Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known asMary Tudor of Greenwich, wasQueen regnant ofEngland andIreland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the oldest daughter ofHenry VIII and the only child ofCatherine of Aragon who survived childhood.
Mary had more than 280 disagreeingreligious people burned at the stake,[2] which are recorded inJohn Foxe'sBook of Martyrs. That made many call her "Bloody Mary". Her half-sister on her father's side,Elizabeth I, came to the throne after Mary's death. Elizabeth made EnglandProtestant again and persecuted Catholics who were viewed as traitors.
Mary Tudor was born on 18 February 1516 in the Palace of Placentia, inGreenwich. Unlike Catherine's other children, she survived to be an adult. Hergodfather was CardinalThomas Wolsey.
In 1521, the five-year-old Mary was betrothed to the three year old Duke of Brittany, Francis.
Although she was not the son and heir thatHenry VIII wanted, she was loved by her parents. When she was about 11, Henry decided to divorce Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon so that he could marryAnne Boleyn.
After Anne Boleyn had a daughter,Elizabeth, Henry VlII distrusted Mary and thought that her behaviour came from her mother and so he purposefully separated Mary and Catherine of Aragon.[3] He also banished both of them from court and removed Mary from theorder of succession.[4] Mary had to become one of her servants. After Henry had Anne killed, Mary's half-sister also became a servant. A month later, Henry VIII marriedJane Seymour, who gave birth toEdward, Prince of Wales. Twelve days later, Jane died.
Mary lost a faithful friend and also her pride. She had acknowledged her parents' marriage as invalid and herself anillegitimate daughter. The rest of Mary's life with Henry VIII gave her a quick succession of stepmothers. Henry VIII died soon after marrying his last wife,Catherine Parr.
Henry had decided that the young prince was to succeed him. If he had no heirs, his older half-sister, Mary, was to be queen.
If Mary did not produce a child, Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth, was to be queen. After Elizabeth and her heirs would be the side of the family of Henry's sister Mary.
Edward succeeded to the throne as King of England and Ireland. Edward began to show signs of a coughing disease.
Edward did not want Mary to succeed him. Edward went ahead with a plan to let his Protestant cousinLady Jane Grey become queen after he died. She was queen of England for only nine days. Mary executed her and marriedPhilip II of Spain.
After Mary died, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne and became Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Mary had two phantom pregnancies, or false pregnancies, but had no child. The phantom pregnancies were liver cancer. After Mary died, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne and became Queen Elizabeth I of England.
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