History UsefulNotes / MaryTudor

England's very first Queen Regnant, Mary I of England (18 February 1516 -- 17 November 1558; reigning July 1553 -- her death) was UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's elder daughter and his only surviving child by UsefulNotes/CatherineOfAragon. As a little girl, she was doted on by her parents, but that changed when Anne Boleyn became queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister's service as a lady-in-waiting. She was eventually restored to the succession after her younger brother Edward, although she remained legally illegitimate and was styled "the Lady Mary," rather than "Princess."

* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary life from early childhood right up until the death of her father Henry VIII, her whole arc more or less being an explanation of how she became so fanatical in her beliefs and hatefulness towards Protestants.

* The historical fictional book ''Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen'' by Alison Weir presents Mary through the eyes of her adoring mother Katherine. Here, Mary is seen as a long-suffering victim of Anne Boleyn when she rises to power.

-->''I say to you, on the word of a prince, I cannot tell how naturally the mother loveth the child, for I was never the mother of any; but certainly, if a prince and governor may as naturally and earnestly love her subjects as the mother doth love the child, then assure yourselves that I, being your lady and mistress, do as earnestly and tenderly love and favor you.''
---->-- Mary I, rallying Londoners to oppose the Wyatt Rebellion against her marriage to Philip of Spain, 1 February 1554

->[[caption-width-right:227: "My soul is God's and my faith I will not change."]]

England's very first Queen Regnant, '''Mary I of England''' (18th February 1516 -- 17th November 1558; '''reigning''' July 1553 -- her death) was UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's elder daughter and his only surviving child by UsefulNotes/CatherineOfAragon. As a little girl, she was doted on by her parents, but that changed when Anne Boleyn became queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister's service as a lady-in-waiting. She was eventually restored to the succession after her younger brother Edward, although she remained legally illegitimate and was styled "the Lady Mary," rather than "Princess."

* AbusiveParents: After being declared a bastard, Mary was treated very badly by her father and new stepmother Anne Boleyn. She was sent to work as a servant to her new half-sister Elizabeth, with orders from Anne Boleyn that she should be beaten if she doesn't admit that she's a bastard. She even suggested that Mary should be put to death.
* AwfulWeddedLife: Philip of Spain is usually shown as having only married her for her title, and the fact that he spent more time in Spain during their marriage lends credence to this notion.

* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: Was declared a bastard after her parents were divorced and forced to work as a servant for the new princess Elizabeth. There she was beaten and was refused permission to see or even write to her mother. When Catherine of Aragon died in 1536 she was refused permission to attend the funeral, and later was forced to sign a document declaring herself a bastard on pain of death. She was also not allowed to marry until her mid-thirties (a great stigma for women at the time) and suffered several humiliating medical issues. All this is said to have made Mary a cynical, broken person... And a very vengeful queen.
* FaceHeelTurn: The execution of Lady Jane Grey is thought to be the start of people turning on Mary. ''Beware, Princess Elizabeth'' marks it as the point where Elizabeth realises she doesn't know her sister anymore.
* FakePregnancy: A pregnancy was announced once and then turned out to be false. The second one is detailed above.
* FallenPrincess: She was disinherited once Henry married Anne Boleyn, and declared illegitimate. Although Mary held out as long as she could, she eventually signed oaths giving up her claim to the throne shortly after Anne's execution. As the only one of Catherine of Aragon's living children, she had been doted on beforehand.
* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary life from early childhood right up until the death of her father Henry VIII, her whole arc more or less being an explanation of how she became so fanatical in her beliefs and hatefulness towards Protestants (see BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie).
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Between her and Elizabeth, since Mary had her imprisoned in the Tower and nearly executed many times. However, in their youth, she and Elizabeth were actually very close.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Due to the brutality of her reign and her nickname 'Bloody Mary', England often gets portrayed as a CrapsackWorld while she's on the throne.
* HeroesWantRedheads: Mary had beautiful red-gold hair in her youth and plenty of suitors.

