Mary I of England
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain and the Habsburg dominions as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, King Henry VIII. Her attempt to restore to the Church the property confiscated in the previous two reigns was largely thwarted by Parliament, but during her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian persecutions.
"Mary I" redirects here. For other uses, see Mary I (disambiguation).Mary I
July 1553[a] –
17 November 1558
1 October 1553
Philip (1554–1558)
16 January 1556 –
17 November 1558
18 February 1516
Palace of Placentia, Greenwich, England
17 November 1558 (aged 42)
St James's Palace, Westminster, England
14 December 1558
Mary was the only surviving child of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She was declared illegitimate and barred from the line of succession following the annulment of her parents' marriage in 1533, though she would later be restored via the Third Succession Act 1543. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded their father in 1547 at the age of nine. When Edward became terminally ill in 1553, he attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession because he supposed, correctly, that she would reverse the Protestant reforms that had taken place during his reign. Upon his death, leading politicians proclaimed Mary's and Edward's Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as queen instead. Mary speedily assembled a force in East Anglia and deposed Jane, who was eventually beheaded. Mary was—excluding the disputed reigns of Jane and the Empress Matilda—the first queen regnant of England. In July 1554, Mary married Prince Philip of Spain, becoming queen consort of Habsburg Spain on his accession in 1556.
After Mary's death in 1558, her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed by her younger half-sister and successor, Elizabeth I.
Birth and family[edit]
Mary was born on 18 February 1516 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England. She was the only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to survive infancy. Before Mary, her mother had three miscarriages and stillbirths and one short-lived son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall.[3]
Mary was baptised into the Catholic faith at the Church of the Observant Friars in Greenwich three days after her birth.[4] Her godparents included Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey; her great-aunt Catherine, Countess of Devon; and Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk.[5] Henry VIII's first cousin once removed, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, stood sponsor for Mary's confirmation, which was conducted immediately after the baptism.[6] The following year, Mary became a godmother herself when she was named as one of the sponsors of her cousin Frances Brandon.[7] In 1520, the Countess of Salisbury was appointed Mary's governess.[8] Sir John Hussey (later Lord Hussey) was her chamberlain from 1530, and his wife Lady Anne, daughter of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, was one of Mary's attendants.[9]
Adolescence[edit]
Although various possibilities for Mary's marriage had been considered, the marriage of Mary's parents was itself in jeopardy, which threatened her status. Disappointed at the lack of a male heir, and eager to remarry, Henry attempted to have his marriage to Catherine annulled, but Pope Clement VII refused his request. Henry claimed, citing biblical passages (Leviticus 20:21), that the marriage was unclean because Catherine was the widow of his brother Arthur, Prince of Wales (Mary's uncle). Catherine claimed that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated and so was not a valid marriage. Pope Julius II had issued a dispensation on that basis. Clement VII may have been reluctant to act because he was influenced by Charles V, Catherine's nephew and Mary's former betrothed, whose troops had surrounded and occupied Rome in the War of the League of Cognac.[30]
From 1531, Mary was often sick with irregular menstruation and depression, although it is not clear whether this was caused by stress, puberty or a more deep-seated disease.[31] She was not permitted to see her mother, whom Henry had sent to live away from court.[32] In early 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn, and in May Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, formally declared the marriage with Catherine void and the marriage to Anne valid. Henry repudiated the pope's authority, declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. Catherine was demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales (a title she would have held as Arthur's widow), and Mary was deemed illegitimate. She was styled "The Lady Mary" rather than Princess, and her place in the line of succession was transferred to Henry and Anne's newborn daughter, Elizabeth.[33] Mary's household was dissolved;[34] her servants (including the Countess of Salisbury) were dismissed and, in December 1533, she was sent to join her infant half-sister's household at Hatfield Palace, Hertfordshire.[35]
Mary determinedly refused to acknowledge that Anne was the queen or that Elizabeth was a princess, enraging King Henry.[36] Under strain and with her movements restricted, Mary was frequently ill, which the royal physician attributed to her "ill treatment".[37] The Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys became her close adviser, and interceded, unsuccessfully, on her behalf at court.[38] The relationship between Mary and her father worsened; they did not speak to each other for three years.[39] Although both she and her mother were ill, Mary was refused permission to visit Catherine.[40] When Catherine died in 1536, Mary was "inconsolable".[41] Catherine was interred in Peterborough Cathedral, while Mary grieved in semi-seclusion at Hunsdon in Hertfordshire.[42]