Wyatt ' s rebellion Wyatt ' s Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554 , named after Thomas Wyatt , one of its leaders . The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I ' s determination to marry Philip of Spain , which was an unpopular policy with the English . Queen Mary ' s overthrow was implied in the rebellion , although not expressly stated as a goal . Motives . The precise reason for the uprisings has been subject to much debate . Many historians , such as D . M . Loades , consider the rebellion to have been primarily motivated by political considerations , not easily separated from religious ones in the 16th century , and notably the desire to prevent the unpopular marriage of Queen Mary I to Prince Philip of Spain . On 16 November 1553 a Parliamentary delegation had waited upon the Queen , and formally requested that she choose an English husband , the obvious though tacit candidate being her kinsman Edward Courtenay , recently created Earl of Devon . The rebels explained that the reason for the rebellion was " to prevent us from over - running by strangers . " Nevertheless , all the rebel leaders were committed Protestants . An informer called William Thomas claimed that the conspirators in fact intended to assassinate the Queen and named John FitzWilliam as the assassin . However the Crown at Wyatt ' s trial acquitted him of any intention to actually harm the Queen . Initial plans . There were four chief rebel leaders : Other rebels , aside from Edward Courtenay , Earl of Devon , included Sir Henry Isley , Lord John Grey of Wilton , Lord Thomas Grey ( Henry Grey ' s brother ) , Sir William Thomas ( Clerk of the Privy Council ) , Sir Nicholas Throckmorton , John Harington , 1st Baron Harington of Exton , Sir Nicholas Arnold and Sir William St Loe . Others involved included the French ambassador , Antoine de Noailles , who knew that a Spanish king on the throne of England was not in the best interests of France , and the mathematician Leonard Digges . Each of the four leaders would raise rebellions in one of the four counties , and together they would converge on London , on 18 March 1554 . They would then replace Mary with her half - sister Elizabeth , who would then marry Lord Devon . Meanwhile , a fleet of French ships would prevent Philip of Spain from reaching England . Implementation of these plans was prevented when Simon Renard , the Imperial ambassador to England , suspected a plot . He informed the Lord Chancellor , Bishop Stephen Gardiner , who on 21 January arrested Devon , who revealed that there was indeed a rebellion planned . Under increased pressure of time , the planned rebellion was moved forward and went awry . The following day Sir James Croft delivered a message to Elizabeth at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire , but realizing that under the circumstances a rebellion would be unsafe , Croft gave up . Grey proved more determined , but only managed to raise a force of 140 rebels , many of whom were his own men . He was refused entry to Coventry , and gave himself up . He was later tried and beheaded , as were his daughter Lady Jane Grey , and her husband Lord Guilford Dudley , both still in prison since the failed attempt to put Lady Jane on the throne and neither of whom were involved in the uprising . News that Sir Peter Carew was spreading dissent at Exeter in Devon by saying publicly that a Spanish king would bring the Spanish Inquisition reached the Court in January 1554 . Carew attempted to raise support for the uprising in Devon , but the Protestant nobles there proved unwilling to commit treason , and the county ' s peasant inhabitants were largely Catholic . Also , he had played a large part in crushing the earlier Prayer Book Rebellion there . A warrant was issued for Carew ' s arrest , but , forewarned , he escaped across the Channel to Normandy , but was arrested soon after . By this time , the French ships found themselves unable to maintain their position and returned to France . Only Wyatt succeeded in raising a substantial force . On 22 January 1554 he summoned a meeting of his friends at his castle of Allington , and 25 January was now fixed for the rising . Rebellion . On 26 January Wyatt occupied Rochester , and issued a proclamation to the county . Many country people and local gentry collected . At first the queen ' s supporters , led by Lord Abergavenny and Sir Robert Southwell , the sheriff , appeared to be able to suppress the rising with ease , routing a rebel force of 500 at Hartley Wood on 28 January . But the Spanish marriage was unpopular , and Kent was more affected by the preaching of the reformers than most of the country districts of England . Abergavenny and Southwell were deserted by their men , who either disbanded or went over to Wyatt . He now had 3 , 000 men at his command . A detachment of the London trainband s was sent against him under the command of the elderly Duke of Norfolk . But they also joined the rebels , raising their numbers to 4 , 000 , while the Duke fled to London . Elizabeth , meanwhile , had been summoned to Court and was held incommunicado , in mortal fear . The rising now seemed so formidable that the Queen and Council sent a deputation to Wyatt to ask for his terms . He demanded that the Tower of London should be surrendered to him , and the Queen put under his charge . The insolence of these demands turned an initially sympathetic London against Wyatt , and Mary was able to rally the capital to her cause on 1 February by delivering a rousing speech at the Guildhall . Wyatt ' s army reached Southwark on 3 February . Mary ' s supporters occupied London Bridge in force , and the rebels were unable to penetrate into the city . Wyatt was driven from Southwark by the threats of Sir John Brydges , afterwards Lord Chandos , who was prepared to fire on the suburb with the guns of the Tower . Refusing to give up , the rebels marched to Kingston . The bridge there was also destroyed , but the rebels repaired it and crossed over . They met little resistance as they marched through the outskirts of London , but were stopped by the inhabitants of Ludgate . The rebel army then broke up . Aftermath . Wyatt surrendered , and was tried and executed along with approximately 90 rebels , many of whom were hanged , drawn and quartered . Wyatt himself , after being severely tortured in the hope of extracting a confession implicating Elizabeth , was beheaded at Tower Hill and his body quartered . Courtenay was exiled and eventually died in Padua . Lord Thomas Grey and William Thomas were both executed . Throckmorton was found not guilty and released . Sir Nicholas Arnold , together with a few other ringleaders , was never brought to trial and eventually pardoned . Sir Peter Carew was imprisoned but released and Sir James Croft was tried and found guilty , but eventually pardoned . William St Loe also evaded punishment . Elizabeth was intensely interrogated and in danger of execution , but managed to be spared due to evasive and intelligent responses , in which she maintained she had been unaware of the planned uprising . Nothing could be proved , but the degree to which she was privy to the preparations has been questioned by modern scholars . Elizabeth remained imprisoned as a precautionary measure . The rebellion proved disastrous for the Wyatt family , as they lost their title and lands , including the family home , Allington Castle . However , when Elizabeth , herself a Protestant and distant relative of the Wyatt family , ascended the throne in 1558 , she restored the family titles and lands .