* HufflepuffHouse: Mary gets considerably less adaptations love than Elizabeth. Whenever she appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in relation to either Henry or Elizabeth.
* IWasQuiteALooker: TruthInTelevision, since Mary was a pretty young woman but is thought to have aged badly when she became Queen.
* TheMentor: Her governess Margaret Pole, the Countess of Salisbury was her closest friend for many years. Mary was horrified when the countess was executed in 1541 after suspicion of being involved in a plot to overthrow the king.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Reports of her describe her as a precocious child, and adaptations show her past self being nice and slowly getting corrupted by the trauma going on around her.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Some historians have presented Mary this way. When she's not being depicted as out-right evil and wicked, she's usually treated as someone who genuinely thinks she's doing the right thing, however terrible the reality is.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Mary doted on Elizabeth in her youth, but their relationship soured as they got older, and Mary saw Elizabeth as a rival to the throne. ''{{Film/Elizabeth}}'' depicts Mary as being incredibly reluctant to sign Elizabeth's death warrant, in a PetTheDog moment.

* Kathy Burke plays Mary at the beginning of ''{{Film/Elizabeth}}''. She's shown as a rather maniacal ruler and yet pitiable at the same time, seemingly unable to go through with executing her own sister.

* AbusiveParents: after being declared a bastard, Mary was treated very badly by her father and new stepmother Anne Boleyn. She was sent to work as a servant to her new half-sister Elizabeth, with orders from Anne Boleyn that she should be beaten if she doesn't admit that she's a bastard. She even suggested that Mary should be put to death.

* BastardBastard: many if not most portrayals of Mary present her bitterness at being made illegitimate as the main reason she became so tyrannical.
* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: was declared a bastard after her parents were divorced and forced to work as a servant for the new princess Elizabeth. There she was beaten and was refused permission to see or even write to her mother. When Catherine of Aragon died in 1536 she was refused permission to attend the funeral, and later was forced to sign a document declaring herself a bastard on pain of death. She was also not allowed to marry until her mid-thirties (a great stigma for women at the time) and suffered several humiliating medical issues. All this is said to have made Mary a cynical, broken person...And a very vengeful queen.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: some historians have presented Mary this way. When she's not being depicted as out-right evil and wicked, she's usually treated as someone who genuinely thinks she's doing the right thing, however terrible the reality is.

* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary life from early childhood right up until the death of her father Henry VIII, her whole arc more or less being an explanation of how she became so fanatical in her beliefs and hateful towards Protestants (see BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie).

* BastardBastard: many if not most portrayals of Mary present her anger and bitterness at being made illegitimate as the [[FreudianExcuse: main reason she became so tyrannical]].

* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary life from early childhood right up until the death of her father Henry VIII, her whole arc more or less being an explanation of how she became so fanatical in her beliefs and hateful towards Protestants (see BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie ).

* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary life from early childhood right up until the death of her father Henry VIII, her whole arc more or less being an explanation of how she became so fanatical in her beliefs and hateful towards Protestants.

* Carolyn Meyer wrote two books ''Mary, Bloody Mary'' and ''Beware, Princess Elizabeth'' about Mary and Elizabeth respectively. The first book covers Mary's childhood from her betrothal to King Francis up until the months after Anne's execution. The second starts at Henry's death and ends when Elizabeth is crowned queen.

* OldManMarryingAChild: She was betrothed to King Francis of France when was ten years old and he was an old man. ''Mary, Bloody Mary'' opens with this, and the young princess is not happy at all.

* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: was declared a bastard after her parents were divorced and forced to work as a servant for the new princess Elizabeth. There she was beaten and was refused permission to see or even write to her mother. When Catherine of Aragon died in 1536 she was refused permission to attend the funeral, and later was forced to sign a document declaring herself a bastard on pain of death. She was also not allowed to marry until her mid-thirties (a great stigma for women at the time) and suffered several humiliating phantom pregnancies. All this is said to have made Mary a cynical, broken person...And a very vengeful queen.

* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Between her and Elizabeth, since Mary had her imprisoned in the Tower and nearly executed many times.

* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: was declared a bastard after her parents were divorced and forced to work as a servant for the new princess Elizabeth. There she was beaten and was refused permission to see or even write to her mother. When Catherine of Aragon died in 1536 she was refused permission to attend the funeral, and later was forced to sign a document declaring herself a bastard on pain of death. She was also not allowed to marry until her mid-thirties. All this is said to have made Mary a cynical, broken person, and later a very vengeful queen.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Due to the brutality of her reign and her nickname 'Bloody Mary', England gets portrayed as a CrapsackWorld while she's on the throne.

