Who is Mary 1 of England?

Mary I, also known as Mary Tudor, was the queen of England from July 1553 until
her death.

She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, 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, which led to
her denunciation as “Bloody Mary” by her Protestant opponents.

Mary was the only child of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to
survive to adulthood.

Her younger half-brother Edward VI succeeded their father in 1547, at the age of nine. When Edward became mortally 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 continued during his reign.

Story of Bloody Mary begins- (1) Marriage proposals

Henry VIII started looking for possible suitors for Mary at her very young age.

At the age of two, Henry betrothed her to Francis III, Duke of Britany, the son of King
Francis I of France.

However, it ended three years later. When she was six years, she was paired to her cousin, 22-year old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Just like others, the engagement later broke.

Subsequently, a marriage treaty was signed between France and England. According to it, Mary could marry either King Francis I or his son Henry, Duke of Orleans. Several other pairings failed including that of her cousin Charles V (Charles I of Spain).

(2) Accession to the Throne

Following the death of Henry in 1547, his son Edward succeeded him as King
Edward VI.

He was nine years at the time. Edward continued his father’s religious
reforms, strengthening the Church of England and introducing English for church
services instead of Latin.

However, Mary defiantly continued to celebrate mass, despite the consequences.

After the death of Edward in 1553, Lady Jane Grey, backed by some politicians,
seized the throne. Edward, fearing that Mary would restore Catholicism to England,
had disinherited her and Elizabeth who was a protestant.

He had to include Elizabeth because disinheriting Mary alone would raise questions. Edward then made Lady Jane his successor.
Consequently, Mary fled to Norfolk after the death of Edward. There, she gained
the support of many and raised an army.

On July 19, her forces overthrew Jane. Mary returned to London on August 3, 1553, along with the company of her half-sister Elizabeth.

In her quest to restore Catholicism in England, Mary decided to marry Philip II of
Spain, despite strong opposition.

Philip was 11 years her junior. Mary attracted several enemies for the decisions and even became at odds with parliament. That notwithstanding, she went on with the marriage.

Following her marriage to Philip, she restored the Catholic creed and made changes
in laws against heresy.

This gave rise to Protestant insurgence, and Mary dealt ruthlessly with such dissidents. She oversaw the killing of several Protestant with about 300 burned at stake. Mary since became known as ‘Bloody Mary.’

(3) Death

In dire need of a child to succeed her, Mary faked some pregnancies. She never had
a child and later became depressed and ill. Mary died on November 17, 1558, at St
James’s Palace, aged 42. She was buried in Westminster Abbey. Queen Elizabeth I
succeeded her.