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| Queen Mary I |
| Certainly not England's most popular queen, there are a great many misconceptions about this zealous monarch, England's first actual Queen regnant. Were it not for the bias of the historians that came after her, her reputation would today be quite different. In fact, had she lived to carry out all of the plans of her reign Queen Mary I might well have gone down in history as a great queen, but nevertheless her's is a case of the "winner" writing the history books and so we often get a very unfair and inaccurate portrait of Queen Mary. Above all, the events of her reign must be understood in context with the time and place that they happened, as well as what had made Queen Mary the woman she was. Even for a royal, her life had certainly not been an easy one. Mary I, of the House of Tudor, was the daughter and eldest child of King Henry VIII of England and his Spanish queen, Catherine of Aragon. Her father was dissappinted in her from the day she was born; after all, he had been hoping for a son to carry on the dynasty. As she grew up, Henry used Mary as a bargaining tool with the princes of Europe, holding her up as a potential wife to this or that ruler on the continent. Mary became depressed that she would never have a husband and always be alone. Her mother Catherine raised Mary in the Catholic Faith and she grew up to be extremely devoted to the Church and was deeply hurt by the divorce of her parents and the King's subsequent break with Rome. Mary was treated as second-class compared to other Protestant siblings after the King's other marriages and was eventually declared a bastard. When Henry died her young brother became King Edward VI and brought to power the radical Protestants who were determined to purge England of Catholicism. Now Mary was treated more as a criminal than a princess and when the child king died the Protestants tried to replace her with Lady Jane Grey, the famous "9 Day Queen". However, despite how much power the Protestants had obtained the people of England fully supported Mary as the legitimate successor of the House of Tudor and rallied to her defense. In quick order she was crowned Queen Mary I of England, Ireland and France. Contrary to much of what has been written about her, Queen Mary was certainly not a cruel woman, in fact, her actual character was quite the opposite. All of her ladies and those who knew her best loved her endlessly and stated that she was the most generous and compassionate woman they knew. She prayed for hours every day, worked tirelessly on state affairs, gave generously to the poor and would even visit them in disguise, conversing with her lowliest subjects in the most humble and down-to-earth style. She also adored children, having long wished for a family of her own, and was especially generous to those poor she visited with small children and love to fuss over any babies she encountered. However, there is no doubt that her faith was the central part of her life. Her primary goal upon coming to power was to restore the Catholic Church to its previous place in England and make up for the sins of her father and brother. She repealed the laws favoring Protestantism enacted by Edward VI and revived the laws against heresy. In Mary's view she was saving her nation from the grip of sin and a false church. She earned her infamous knickname, "Bloody Mary" after some 300 people were burned at the stake, including such high-ranking Protestants as Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer. However, what is often glossed over is that these people were guilty not simply of denying the authority of the Church, but also of plotting against Queen Mary herself, something no monarch would have allowed. Even with the religion taken out of it, they still would have been condemned to death for simple treason against their anointed sovereign. It is also often forgotten that many Protestants were just as adept at having Catholics and other dissenters burned alive as well. It is also true that there were still large numbers of Catholics in England who were thankful to be allowed to practise their religion again. However, what upset the people the most was the Queen's marriage to King Philip II of Spain. This was seen as having the enemy living in their own camp, and Philip himself saw no reason that by the marriage he should not become King of England. The marriage also allowed Spain to bring England in on their side in the war against France which nonetheless ended in defeat in 1558. Not long after this, Philip abandoned Mary, who had fallen ill and failed to produce an heir. She died shortly thereafter and the throne passed to her Protestant sister Elizabeth. |
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