Mary I

This article is about the English queen. For other uses, see Mary.

The majority of the following article contains the fictional portrayal of one or more historical figures. Details in this article may differ from real world facts. For more information on the historical figure(s), consult the links provided within or at the bottom of the article.

Mary I
Characteristics
Full name	Mary I
Also known as	Mary Tudor Bloody Mary
Title	Queen of England Princess of England (former)
Born	18 February 1516
Died	17 November 1558
Nationality	English Spaniard
Gender	Female
Personal information
Family	Henry VII (grandfather) † Elizabeth of York (grandmother) † Ferdinand (grandfather) † Isabella of Spain (grandmother) † Henry VIII (father) † Catherine of Aragon (mother) † Catherine Parr (stepmother) † Henry Fitzroy (half-brother) † Elizabeth I (half-sister) Edward VI (half-brother) † Lady Jane Grey (cousin) † Mary, Queen of Scots (cousin)
Romances	Philip of Spain (husband)
Religion	Catholicism
Affiliations	House of Tudor
Book information
Appears in	Anne Boleyn and Me Henry VIII's Wives Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor Lady Jane Grey
Locations	England
Timeline	August 1525 – November 1558

"You would think a woman's reign would be a gentle reign–but it is all death and fear. She has no heir though, which encourages me to hope that maybe... No, if I write more it would be treason."

—Tilly Middleton

Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558) was the first Queen of England. She was the only surviving child of Henry VIII with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary was a devout Catholic all of her life. After her the death of her half-brother Edward VI, Mary reigned for six years and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I.

Biography

Early life

Mary was born on 18 February 1516, the only surviving child of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Isabella of Castilla and León and King Ferdinand of Aragón, and her paternal grandparents were King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.

At age six, she was betrothed to her cousin, Charles V, whom came to England for the betrothal ceremony.

1525 – 1536

In 1525, nine-year-old Mary was given her own household at Ludlow Castle. Charles broke the engagement the same year, which Henry took as a "personal insult." In 1526, the French King Francis I proposed an engagement to Mary. A delegation was sent to England for negotiations in April 1527. The Frenchmen questioned Mary's legitimacy, which Cardinal Wolsey quickly assuaged. The engagement later fell through. Around the same time, Mary's father began to seek a divorce from her mother so he could marry Anne Boleyn. He forbade Mary from seeing Catherine. In March 1531, she fell ill and was brought from Ludlow to London to be under her mother's care. After her recovery, Henry allowed Mary to accompany court to Woodstock.

After Henry separated from Catherine, Mary was permitted to visit her mother only once more in January 1532. Having made himself head of the Church of England, Henry had his marriage to Catherine declared "null and void" and married Anne Boleyn in 1533. Mary was firmly on her mother's side, saying that "she would never accept that her mother was anything other than the rightful Queen of England." In September, Mary's half-sister Elizabeth was born. Mary was stripped of her title of Princess and her household at Beaulieu was disbanded. She was then sent to Hatfield to serve as an attendant to Elizabeth, whom she seemed quite fond of at the time. Mary's mother passed away on 7 January 1536. Anne Boleyn was executed on adultery charges the following May.

1536 – 1548

In May 1536, Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour. A few months later, Mary was allowed to return to court after she agreed to accept her father as head of the church. Jane furthermore helped repair Mary and Henry's strained relationship. The following year, Jane died of childbirth fever after giving birth to Edward. Mary was the chief mourner at her funeral. She took charge of her half-sister Elizabeth, whom was left without a nurse at the time. In 1540, Henry wed his fourth wife Anne of Cleves, whom Mary "came to like" despite her qualms about Anne being a Lutheran. However, Mary found the ostentation of his young fifth wife, Catherine Howard, off putting. After Catherine's execution in 1542, Henry once again attempted to marry off Mary though no plans came to fruition.

