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You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Tudor > Mary I | Bloody Mary Tudor
As well as earning the title of Bloody Mary, Mary I is also considered to be England’s first ruling queen. Her predecessor Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the title is disputed and Empress Matilda was known as Lady of England rather than Queen, so her claim is debatable too. Whether you agree that Mary was England’s first queen or not, she had a fascinating life and her religious convictions led to a bloody legacy that is still talked about today.
Born: 18th February 1516, Palace of Placentia, Greenwich
Died: 17th November 1558 (aged 42) St James’ Palace, London
Reign: July 1553 – 17th November 1558
Parents: Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
Predecessor: Lady Jane Grey (disputed,...Read More
As well as earning the title of Bloody Mary, Mary I is also considered to be England’s first ruling queen. Her predecessor Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the title is disputed and Empress Matilda was known as Lady of England rather than Queen, so her claim is debatable too. Whether you agree that Mary was England’s first queen or not, she had a fascinating life and her religious convictions led to a bloody legacy that is still talked about today.
Born: 18th February 1516, Palace of Placentia, Greenwich
Died: 17th November 1558 (aged 42) St James’ Palace, London
Reign: July 1553 – 17th November 1558
Parents: Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
Predecessor: Lady Jane Grey (disputed, cousin) Edward VI (brother)
Successor: Elizabeth I (sister)
Spouse: Philip II of Spain
Children: None
Royal House: Tudor
Mary I, also known as Mary Tudor or Bloody Mary to her opponents, was the only surviving child of Henry VIII’s marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon and over the course of her life, was made illegitimate, legitimate, heir, illegitimate and legitimate again. Her father’s many marriages and difficult temper meant that the young Mary would often fall in and out of favour.
She was born on 18th February 1516 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich and according to historians, was doted on by her father, Henry VIII. Records also show that Mary was a precocious and intelligent child and was left to entertain visiting French delegates with a musical performance at the age of four. Her early education was left to her mother, who raised her as a Roman Catholic, but by 9 it is said that she could read and write in Latin, French, Spanish and Greek and was talented in music and dance. As a royal child, her father attempted to negotiate a number of potential marriages for her that would form alliances all over Europe, however none of these worked out and as she fell in and out of favour, would become less and less important to him.
Despite reports stating that Henry VIII was fond of Mary, she didn’t spend much time at court, instead was given her own household at Ludlow Castle in 1525. While there, she was to preside over the Council of Wales and the Welsh Marches, though this was to be in name only. It is believed that she spent around three years at Ludlow, making regular visits to see her mother at the Royal Palaces in London. She returned to London permanently in 1528, around the time that her parent’s marriage began to become strained. It was clear around this time that Catherine was not going to have any more children and had left Henry without a legitimate male heir.
After realising this, Henry attempted to have his marriage to Catherine annulled. The stress of this project is said to have contributed greatly to Mary’s poor health at this time, which got progressively worse after Catherine was banished from court and Mary forbidden from visiting her. Shortly after her mother left court, Henry had the marriage dissolved and married the pregnant Anne Boleyn. Mary was deemed illegitimate and had her titles, household and expenses removed, becoming Lady Mary and being moved into her new sister’s household in Hatfield where she was no better than a Lady in Waiting. Mary understandably refused to acknowledge that Anne was now queen and Elizabeth princess, instead continuing to refer to her mother as the queen. Her actions enraged Henry who had her movements restricted and forbade her to visit Catherine even as she was dying. Mary was left to grieve in semi seclusion and didn’t speak to her father for three years.
As the country was thrown into turmoil over the religious changes that were taking place under Henry VIII, many of England’s catholics sought to fight back and restore their religion. One such plot was known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, which demanded that the changes to the church be repealed and that Mary be made legitimate and moved up the line of succession. The organisers were executed, but there was no evidence to say that Mary was involved, allowing her to retain her status.
In 1536, Henry VIII had Anne Boleyn beheaded and Elizabeth too was stripped of her titles and lands. His new wife, Jane Seymour urged him to make peace with Mary and she was invited back to court, however, her return to favour was to be done on Henry’s terms. She was forced into signing a document stating that she agreed that Henry was now the head of the church and that she was illegitimate. Back in favour, she was granted a new household and a monthly stipend, allowing her to renew her wardrobe with fine clothes and partake in gambling, which was a favourite pastime.
