Mary was born on 18 February 1516 in Greenwich, England, and baptized as a Catholic shortly after her birth. She was Queen of England from July 1553 until her death in 1558. She was the only surviving child of Henry VIII by the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon. Her mother was pregnant six times altogether, but she was the only legitimate child of theirs to survive until adulthood.
Throughout Mary’s childhood, Henry VIII negotiated several future marriages for her. When she was just two years old, she was promised to the Dauphin (heir to the throne of France), the infant son of King Francis I of France. Henry VIII broke off that contract due to ongoing issues with France after just three years. In 1522, at the age of six, she was …show more content…
Mary however steadfastly refused to abandon Catholicism. So when Edward became mortally ill in 1553, the Council secretly met and rearranged Henry’s will and attempted to once again remove Mary from the line of succession due to their noted religious differences.
Mary, upon hearing of her half-brother’s death, claimed the throne by statute as well as her father’s will, and demanded that the Council recognize her as the rightful Queen. However, the Council dismissed her claims and their first cousin once removed, the granddaughter of one of Edward’s aunts, Lady Jane Grey, was proclaimed Queen. Mary subsequently raised a force of her own, with the support of some of the nobility loyal to her, and deposed Jane who was ultimately …show more content…
In fact, most monarchs of that time were even more ‘bloody,’ including Henry VIII who executed more than 70,000 people for a variety of offenses, including religious heresy. Moreover members of English society, both royalty and commoner, at the time likewise believed that the persecution and even death of these religious heretics was appropriate since they posed a clear threat and were dangerous not only to her rule, but to Catholicism and the larger English society as well.
At the same time though, she also kept the power of the papacy within bounds, humbly accepting the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church, while resolutely refusing to submit to the attempts of the Pope Paul IV to interfere in church policy within the Church of England. The unfortunate tragedy of Mary’s life is that she was not able to secure the Catholic succession after her demise, and England reverted to Protestantism, after the accession of her half sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who inherited, and then pulled apart, the church that Mary had fought to save from
Throughout Mary’s childhood, Henry VIII negotiated several future marriages for her. When she was just two years old, she was promised to the Dauphin (heir to the throne of France), the infant son of King Francis I of France. Henry VIII broke off that contract due to ongoing issues with France after just three years. In 1522, at the age of six, she was …show more content…
Mary however steadfastly refused to abandon Catholicism. So when Edward became mortally ill in 1553, the Council secretly met and rearranged Henry’s will and attempted to once again remove Mary from the line of succession due to their noted religious differences.
Mary, upon hearing of her half-brother’s death, claimed the throne by statute as well as her father’s will, and demanded that the Council recognize her as the rightful Queen. However, the Council dismissed her claims and their first cousin once removed, the granddaughter of one of Edward’s aunts, Lady Jane Grey, was proclaimed Queen. Mary subsequently raised a force of her own, with the support of some of the nobility loyal to her, and deposed Jane who was ultimately …show more content…
In fact, most monarchs of that time were even more ‘bloody,’ including Henry VIII who executed more than 70,000 people for a variety of offenses, including religious heresy. Moreover members of English society, both royalty and commoner, at the time likewise believed that the persecution and even death of these religious heretics was appropriate since they posed a clear threat and were dangerous not only to her rule, but to Catholicism and the larger English society as well.
At the same time though, she also kept the power of the papacy within bounds, humbly accepting the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church, while resolutely refusing to submit to the attempts of the Pope Paul IV to interfere in church policy within the Church of England. The unfortunate tragedy of Mary’s life is that she was not able to secure the Catholic succession after her demise, and England reverted to Protestantism, after the accession of her half sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who inherited, and then pulled apart, the church that Mary had fought to save from