In 1543, Henry married his final wife Catherine Parr. Mary became very good friends with her, despite their opposing religions. Mary became closer to the Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley in 1545, but later distanced herself from him. The King died on 28 January 1547 and Mary's younger half-brother Edward ascended the throne. Per her father's will, Mary was next in line to inherit the throne if Edward died without issue. Mary lived with Catherine Parr for a short time, before establishing her own household in Hunsdon. She initially disapproved of Catherine's marriage of Thomas Seymour, but later congratulated her. In 1548, Mary was appointed godmother of Catherine's baby, whom was named Mary after her. Catherine died about a week later of childbed fever.

1548 – 1558

During Edward's reign, he and his council put through many Protestant reforms. Mary continued worshipping as she always had, including holding mass. She and Edward quarreled several times at her refusal to change. Before dying on 6 July 1553, Edward disinherited his half-sisters and named their cousin, Lady Jane Grey, his successor. Mary fled east where she gained support in Norfolk and Suffolk. On 19 July, Mary was declared queen by the Privy Council. Mary was inclined to pardon Jane. However, in January 1554, Thomas Wyatt began an uprising against her due to Mary picking a Catholic husband. Jane's execution was carried out in February. Mary also briefly had Elizabeth imprisoned at the Tower of London, suspecting that she was involved with the rebellion.

In July 1554, Mary married Philip of Spain, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, whom Mary was once engaged to. Mary also set to return England back into a Catholic country and had many of the old ways reinstated. She started imprisoning Protestants and had many of them burned at the stake, leading to her being called "Bloody Mary." By early 1555, Mary believed she was expecting her first child. The time to give birth came and went. In August, Philip left to visit the Netherlands. He had returned by June 1557, when Mary agreed to go to war with him against France. In early 1558, Mary thought she was pregnant again. Philip, at this time, had returned to the Netherlands. Once again, a child never came. Her health then began to rapidly decline and she died on 18 November.

Personality and traits

Mary's personality was sometimes described as being similar to Catherine Parr's. They were both "very self-controlled and careful, yet full of intellectual excitement." Her sister, Elizabeth thought Mary to be rather grim and remarked that "she never smile[d]." Mary and Katherine also shared in interest in theology, though Mary was a devout Catholic like her mother. She continued practicing her religion throughout Edward's reign, despite mass being banned. Mary was also characterized as "a stickler for correct behavior," but also "never [knew] much about what [was] going on." Furthermore, she spoke Spanish well and was able to translate a book from Latin.

Family tree

See also: Category:House of Tudor

The Tudor Family Tree

♛Henry VII (1457-1509)

Elizabeth of York (1465-1503)

Stuart family

♚James IV (1473-1513)

Margaret Tudor (1489-1541)

Mary Tudor (1496-1533)

Charles Brandon (1484-1545)

Arthur (1486-1502)

(1) Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536)

♛Henry VIII (1491-1547)

(2) Anne Boleyn (1501-1536)

(3) Jane Seymour (1509-1537)

(4) Anne of Cleves (1515-1557)

(5) Catherine Howard (1520-1542)

(6) Catherine Parr (1512-1548)

Frances Brandon (d. 1559)

Sir Henry Grey (d. 1554)

♛Mary I (1516-1558)

♛Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

♛Edward VI (1537-1553)

♛Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554)

Key:
♛ - King or Queen of England
♚ - King or Queen of Scotland

Behind the scenes

Marion Day as Mary

• Mary is a major character and antagonist in Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor. Marion Day portrayed her in film adaptation of the book.
• She also appears in Anne Boleyn and Me and Henry VIII's Wives, which portrays her more as a loving older sister towards Elizabeth.
• Mary's ascension to the throne and the last years of her life are shown in Lady Jane Grey and Bloody Tower.

Appearances

In chronological order:

• Anne Boleyn and Me
• Henry VIII's Wives
• Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor
• "Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor" (film)
• Lady Jane Grey
• Bloody Tower
• Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country (Mentioned only)
• The Queen's Spies (Mentioned only)
• Armada (Mentioned only)

External links

• Mary Tudor at Biography
• Mary I at History
• Mary I at Tudor History
• Mary I on Wikipedia