Queen Mary I | Letter signed, to the Earl of Shrewsbury, announcing war with France, 2 June 1557
Letter signed ("Marye the queen"), signed jointly in the name of the King and Queen, to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury as President of the Council of the North
ANNOUNCING THE DECLARATION OF WAR WITH FRANCE ("...We [..] sende you herew[i]t[h] our Proclamacion of warre against the Frenche Kinge, whiche our pleasur is to have kepte secrete until the viith daye of this present moneth [...] on whiche daye assembling the people togither, who shall publisshe the saide Proclamacion..."), assuring him that war does not extend to Scotland so "faire and goode demeanor" should be shown towards the Scots, 1 page, folio, Westminster, 2 June 1557, integral address leaf, papered seal, fold tears, tape repairs, adhesive residue affecting three words
The Queen orders that the declaration of war be publicly proclaimed in York on Whit Monday. As President of the Council of the North, the Earl of Shrewsbury commanded the military in the north of England; although, as this letter makes clear, England and Scotland remained at peace he was to have his eyes to the north and his mind on the Auld Alliance, and be prepared for a Franco-Scottish invasion. As anticipated, the Scots declared their support of the French in the autumn of 1557, but, in part no doubt because of Shrewsbury's presence, conflict was restricted to small cross-border raids.