Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor

Picture of Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary)

Picture of Queen Mary I
(Bloody Mary)

 

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor

  • Short Biography, Facts and Information about the Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Description and Early Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Bloody Mary Tudor and her mother Catherine of Aragon
  • The Marriage of Bloody Mary Tudor to Phillip of Spain - Bloody Mary Tudor and Elizabeth
  • The Death of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Where Bloody Mary Tudor is buried

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor
The Tudors encompass one of the most exciting periods in English History. The dynasty of the Tudors include Kings and Queens such as King Henry VIII and his daughters

Short Biography, Facts and Information about the Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
This short biography and information about Bloody Mary Tudor provides basic facts about her life:

  • Nationality: English
  • Nickname: Bloody Mary
  • Role and Position: Tudor Queen of England - Queen Mary I or Queen Mary Tudor
  • Lifespan: 1516 - 1558
  • Date of Birth: Mary Tudor was born on 18 February 1516
  • Proclaimed Queen of England: July 1553
  • Married: King Philip II of Spain
  • Family connections: Mary Tudor was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII of England. Bloody Mary was the half sister to Edward VI and Elizabeth I
  • Bloody Mary Tudor was also the cousin, once removed, of Mary Queen of Scots
  • Religion: Catholic
  • Death of Bloody Mary: Mary Tudor died on 17 November 1558
  • Buried in Westminster Abbey and later entombed with her sister Elizabeth I
  • Character of Mary Tudor - Bloody Mary : Bitter, fanatical and obsessive

Marriage Overview: The reason for the marriage of Bloody Mary Tudor to Phillip of Spain was primarily a political alliance which united Spain and England. It was important for Mary Tudor to gain a religious ally in order to restore the Catholic faith to England.

Description of Bloody Mary Tudor
The character of Bloody Mary Tudor : Bloody Mary Tudor was a princess of royal blood from both her mother and father's ancestors. Mary was born to be a Queen and had a noble bearing. In her youth she was considered to be pretty and had a love for fine clothes and jewels. The bitter divorce between her mother, Catharine of Aragon and King Henry VIII changed the character of Mary. The treatment of her mother and the threat to herself if she failed to acknowledge the new status of her beloved mother and her own status turned her into a bitter woman. The establishment of the Church of England was deemed as heretical by the ardent Catholic Mary Tudor - her mission was to return England to the Catholic faith and turned her into a fanatical and obsessive woman. All of these events took their toll on her looks and her health.

The Early Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
The early life of Bloody Mary Tudor (1516 - 1558) started when she was born in Greenwich. Bloody Mary Tudor was the daughter of Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII. During her early life Princess Mary Tudor was revered as the much loved, only daughter, of the King and Queen of England. She was given the best of care as the daughter of the King and Queen of England. She was well educated and brought up as a devout Catholic. But all of this changed when her father cast aside her loyal and devoted mother for another woman. Her name was Anne Boleyn. Her Father, King Henry VIII, like most monarchs of the era had taken mistresses before - but only two were notable. Their names were Elizabeth ( Bessie ) Blount and a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon named Mary Boleyn. In 1526, when Mary Tudor was 10 years old, King Henry VIII became totally obsessed with Catherine's lady-in-waiting, and the sister of his previous mistress, Anne Boleyn with whom he fell madly in love. Mary Tudor, like her mother, had to endure the humiliation of their 6 year romance.

The bitter divorce of her mother and father
Her father wanted a divorce, her royal mother refused to agree. King Henry VIII became obsessed with the text in Leviticus 'If a man shall take his brother's wife it is an unclean thing... they shall be childless.' (Leviticus, XX, 21). Mary's mother had been briefly married to King Henry's older brother Arthur. Prince Arthur died when he was 15 after six months of marriage. Catherine of Aragon then became betrothed to Prince Henry. Prince Henry then became King of England when he was 18 years old and married 23 year old Catherine of Aragon. Their early years of marriage were happy but Queen Catherine of Aragon suffered repeated miscarriages, two still births and bore and christened a prince who only survived 52 days. Only one child survived produced by Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII - Mary Tudor. The daughter who would become Queen Mary I of England also known as Bloody Mary. England had never been successfully ruled by a woman. Henry feared a civil war, similar to the War of the Roses, if he did not produce a male heir. Her father wanted a divorce, her royal mother refused to agree. King Henry VIII became obsessed with the text in Leviticus

'If a man shall take his brother's wife it is an unclean thing... they shall be childless.' (Leviticus, XX, 21)

Bloody Mary Tudor is declared a bastard
Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury granted the annulment of the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII - Mary Tudor was devastated by these terrible events in her life. In 1533 King Henry married Anne Boleyn and was excommunicated by Pope Clement VII. Her parents marriage was over and the Catholic religion was now in question. The royal Catherine of Aragon, mother of Bloody Mary Tudor, was given the title of the Princess Dowager of Wales (which she refused to acknowledge to the end of her life)In 1533 Elizabeth , the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was born. The position of Mary Tudor is usurped by the new baby Princess. In 1534 the Act of Supremacy was passed. King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic church in Rome and was declared supreme head of the Church of England. On 23 March 1534 the English Parliament passed the Act of Succession. Only the children of King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn were deemed to be his lawful heirs. The title of Princess Mary was reduced to the Lady Mary. And Bloody Mary Tudor was declared a bastard.

