Attitudes Towards the Marriage of Mary Tudor and Philip of Habsburg in English and European Societies

A comprehensive study of the rulers matrimonial policy in the early Modern period is one of the most relevant and important areas in historical science. Some questions related to clarifying the significance and influence of the marriage between Mary Tudor and Philip of Habsburg on the foreign and domestic policy of England are still debatable. The purpose of the study is to clarify the importance of a dynastic marriage as an integral part to the political system of the leading countries of medieval Europe, to study the prerequisites, causes and consequences of the marriage between Mary Tudor and Philip of Habsburg. Materials and methods. The article is based on the study of written sources of the era under study and modern scientific literature. The work uses both general scientific and particular methods of historical research: the method of analysis, ideographic and synchronization method. Study results. The article focuses on considering the attitude to the marriage between Mary Tudor and Philip of Habsburg, the future king of Spain (1556–1598). The emphasis is placed on the conditions of marriage, the content of the prenuptial agreement, which caused unrest in the English society. Conclusions. The marriage of Mary Tudor and Philip of Habsburg was traditionally negatively assessed by historians. It was believed that it was the reason for deterioration of relations with France, tougher domestic religious policy. This union caused discontent among both Catholics and Protestants. However, there are positive aspects: the marriage of Queen Mary with Philip was successful for England, since an alliance with the strongest and the richest country in Europe at that time was the only way out for England, which was in a difficult economic situation, and the war with France allowed to distract attention from religious disagreements in the country.