At this time, Mary spent her time between several different royal residences, including the Palaces of Beaulieu, Richmond, Greenwich, Hampton Court and Westminster, as well as her own estates.
Jane Seymour died less than a year into her marriage with Henry VIII due to complications in childbirth. Mary was named godmother to her new half brother Edward and was chief mourner at Jane’s funeral. She continued to participate in court life, even acting as hostess for various royal festivities after the death of Catherine Howard, wife number five, and the introduction of Catherine Parr, wife six. When Henry VIII married Catherine Parr, she played a large part in bringing the Tudors back together, frequently inviting the Prince of Wales and his sisters to court and involving them in parties and events. She influenced the Third Act of Succession, which Henry implemented, reinstating both Mary and Elizabeth into the line of succession, though both remained legally illegitimate.
Henry VIII died in 1547 and the nine year old Edward was made king. Mary inherited estates in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and was given ownership of two other estates. Edward was still a child, so a council was formed to rule on his behalf which consisted of mainly protestants, allowing the country to move further from Catholicism. Despite the religious reforms implemented by and under Edward VI, Mary remained a faithful Roman Catholic, defiantly celebrating mass in her own chapels.
She spent most of her brother’s reign away from court, remaining on her own estates, though she was known to visit both her siblings. When she was in her thirties, the three Tudor siblings were reunited for Christmas 1550. Edward was just 13 and yet he and Mary argued publicly about her refusal to convert to Protestantism.
On 6th July 1553, Edward VI died, possibly of tuberculosis. Despite the Third Act of Succession that was implemented by Henry VIII, Edward didn’t want Mary to succeed him due to fears that she would restore Catholicism and undo the reforms that he and their father had been working on. In an attempt to exclude her, Edward, under the supervision of his chief advisor, John Dudley, created his own policy which bypassed both his sisters and instead named their cousin, Lady Jane Grey.
The document was witnessed and signed and shortly before Edward’s death, Mary was summoned to London with plans in place to capture her. Mary learned of the scheme and fled to her estates in East Anglia, where she gathered support from her tenants. After Edward’s death was announced, she wrote to the Privy Council asserting her claim to the throne, however, her letter didn’t arrive until after they had already named Lady Jane Grey as queen.
Dudley sent forces to keep Mary from gaining any support from the continent, however, support for him and Lady Jane quickly fell and Mary rode into London on 3rd August 1553 with support from the English people, accompanied by her sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles to claim her throne. She was crowned at Westminster Abbey in October of that year.
After she was officially made queen, Mary wasted no time asserting the country’s return to Catholicism. Her fist act was to order the release of prominent catholics who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London and to have Dudley, three of his sons and Lady Jane Grey arrested on the charge of treason. She understood that Lady Jane was a pawn in a much wider game, choosing to initially keep her under guard at the Tower of London rather than have her executed.
Interestingly, Mary’s first proclamation to the people was that she would not compel anyone to follow her religion, but by the end of the year, she had imprisoned several important protestant leaders and by the end of 1554, had revived the Hersey Act, allowing her to punish those who didn’t follow Catholicism. In total, hundreds of vocal protestants would be executed by burning. The burnings would be so unpopular that even her own staff and allies would condemn them, however the policy continued until her death. Another of her initial acts was to have parliament repeal the act that had declared her illegitimate and once again validated her parent’s marriage. Throughout her reign, she worked to repeal both her father and brother’s reforms and began trying to return property that had been seized from the church.
Much like her father, Mary had an aggressive foreign policy, particularly when it came to France and the region of Calais, which had been an English territory. It wasn’t just the loss of Calais that upset her subjects, Mary’s reign was also beset with economic hardship including a famine and a decline of trade. Despite her marriage, uniting England and Spain, the Spanish wouldn’t share their wealth and she refused to condone pirate attacks on Spanish ships, instead she began a policy of sending out explorers to discover new markets and new forms of income. Another of her unpopular policies was to reintroduce a more medieval system of collecting taxes and dues, though this didn’t help England’s finances.
At the age of 37, Mary turned her attention to finding a husband and producing an heir, most likely to keep from having to name Elizabeth as her successor. Her privy council were happy for her to marry a fellow catholic but insisted that it be an Englishman. Instead, she chose a suitor that had been suggested by her cousin, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and agreed to marry his son, Prince Philip of Spain.
