My Dear Lady Sister Elizabeth,                                                                November 8, 1558

This abrupt act of correspondence from me may catch you by surprise, but I must entreat you, as your sister, not your queen, to regard the contents of this letter with an open mind. I am far aware of the bad blood between us in these past years, a most unfortunate strife left in the wake by the sins of our kingly father and the rivalrous dynamics of conspirators and traitors surrounding my court. They seek every opportunity to topple my reign and the Catholic faith through the exploiting of your tender mind. There are those who whisper about you, my dear Elizabeth, of an amassing movement gathered behind your cause, of a radical Protestant faction threatening to overtake the country in your name, but from the privacy of my own heart, I know that to be not the truth. For you are one of the only kinswomen I have left in this world.

I fear that I am starting to hear God’s calling for me to join him in his Realm. My attendants and physicians believe in my ignorance, but every day, I distinctly grow weaker despite the mounds of poultices and strange concoctions I’m compelled to ingest. Nevertheless, it is this mortal pain I endure that reawakened fond memories of a life that brings me solace in my most agonizing moments. It is in my final days that I’m ever more inclined to be reminded of the light you brought into my world: the early years of watching you grow to be the most lively, intelligent child who has ever graced this earth and showering you with love I’ve been deprived of in your household. Those lonely years we spent together of solitude and withdrawal from courtly affairs, both of us deprived of the affections of our kingly father. However, I believe it to be more than just our shared Tudor blood that binds us in our affections. There lies a certain understanding, nuanced but powerful, to be found in our mutual fall from grace and displacement from the line of succession on the whims of a fickle-minded man. We both have endured the darkest years of our age of innocence in the company of one another, whether that be in proximity or distance. Above all else, there is nothing of more value to me than the ties of kinship and conjointment of blood in this tumultuous world where enemies lurk in every corner. And you, Elizabeth, are my most beloved sister and perhaps the only true family I have left. I know I do not have much time, but I wish to make our amends in my last days and pass knowing I have settled this strife.

As you may know, Parliament has denied Philip’s claim to the throne as my heir. With me being childless, that leaves you, the next eldest child of the late King Henry VIII as per the Tudor line of succession. To this day, I can remember the kind of profound fear and uncertainty we lived in, altogether disposable with the throne seeming so out of reach, with no stability of future consideration. I have always believed you to be destined for greatness, the one to strengthen our House and bring it to its full glory. You will marry and find true gratification in knowing you have fulfilled your duty to our nation by carrying on our royal bloodline. I trust you, my dear sister, to maintain the sacred mission I have left behind of defending the true Church in my wake, to act in God’s name and cleanse the nation of heretic beliefs currently plaguing our ranks, aristocratic and churchmen alike. I must ask you to allow time for the teachings of the Catholic faith to once again make their presence known, for I have no control over what comes after. Only the Holy Father himself knows what may come after me, but I trust you to act in correct judgment for your reign and ensure our line prospers for a thousand more years to come.

If there is anything those years of bastardisation, humiliation, estrangement, loneliness, and pennilessness have taught me, it is that hardships can always be overcome with family. Especially for someone the likes of us, two Tudor girls with no other support or familial connections to turn to. Within the lines of these words, I am no longer Mary Tudor, Queen of England and Ireland. I come before you as your dearest sister, seeking your understanding and prayers for after God dispatches his Messengers to take me away. Allow me to reassure you of my love and devotion for you as my family, and let us rejoice in our sisterhood. 

Your most beloved sister,

Mary