The long title was "An Acte wherby certayne Offences bee made Treasons; and also for the Government of the Kinges and Quenes Majesties Issue.

[3] The Act provided legal protection to King Philip, who had married Queen Mary I on 25 July 1554 and became co-monarch of England and Ireland.

However to "compass or imagine the death of the King" or to remove him from government was high treason on a first offence.

In that event, it would be treason to "compass, attempt, and go about to destroy the person of the King, or to remove his Highness from the government".

Section 10 stipulated that offences against the Act which were committed "only by preaching or words" must be prosecuted within six months.

It required all of the witnesses against the defendant (or at least two of them) to attend court to give evidence against him in person, "if living and within the realm".

Section 13 provided the rule for how accessories were to be treated for aiding and abetting a crime for which the penalty depended on whether it was the defendant's first or second offence.