King Mary Viii Relationship

Garrison Keillor is quoted as saying, “The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage.” However the relationship between King Henry VIII of England and his daughter, future Mary I of England clearly displayed the opposite. Mary was a political hostage to her father for the thirty-one out of forty-two years that she lived. The hostility between Henry and Mary did not just interfere with their personal relationship, but ended up drastically effecting Mary’s reign. Many believe Henry VIII was a terrible king, but when compared to Mary, his handling of international policies, uprisings, and religious tolerance were just the tip of the iceberg compared to the Mary’s bloody reign.
Henry VIII of England began his reign as a promising …show more content…
After decades of Mary being used as a pawn in her father’s political schemes, including being forced into exile, Mary I had a bitter meal of revenge planned for England. Mary’s first harsh blow to her people was her marriage to Phillip II of Spain. Although her marriage expanded England’s foreign policy, it also caused what great unrest among the people as Phillip was inherently attempted to take more control of England (“Mary I – British History”). Another example of her unpopularity with foreign policy was her attempt at waging an unnecessary war on France, which resulted in the eternal loss of Calais, a French port used as an English stronghold for hundreds of years (“Mary I – British History”). Next, followed a series of religious uprisings against Mary due to her reversal in the Church of England, an attempt to make England a Catholic ally, yet again. Contrary to Henry’s religious pursuit, Mary ignored her political advisors and continued on her religious quest, hitting a standstill with Protestant Martyrs, which set the scene for how she would tolerate other religions. Where Henry allowed religious tolerance, Mary had no mercy. In 1555 Mary reinstated England’s heresy laws and led many of both her father’s former, and her current, Protestant advisors to the stake (“Mary I – British History”). Over the next three years of her reign, Mary wreaked havoc among her realm, ruthlessly slaying three hundred innocent Protestants whom refused to give up their faith, and forcing another eight hundred out of the country by sheer terror (“Mary I – British History”). These events left Mary to be known as the infamous “Bloody Mary” forever leaving a dark mark upon her