ation. When Edward died, there
was an instantaneous return to Catholicism. When Mary died, Elizabeth
{p.viii} had to walk warily in bringing about innovations in
religion. Mary was crowned with the ceremonies of the Catholic Church.
When Elizabeth was crowned, nearly all the bishops, including the
"bloody" Bonner, attended, and the service of the mass was used.
Harpsfield, the notorious Archdeacon of Canterbury, the last man to
condemn heretics to the stake in England, publicly stated, weeks after
the accession of Elizabeth, that there should be no change in
religion. Later generations, judging events and characters by their
own standard, have pitilessly condemned the Marian persecutions. The
Englishmen of those days were not so squeamish or so indifferent.

There can be no doubt that Mary was unpopular among her own
contemporaries. Two reasons probably account for it. The first was her
marriage with Philip of Spain. There is no nation in Europe which has
shown itself more tolerant of alien sovereigns than the English. They
submitted to William of Normandy almost without a struggle after
Senlac. They adopted the Plantagenet as their national line of kings.
The Tudors were Welsh; the Stuarts Scotch; William III. was a
Dutchman; the Hanoverian dynasty was German. But though tolerant of
foreign dynasties, the English have, since the days of John, been
excessively jealous of foreign influences. One of the main causes of
Henry III.'s unpopularity was the overweening influence of his foreign
favourites. From Edward I. downwards the Plantagenets ruled as English
sovereigns. Henry VII., though he was crowned on the field of battle
and claimed the throne by right of conquest, was too discreet to
maintain his power, as Mary was once tempted to do, by the aid of
Welsh guards. The fiercest hostility was evoked by James I., William
III., and the first two Georges, because they surrounded themselves
with favourites from their own countries. Foreigners might sit on the
throne of England, but they had to rule as English sovereigns and rest
their power on the support of the English people. This intense
national jealousy was unhappily aroused by Mary. The strict
limitations which were placed on her husband's powers should have
warned her of her danger. Philip was allowed the empty title of king,
but from the realities of power he was studiously excluded. Philip was
careful to maintain the spirit as well as the letter of his
obligations.