Mary Tudor I, the Story Behind, "Bloody Mary"
Mary Tudor was the most despised queen in British history. She killed more people in just three years of her short five year rein than the Spanish Inquisition and the Chambre Ardante combined. Mary was a fanatic, with a thirst for revenge. She would do anything to protect her faith, and faced people who committed heresy so unmercifully she earned herself the title "Bloody Mary". But why was she so cruel? Is there more than just the rumors and ghost stories of an evil queen?
As a child, Mary had a very joyous life. She was always the center of attention and was dearly loved by her family, she was 'The pearl of their world.' Mary Tudor was born on February 18th at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. She was the first and only child of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon to live throughout infancy. Mary was a popular princess, but she was not the son her father so dearly desired. However Mary was still treated like the regal and royal princess she was and continued to learn about ruling a country. From a young age, Mary learned about religion and devoted herself to Catholicism, with the guidance of her mother, an extremely devoted and faithful Catholic. Mary revered her mother and flourished in a Roman-Catholic community where she could practice her faith with pride. Mary thrived as a child and grew up with the knowledge that she would one day rule England.
In 1525 everything changed for Mary. The sudden changes sent her, and England, in to a chaotic place. Mary was a young lady, and her mother had still left her sibling less. King Henry was furious. He wanted a son, and when he realized Catherine was not going to give him one, he decided it was because God did not want him to have a son because his marriage was wrong. In 1525 Henry decided he must divorce his wife, yet he knew divorce was against his religion, so he asked the pope for special permission. During this time, Mary's beloved mother had been sent to live in a remote castle away from Mary, for the fear that they might plot against the King. Finally, after long consideration, the pope annulled Henry's divorce. Henry then broke away from the pope and abolished all ties to Catholicism and Rome. The new church of England was now Protestant, and as supreme ruler of the church, Henry granted himself the divorce. In 1533 Henry married Anne Boleyn. Mary was sent into a fluster, she was confused and hurt that her father would be so unfaithful as to abandon Catholicism and marry a protestant without the pope's blessing. Mary detested Anne Boleyn and believed she was to blame for everything. She hoped her father would not fall prey to her disloyal ways. That same year Mary's half sister Elizabeth was born. Now that Henry had another daughter, Mary was declared officially illegitimate and would never inherit the throne. Mary was forced to then work for Elizabeth and lived in her castle as a lady in-waiting for the young princess. In 1536, Henry executed Anne Boleyn for her failure to conceive a male heir. These challenges were very traumatizing to Mary and even though they caused much illness and mental stress, they would also shape her into the queen she would someday become.
Things where finally changing in England, and with the royal succession being ratified over again, Mary had a chance to rise to power. In 1536, when Mary was twenty, Henry VIII married his third wife, Jane Seymour. A year later, much to everyone's happiness, they had their son Edward. The succession was quickly altered to: Edward, then Mary, then Elizabeth. All of England rejoiced, but Mary felt downtrodden. Edward was a supporter of Protestantism and would most likely carry out his fathers plans to make England a Protestant country. In 1547, Henry died and Prince Edward was crowned, King Edward VI of England, at the age of only nine. Five years later Edward became gravely ill. He knew that when he died Mary would become queen, however Mary was Catholic. To prevent Mary from ruling England, it was decided that The Lady Jane Grey would rule England. In 1533 Edward died and The Lady Jane Grey was crowned queen of England. The English citizens did not see Jane as the rightful ruler, they believed that Mary was the true heir to the throne because she was part of King Henry's blood line. The people did not know of Mary's Catholic ways or her plans for England in the future, so they hastily rallied towards her. Just a few days after The Lady Jane Grey's coronation, Mary, with the help of the people, Took the throne. In 1533, at the age of 37, Mary was crowned Queen Mary Tudor I of England.
At first, Mary was popular amongst the people, but she quickly became one of the most infamous queens in British history. Mary wanted to bring Catholicism back to England, and her first step was to marry and produce a Catholic heir to one day rule. In 1533 Mary married Phillip II of Spain. The people of England did not like this marriage arrangement because they feared that England might become part of Spain. Some people even tried to overthrow Mary, but they were vastly outnumbered and executed. Mary's unpopularity grew even more when she revived old laws for punishing heretics. She killed protestant leaders, bishops, and even their families by means of fire. Thomas Cranmer, one of Mary's more notable martyrs, was burned at the stake even though he recanted. All of these people were executed because of Mary's vengeance towards their religion, even though many of them had done nothing to offend Mary. Some people who tried to fight back or overthrow Mary were beheaded and their bodies were hung in the city. This was to show people what would happen to them if they fought back, and to prevent them from trying anything. Some people thought that the queen was evil and wicked, but some other people who were more high up in the government believed Mary was a good, strong Queen.
Mary loved her husband, but Phillip was rarely with her and often had to go back to Spain. Phillip once asked Mary for assistance in a war that Spain was fighting. Mary gave him the resources he wanted, but in turn, Mary lost much of England's important necessities. After the war, Phillip moved back to Spain. Mary was growing old at this point and after suffering many miss-carriages she had given up on ever producing an heir. On November 17th, 1558, at the age of 42, Mary died of an unknown sickness. After three and a half years of destruction and death, Mary Tudor failed to convert all England to Catholicism. After Mary's death, her protestant half-sister Elizabeth I ruled England and the Church of England was Protestant once more. During Mary's reign she was remembered as "Bloody Mary" but not everyone believed her to be evil. Some people who were more high up in the government thought her to be a good, strong queen, and even Mary herself believed she was helping England.
Mary Tudor I was a gruesome queen, and one of the most hated because of her un-just laws for burning heretics at the stake. Mary was a proud catholic and she was given the name "Bloody Mary" because of the people she killed in the name of her religion. The stories of "Bloody Mary" or "The Bloody Queen" were just portraying one side of her, and she did believe she was doing good for her country by ridding it of heretics. Mary did terrible things in her lifetime and will always be remembered for them, but despite her actions she had good intentions.