ABSTRACT
The reign of Mary is never going to rank as one of the great creative periods in English history, but it was important in the context of the sixteenth century. It is a fallacy to believe that there was a 'catholic' party which supported the queen and a 'protestant' party which opposed her. In spite of the peaceful circumstances of her accession, Elizabeth was markedly more ruthless in removing her predecessor's ministers and councillors than Mary had been. In the high offices of state, Winchester alone survived. The English were willing enough to welcome a royal heir when they thought that one was on the way and even after the failure of Mary's pregnancy in 1555 Philip's position in England need not have been hopeless. Philip failed in England, not because he was defeated by xenophobia, but because he did not seriously try to succeed.