Bloody Mary Tudor and her mother Catherine of Aragon
Following her bitter divorce Catherine of Aragon, mother of Bloody Mary Tudor, was given the title of the Princess Dowager of Wales (which she refused to acknowledge to the end of her life). Catherine of Aragon was moved around different castles in England and separated from her daughter Bloody Mary Tudor, due to her obstinate refusal to accept the annulment of her marriage. Mary Tudor was not allowed to see her mother.
The death of Catherine of Aragon took place at Kimbolton Castle in Huntingdon on 7 January 1536. Catherine of Aragon had lived at Kimbolton since May 1534 as a semi-prisoner in her rooms, attended by a few of her loyal servants. It was rumoured that she had been poisoned. Mary Tudor had been refused permission to see her mother when she was dying. Mary Tudor never forgave Anne Boleyn, or her daughter, for this cruel treatment.

Bloody Mary Tudor and the wives of Henry VIII
The marriage of her father to Anne Boleyn failed and she was executed. Her father's third marriage to Jane Seymour produced the long-for male heir called Edward. It was the turn of Princess Elizabeth to also be declared a bastard. Her fathers next three marriages to Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr provided Mary Tudor with a series of stepmothers but they were all childless.

Bloody Mary Tudor declared Queen of England
The father of Bloody Mary Tudor, the great King Henry VIII, died in 1547. Mary Tudor's brother was crowned King Edward VI. The new young king was sickly and King Edward VI died of tuberculosis but he left the throne to 'the Lady Jane Grey and her heirs male.' Not to Mary Tudor who was the rightful heir. On  10th July 1553 Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England. The tragic Lady Jane was Queen for just nine days and was deposed on 19th July 1553. Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was at last proclaimed Queen of England.

The Marriage of Bloody Mary Tudor to Phillip of Spain
The Bloody Mary Tudor was no longer a young woman. On July 25 1554  Philip II of Spain married Queen Mary I ( Mary Tudor) of England. Mary was eleven years older than Philip. The English Parliament refused to crown him jointly with Mary so he had little power in England. Shortly after their marriage Queen Mary I, Mary Tudor, announced she was pregnant but it was a false pregnancy. Mary Tudor was besotted with her husband, Philip. At the insistence of Philip she reconciled with her hated sister Princess Elizabeth and reluctantly accepted Elizabeth as heir to the throne. In 1555 Mary Tudor was devastated when her husband, Philip II returned to Spain. In 1556 her husband was crowned King Philip II of Spain. Queen Mary Tudor never saw her husband again.

Bloody Mary Tudor and Elizabeth
Bloody Mary Tudor had hated Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth, Mary's half-sister, all her life. She never trusted Elizabeth and suspected her of being involved in Protestant plots. A Protestant rebellion against Queen Mary Tudor was led by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger in 1554. The plot failed but Queen Mary Tudor imprisoned her sister in the Tower of London. Queen Mary Tudor released Elizabeth after 8 weeks.

Bloody Mary Tudor and the Persecution of Protestants
Under the reign of Queen Mary Tudor England was returned to the Roman Catholic religion. Protestants were persecuted and nearly 300 are burnt at the stake (in later times this led to Queen Mary I, Mary Tudor, being called Bloody Mary). On 16 October 1555 - the Protestant churchmen Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake shortly followed by Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury on 21 March 1556.

The Death of Bloody Mary Tudor
Phantom pregnancies, her fanatical obsession with Phillip and the Catholic religion, stress and her erratic mood swings all took their toll on the health of Bloody Mary Tudor.
Her fragile health finally failed her and she died on November 17, 1558. Some attribute her death to influenza and some to stomach cancer  which might have been misinterpreted by Mary as a pregnancy. Mary died at the age of forty-two at St. James's Palace. Bloody Mary Tudor was

Where Bloody Mary Tudor is buried
Bloody Mary Tudor was interred in Westminster Abbey on 14 December 1558. But here story does not end here. In later years King James I erected a large white marble monument to her memory in the north aisle of the Lady Chapel. But the monument was also dedicated to her hated sister, Queen Elizabeth I. Both of their bodies were moved and buried beneath the tomb.  The Latin inscription on a marble plaque on their tomb  translates to "Partners both in Throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection".

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor
Each section of this Tudors website addresses all topics and provides interesting facts and information about Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor. The Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject of the Tudors!

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor

  • Short Biography, Facts and Information about the Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Description of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • The Early Life of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Bloody Mary Tudor and her mother Catherine of Aragon
  • The Marriage of Bloody Mary Tudor to Phillip of Spain
  • Bloody Mary Tudor and Elizabeth
  • Bloody Mary Tudor and the Persecution of Protestants
  • The Death of Bloody Mary Tudor
  • Where Bloody Mary Tudor is buried

Biography of Bloody Mary Tudor

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