It was an unpopular match, with catholics and protestants alike opposing the union. English catholics were concerned about losing England’s independence to Spain, while English protestants didn’t want England to return to Catholicism. There were a number of rebellions sparked by the marriage, with several plots to depose Mary and replace her with Elizabeth. One such plot involved Henry Grey, the father of Lady Jane Grey. He was imprisoned and Mary had no option but to have him, Lady Jane and her husband Guilford Dudley executed. Elizabeth claimed innocence but was placed in the Tower of London for two months and then put under house arrest at Woodstock Palace.
The law at the time meant that although Mary was the most powerful woman in the country, she was still subject to the laws surrounding marriage and women’s rights to ownership. The law stated that on marriage, all her lands, properties and titles would become her husband’s and as her husband was Spanish, this was something that parliament did not want to happen. The Queen Mary Marriage Act was drawn up which would allow Philip to be styled as King of England but that all official documents was to include both their names and that they were to be considered a joint authority until Mary’s death. The act also declared that England would not be obliged to provide military support, no non English person was to be appointed to office and Philip was not to act without his wife’s consent. Philip and the rest of the Habsberg family were unhappy with these conditions but went ahead with the marriage to secure an alliance. Historians say that Philip had no amorous feelings for Mary, only agreeing to the marriage for political reasons. Mary on the other hand is said to have been very fond of him and would act heart broken when the pair were apart. They married two days after their first meeting on 25th July 1554. Philip could not speak English, so the pair conversed in Spanish, French and Latin.
September of 1554, saw the first of Mary’s public health issues. She had long had gynaecological problems, something she had suffered with since her teens. That September, she appeared to have the first of what would be several false pregnancies. Reports at the time say that she gained weight and felt nauseated, leading royal doctors and the general population alike believing that she was pregnant.
Parliament passed an act that made Philip regent should she die in childbirth and there was much excitement about securing the line. So convinced was the court that a baby was due imminently, that Elizabeth was released from house arrest to attend to her sister. Mary continued to show signs of pregnancy until July 1555. In the August it was common knowledge that she had not given birth and her stomach slowly returned to normal. It is thought that this phantom pregnancy was the result of ill health and the continued pressure to have a baby. Her health declined once again after Philip left for a military campaign, so much so that Elizabeth was allowed to remain at court until October of that year, when she left after refusing to marry one of Philip’s relatives.
Three years later, Mary experienced another false pregnancy with the same symptoms as before. She decreed that her husband would be regent during their child’s minority, but no child arrived and she was forced to accept that Elizabeth would have to be named her heir.
Mary’s health continued to decline with reports indicating that by May 1558, she had become increasingly weak, eventually dying on 17th November 1558. Historians believe that she was likely suffering from uterine cancer or ovarian cysts, though there was an influenza epidemic at the time, which could have also contributed to her death.
Elizabeth succeeded and Philip, who outlived Mary, attempted to marry her, however Elizabeth refused and remained unmarried for the duration of her life.
On her death, Mary’s will stated that she wanted to be buried next to her mother, however instead she was interred at Westminster Abbey and would eventually share a tomb with her sister. When James I succeeded Elizabeth, he had an inscription added once Elizabeth was interred that read: “Consorts in realm and tomb, we sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, here lie down to sleep in hope of the resurrection.”
On ascending to the throne, Elizabeth began to reverse Mary’s attempts to return England to Catholicism. In fact, Elizabeth would go on to be credited for several policies that were introduced during Mary’s reign including those on fiscal reform, naval expansion and colonial exploration. Mary’s lasting legacy was one of bloodshed and unpopularity, proving that she was just as ruthless as her father.
Baynard's House, London
Baynard's Castle sat on this site and is the place where Mary was proclaimed queen.
Canterbury Castle, Kent
Mary used Canterbury Castle as a prison
Framlingham Castle, Suffolk
This was where Mary was staying when she heard the news that her father had died.
Hampton Court, London
Mary lived her for a time and held the first known tournament to take place here.
Ludlow Castle, Shropshire
Mary's first royal household.
St James’ palace, London
The site of Mary's wedding to Philip
Royal Naval College, London
The college sits on the grounds of the former Greenwich Palace, where Mary was born.
Westminster Abbey
Mary is laid to rest here, she shares a tomb with her sister, Elizabeth I
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