On the 13th August 1514 Mary Tudor was married to King Louis XII. The Duke of Longueville acted as proxy for the French king, accompanied by Johannes de Selve the President of the Supreme Court of Normandy and the French general Thomas Boyer. The wedding was held in the great hall at Greenwich, the hall was decorated with an arras of gold and laced with a frieze embroidered with the royal arms of England and France. King Henry VIII and Queen Katherine entered first followed by Mary and her ladies in waiting. Mary wore a ‘petticoat of ash-coloured satin, and a gown of purple satin and cloth of gold in chequers; she wore a cap of cloth of gold, and chains and jewels like the Queen’.[66] Numerous ambassadors and members of the court attended the wedding. Noticeably the Spanish ambassadors were conspicuous by their absence.

The wedding was presided over by William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, first addressing the French representative in Latin. Johannes de Selve replied that Louis XII was ‘desirous’ to take Mary as his wife. After this the Bishop of Durham read the French authorization for the proxy wedding.

Next the,

‘Duke of Longueville, taking with his right the right hand of the Princess Mary, read the French King’s words of espousal (recited) in French. Then the Princess, taking the right hand of the Duke of Longueville, read her part of the contract (recited) in the same tongue. Then the Duke of Longueville signed the schedule and delivered it for signature to the Princess Mary, who signed Marye; after which the Duke delivered the Princess a gold ring, which the Princess placed on the fourth finger of her right hand.’ (Letters & Papers Vol. 1 3146).

A portrait once thought to be Mary Tudor King Louis XII

A portrait thought to be Mary Tudor (but may be Isabella of Castile) and King Louis XII. (Images from Wikipedia)

Sources:

Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1871).

Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, 1509-47, ed. J.S Brewer, James Gairdner and R.H Brodie, (His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1862-1932).

Richardson, Walter C., Mary Tudor The White Queen (Great Britain: University of Washington Press, 1970).