Mary Tudor - Mary I of England

Mary Tudor - Mary I of England - Bloody Mary.

England's 1st Female Monarch

Mary Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace, London on 18 February 1516. 

She was the only surviving daughter of Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon. She was christened as a Catholic at the Church of the Observant, Greenwich. Her Godparents were, Catherine of York, Countess of Devon, Anges Howard - Duchess of Norfolk and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

Mary's mother provided her with most of her education, and was very well educated in French, Greek, Latin and Spanish. Mary also became educated in dance and music. 

When Mary was aged just 1/2 years old, she was promised to Prince Francis III - Duke of Brittany, Son to King Francis I of France. This marriage never went forward, and the contract was repudiated 3 years later. Her father then contracted Mary, who was around 3/4 years old at the time, to marry Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor, Son to Phillip I of Castile, but a few years later, as advised by Thomas Wolsey - also Henry VIII's Chief Adviser - to cancel the wedding, Henry agreed. 

Francis III - Duke of Brittany

Thomas Wolsey then resumed negotiating marriages within France, mainly to declare the seal of the Treaty of London, which would make peace between the two countries, but Henry suggests Mary marries King Francis I.

A Treaty was then put into place, and signed stating Mary either marries King Francis I, or his Son, Henry - Duke of Orleans.

Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor

July 1520, aged just 4 and a half years old, Mary performed on the virginals - similar to a harpsichord, to entertain the visiting French delegation. 

Now aged around 6 years old, Mary and Charles V betrothed in the presence of the English Court, on 19 June 1522, this was to seal the Treaty of Windsor, which was an extension of the Treaty of Bruges, sealed in August of the previous year - a secret alliance between England and Spain, to set a date for the war with France. 

Around August 1524, Henry VIII began going over the idea of Mary marrying her cousin - James V of Scotland. By April the following year, Charles V demanded that Mary be sent to Spain with her share of the dowry in cash, to himself. Henry refused this order on the reason of not wanting to send Mary away before her 12th birthday - how noble of him! In June 1525, Charles released himself from the betrothal he had with Mary to find someone more 'fitting'.

James V of Scotland - Mary's Cousin

In 1526 there was a rearrangement in the household, and Mary, just 10 - and during this time it was only right Mary had her own place - so she was sent to Wales, and once there was titled Princess of Wales, she also visited Ludlow, to establish her own court in the welsh marches.

Mary I of England

Few years later, Henry wanted to divorce Mary's mother - which I will cover in another blog. During this time, Mary had a rough ride. She got dragged through court over a negotiation regarding peace with England and France, as well as another marriage idea! Mary also got treated like a bastard, people said her birth was illegitimate because Henry married his brothers wife, which probably didn't help her fathers own thinking, he believed Catherine didn't birth him a Son because he was being punished by God.
This was also around the time that Henry started his relationship with Anne Boleyn, who wasn't the kindest when it came to Mary, now her step-daughter. Anne also believed Mary was a bastard, and wanted Mary to admit this, as well as place Mary under Anne's birth, but she refused, this broke up the household and Mary was sent to Hatfield, Hertfordshire to act as Lady-In-Waiting to her younger Sister - Henry and Anne's secret daughter - Elizabeth Tudor.

Phillip of Spain II, Charles V Son

25 July 1554, at Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire Mary I of England married her cousins only child - Prince II of Spain.
Charles V upped his rank making himself Emperor Charles V, and made his son Phillip the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This made Mary the Queen of Naples and the Queen of Jerusalem. Even though Phillip was King, every Parliament papers would be dated and signed in both there names, they would both attend hearings, Phillip would not be assisted by Mary's Army if he went to war, and he also could not act without Mary's consent. Even though he was unhappy with these agreements, and felt no passion towards Mary, he stuck by her side for "political and strategic" gain. Phillip couldn't speak English, so they spoke in French, Latin or Spanish - guess her education paid off in the end.
During the course of their marriage Mary became very unwell, mentally and physically

Mary I of England

In September 1554, Mary had become unwell and gained some weight, she visited her Doctor who declared her pregnant, however, no baby ever came. Then in 1558, Mary believed she was pregnant, but again, no baby arrived.
By October 1558, Mary's health had severely worsened and on 17 November 1558, aged 42 at St James Palace, Mary passed away. Some suggest ovarian cysts, others say uterine cancer.

So why was she nicknamed 'Bloody Mary of England'?
For the next 5 years Mary was to rule over England, and she was determined, along with proving her birth's legitimacy, she also wanted to restore England back to Catholicism. Those who refused to convert were burnt at the stake - at the time, this was the preferred execution method by the Catholic Spanish Inquisition. In total she burnt, 227 Men and 56 Women!
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The second reason was during and after her marriage with Phillip. England said she had "married a foreigner" and frowned on the fact they were partially ruled by a "foreigner". Some point during the marriage, Phillip tells Mary to start a war with France, and as a result, ended up loosing the last possession England had over France, Calais.
After Mary passed, Phillip tried marrying her Sister - to which she refused. Phillip went back to Spain, got the Spanish Armada to invade England, and lost. Phillip then started to exaggerate Mary's execution's, those she burnt became martyr's, he even made the marriage sound worse then it was.
Mary became portrayed as evil.
And so began, the notorious Bloody Mary.

Personally, to me, she wasn't that evil. Yes she killed, but her father, when he reigned England killed at least 40,000 more people then his daughter...

What do you think?

Thank you for reading.

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