Mary Tudor lived a life punctuated by parental rejection and emotional deprivation, political failure and sheer bad luck. Cheered by her subjects when she ascended the throne, Mary would eventually be reviled as a coldhearted religious fanatic, forever known as "Bloody Mary". Her chaotic five-year reign left her alone, sickly and brokenhearted, ever mindful that her half-sister Elizabeth had supplanted her in the public's affections.
His Chiefest Pearl
When Princess Mary was born on February 18, 1516 her parents, King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, were over joyed. Queen Katherine had suffered a series of miscarriages and stillbirths since her marriage to Henry in 1509, leaving the kingdom without an heir. The arrival of a healthy, living child was proof a male heir was still possible. Until then, Mary was the kingdom's heiress, deeply loved by her parents. Henry even dubbed her his "chiefest pearl".
The domestic harmony,however,came to an abrupt end when Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn, Katherine's lady-in-waiting. Determined to make "Mistress Anne" his next queen, Henry sent Katherine into exile and, after a six year battle with Rome, founded the Church of England--with himself as the Supreme Head. Her parents' union thus declared "null and void", Mary was stripped of her royal title and removed from the line of succession. Now an official bastard, Mary was forbidden to see her mother and completely repudiated by her father. The teenage girl soon began suffering the ill effects of severe depression and stress. Once described as "pretty" and "graceful", Mary's face became haunted and drawn.
History's Meanest Stepmother
The birth of half-sister Elizabeth in 1533, when Mary was 17, only made her life worse. Her stepmother, the new Queen Anne, insisted Mary wait on the infant like a servant. Anne even took her jewels--including the gold cross Katherine left Mary in her will. Anne despised Mary so much she was forever urging Henry to put her to death. In fact, Anne even claimed to have had a dream that prophesized she would only have a son if Mary was killed.
Ironically, it was Anne who was sent to the block in 1536. After her death, and Henry's remarriage to Jane Seymour, father and daughter were reconciled--but only after Mary capitulated to Henry's demands that she recognize him as the head of the English church and that her parents' marriage was indeed "unlawful". Although restored to the succession, the taint of illegitimacy ruined any chance for a proper marriage. Enforced spinsterhood was yet another blow to Mary's emotional health.
Bloody Mary
In 1553, after the death of Edward Vl and the removal of Lady Jane Grey, Mary, who had been living quietly in the country, ascended the throne. Such a dramatic reclaiming of her birthright had special significance for Mary and she vowed to rule well. However, her five-year reign was beset by problems. Unschooled in the art of governance, Mary's Privy Council bickered among themselves and the new queen was unable to manage them. Her marriage to Phillip of Spain was universally unpopular. Mary's hopes for a child were dashed by two false pregnancies. Urged by her husband, Mary entangled Britain in a war with France. The result was the loss of Calais, England's last remaining French holding. Bad harvests and outbreaks of the plague darkened the public's mood, as did Mary's war on heresy. In her zeal to bring England back to the "true faith", Mary authorized hundreds of people to be burned at the stake. Such brutality earned her the sobriquet "Bloody Mary". Then Phillip left for Spain, never to return.
The Elizabethan Age Begins
Mary died in 1558 of uterine cancer. Before the reality of her illness set in, Mary vainly hoped her condition might be a pregnancy that would keep Elizabeth from the throne and prompt Phillip to return to her. It was not to be. In the wake of Mary's death, half sister Elizabeth became queen to the joy and relief of the English people. She would reign for 45 years, defeating the Spanish Armada and ushering in a "golden age" of power and prestige, every bit the success that Mary was a failure.
Queen Elizabeth never spoke of Mary again.
