On this day in 1516, Queen Mary I Was Born.
On the 18th of February 1516, Princess Mary was born at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich. She was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. As the long-awaited heir, her birth was met with great joy.
Mary’s Early Life
Mary was raised as a princess of England, receiving an impressive education. She was highly skilled in Latin, music, and theology, and she inherited her mother’s strong Catholic faith. As a child, she was used as a political pawn in marriage negotiations with European royalty, but none of these matches ever came to fruition.
Her world changed dramatically when Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The fallout was devastating for Mary – she was declared illegitimate, stripped of her title as princess, and separated from her mother, whom she never saw again. Mary was left isolated and vulnerable, and she refused for years to acknowledge Henry’s new marriage or her own demotion.
Mary’s Path to the Throne
Mary’s fortunes fluctuated after Anne Boleyn’s downfall. Though she was forced to submit to Henry’s authority and recognise him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, she was eventually brought back into favor. However, her position remained precarious under her younger brother, Edward VI, who was staunchly Protestant and sought to exclude her from the succession.
After Edward’s death in 1553, a power struggle ensued. His Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, was proclaimed queen in an attempt to prevent Catholic Mary from taking the throne. But Mary acted swiftly, gathering supporters and marching to London, where she was rightfully declared queen.
Mary’s Reign and Legacy
As England’s first crowned queen regnant, Mary ruled in her own right. She sought to restore Catholicism and married Philip of Spain in the hope of securing an heir. However, her reign became infamous for the persecution of Protestants, earning her the enduring nickname “Bloody Mary.”
Mary’s reign was brief, and she died in 1558, leaving the throne to her half-sister and Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth I. Despite her efforts to secure England’s Catholic future, Elizabeth’s Protestant settlement would endure, overshadowing Mary’s legacy.
Today, Mary is often remembered for the burnings that took place under her rule, but her life was shaped by far more than this. She was a deeply religious woman, a devoted daughter, and a determined queen who fought for her right to rule in a time when women were not expected to wield power.
Happy birthday, Queen Mary I – England’s first true queen regnant.
