philip and Mary proved only temporary. Partial vellum manuscript DS signed by Queen Mary I, "Marye the quene," and King Philip II, "Philipp R," one page, 10.75 x 2.25, no date but circa 1554-1555. The three-line partial document encompasses the imposing list of Philip and Mary's joint titles, “Philipp and Mary, by the grace of god King and Quene of England, France, Naples, Jer[usa]l[e]m and Ireland, Defenders of the fayth, Princesse of Spayne and Cicill, Archdukes of Austriche, Dukes of Millayne, Burgundy and Brabant, Countyes of Haspurge Flaunders and Tyrol.” In very good to fine condition, with overall soiling, a circular stain touching the top of the signature, and a small hole to the text.
Philip and Mary married on July 25, 1554 and they ruled as joint monarchs for the next year until Philip’s departure for Flanders in September 1555, a period which was arguably the happiest of Mary’s reign, even if it encompassed the humiliation of her very public false pregnancy in the spring and summer of 1555. Philip returned to England briefly in March to July 1557, but the present document can be dated to his first stay, as it does not name him as King of Spain (a title he inherited in January 1566). Material signed by Queen Mary I is extremely rare and desirable, with this example elevated by the presence of her monarch husband.
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