England's very first Queen Regnant, '''Mary I of England''' (18 February 1516 -– 17 November 1558, reigning July 1553 -- her death) was Henry VIII's elder daughter and his only surviving child by Catherine of Aragon. As a little girl, she was doted on by her parents, but that changed when Anne Boleyn became queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister's service as a lady-in-waiting. She was eventually restored to the succession after her younger brother Edward, although she remained legally illegitimate and was styled "the Lady Mary," rather than "Princess."

England's very first Queen Regnant, Mary I (1553-1558) was Henry VIII's elder daughter and his only surviving child by Catherine of Aragon. As a little girl, she was doted on by her parents, but that changed when Anne Boleyn became queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister's service as a lady-in-waiting. She was eventually restored to the succession after her younger brother Edward, although she remained legally illegitimate and was styled "the Lady Mary," rather than "Princess."

!!Tropes
%% * BrokenBird
* HeirClubForMen: King Henry and Queen Catherine's marriage ended because Princess Mary had been born a girl.
* HeroKiller - Executed a great many prominent English Protestants like Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: She's often played up as a fanatic. A really obvious example is in the ''Literature/RoyalDiaries'' series, in her sister Elizabeth I's book. Mary is portrayed as devious, cunning, and cheating at cards, and, most heinously of all, she dislikes calling Elizabeth "Princess" and seemed to be conspiring with the Spanish Ambassador against Prince Edward's accession. In ''reality,'' Mary was "inexpert in worldy affairs," a "novice all round," and doted on Edward as her father's true heir, since (unlike Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn) Edward's mother was married to the King ''after'' all previous wives were dead and she treated Mary as a friend. And, by all accounts, she and Elizabeth had a very good relationship until they grew older. Furthermore, ''neither'' Elizabeth nor Mary were ''supposed'' to be addressed as "Princess." At that point in time, they were not legally considered Princesses of England; they were considered the King's bastard daughters.
* KissingCousins: She was originally betrothed to her maternal cousin, who was at least [[MayDecemberRomance sixteen years older than her]]. Not to mention that she marries that same cousin's ''son'', who was at least eleven years younger than her.
* PimpedOutDress: Catholics dressed far more grandly than Protestants in Tudor times, and Mary was the grandest of them all. One of her fanciest [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mary_tudor_01.jpg this dress decorated]]with [[PrettyInMink white ermine]], brocade, puff sleeves (not giant though), and [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry the jewels on her belt, her necklace]], and her NiceHat.
** Meanwhile, Elizabeth was playing the "Quaker miss" (as David Starkey puts it) and wearing sober, unadorned black.
* PrincessInRags: She lost everything when her father divorced her mother, but she refused to acknowledge him as head of the Church of England or (for a long time) to accept that he had stripped her of her title of Princess.
%% * TeamMom
* UnwantedSpouse: She was considerably older than her husband and he was praised for not letting her realize that he wasn't attracted to her. He also spent a lot of time away at war.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: She's often played up as a fanatic. A really obvious example is in the ''Literature/RoyalDiaries'' series, in her sister Elizabeth I's book. Mary is portrayed as devious, cunning, and cheating at cards, and, most heinously of all, she dislikes calling Elizabeth "Princess" and seemed to be conspiring with the Spanish Ambassador against Prince Edward's accession. In ''reality,'' Mary was "inexpert in worldy affairs," a "novice all round," and doted on Edward as her father's true heir, since (unlike Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn) Edward's mother was married to the King ''after'' all previous wives were dead and she treated Mary as a friend. Furthermore, ''neither'' Elizabeth nor Mary were ''supposed'' to be addressed as "Princess." At that point in time, they were not legally considered Princesses of England; they were considered the King's bastard daughters.

* TeamMom

* BrokenBird
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Gets even more stressful when there's a throne involved.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade - She's often played up as a fanatic.
** A really obvious example is in the ''Literature/RoyalDiaries'' series, in her sister Elizabeth I's book. Mary is portrayed as devious, cunning, and cheating at cards, and, most heinously of all, she dislikes calling Elizabeth "Princess" and seemed to be conspiring with the Spanish Ambassador against Prince Edward's accession. In ''reality,'' Mary was "inexpert in worldy affairs," a "novice all round," and doted on Edward as her father's true heir, since (unlike Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn) Edward's mother was married to the King ''after'' all previous wives were dead and she treated Mary as a friend. Furthermore, ''neither'' Elizabeth nor Mary were ''supposed'' to be addressed as "Princess." At that point in time, they were not legally considered Princesses of England; they were considered the King's bastard daughters.