History UsefulNotes / MaryTudor

* OutOfFocus: Compared to the voluminous amount of media made about her father Henry VIII and half-sister Elizabeth I, pop culture depictions of Mary are far and few between. Even Lady Jane Grey, the usurper she deposed after nine days, has had been the subject of more biopics. Whenever Mary appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in a supporting role in stories focusing on Henry or Elizabeth.

* OutOfFocus: Compared to the voluminous amount of media made about her father Henry VIII and half-sister Elizabeth I, pop culture depictions of Mary are far and few between. Even Lady Jane Grey, the usurper she deposed after nine days, has had more biopics made about her. Whenever Mary appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in a supporting role in stories focusing on Henry or Elizabeth.

* OutOfFocus: Compared to the voluminous amount of media made about her father Henry VIII and half-sister Elizabeth I, pop culture depictions of Mary are far and few between. Even Lady Jane Grey, the usurper she deposed after nine days, has had more films made about her. Whenever Mary appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in a supporting role in stories focusing on Henry or Elizabeth.

* OutOfFocus: Compared to the voluminous amount of media about her father Henry VIII and half-sister Elizabeth I, pop culture depictions of Mary are far and few between. Even Lady Jane Grey, the usurper she deposed after nine days, has had more films made about her. Whenever Mary appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in a supporting role in stories focusing on Henry or Elizabeth.

* OutOfFocus: Mary gets considerably less pop culture attention than her father or Elizabeth. Whenever she appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in relation to either Henry or Elizabeth.

As a child, she was doted on by her parents, especially her father, whom she shared many physical traits with. Mary inherited her father’s reddish-gold hair, blue eyes and ruddy cheeks, and was short-sighted like her father. Mary was also close with her mother, who was very interested with Mary’s education and impressed with her talents. Mary was just as intelligent as her future half-siblings were, however she never had the same zeal for learning as they did. A lot of her education came from her mother; who encouraged female education and taught her several languages, along with several tutors. Mary’s greatest passion as a child was her music, she inherited her talent from her father. At the age of 4 and a half years old, Mary entertained a visiting French group (there to discuss with Henry about her engagement to the Dauphin of France) with a complex performance of the Virginals. She impressed the visitors greatly and her father boasted with pride. As a young woman, she was said to have a rather loud and deep voice, and a powerful, yet pleasant singing voice.

Despite his affections for Mary, Henry was disappointed with his lack of male heirs. After 1524, it became clear that Catherine, aged 40, was not going to have any more children. Catherine focused on Mary rather than continuing to hope and pray for a son. Catherine encouraged Mary to believe she would be her father’s successor. However, Henry was convinced a male heir was needed, and decided to get a divorce.

Though it took many years, Henry eventually succeeded in a divorce. However, as the Pope had refused to help, Henry converted to the Protestant movement, thus making him Head of the English Church. His new wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, became the new queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", instead being titled “the Lady Mary” separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth Tudor’s]] service as a lady-in-waiting.

Despite Henry VIII and Anne’s love for each other, Henry was disappointed with his lack of male heirs. Anne was 32 when she wed the 42 year old, and gave birth to Elizabeth a few months after the secret wedding. 2 years later Henry had a jousting accident, he was unconscious for 2 hours and nearly died. His athleticism ended due to his wounded leg, and he may have also suffered brain damage. Henry also took up a new mistress, Jane Seymour, (a former loyal lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon) and Anne caught Jane sat on Henry’s knee. Either the shock of the accident, the anger of her husband’s philandering or both caused Anne to miscarry their second child, a son. Henry thought the miscarriage was God’s way of punishing him for divorcing Catherine. Catherine had died by the time Henry wanted Anne out of the picture, so there was no fixing what Henry had done. Anne was subsequently beheaded after 3 years of marriage.

After Anne Boleyn fell from favour, Mary was allowed to leave Elizabeth’s household. After Henry’s third marriage, Jane restored Mary to her father’s favour due to her love for Catherine of Aragon and her hatred of Anne Boleyn (who hadn’t treated Mary well). While Elizabeth was ignored, Mary and her father became close again; though Mary never forgot her father’s cruel treatment of her mother. Jane hoped to legitimise Mary, so that Mary would be in the Line of Succession after Jane’s sons and their children. However, Jane died of an infection 12 days after the birth of her only child, Edward. Mary had an odd relationship with her fourth stepmother, Anne of Cleves. Mary had hated Anne Boleyn because her mother despised her, Anne disliked Mary and of course because she lost her access to the throne because of Anne. Mary got on well with Jane Seymour because of her kindness to Mary. However, with Anne of Cleves their relationship started badly. As Anne had started learning English, she now understood what her husband was saying, and Anne was jealous when Henry invited Mary to return to court. However, after Henry told Anne he wanted a divorce, Mary and Anne bonded over their shared rejection. They were soon very close. Despite Anne’s religion being Lutheranism (unlike devout Catholic Mary) the pair became great friends, it helped that Anne was only a few years older than Mary. Anne was part of Mary’s coronation and converted to Catholicism when Mary became Queen. Mary’s reason for her dislike of Catherine Howard is not well known, but could be due to Catherine being younger than Mary as well as Catherine’s relation to Anne Boleyn.

However, Mary was very close to Catherine Parr. Catherine helped Mary and her younger half-sister Elizabeth be restored to the succession after their younger brother Edward. Though they were technically legitimised when it came to the Succession, they remained with the title “Lady” rather than “Princess” until their father died. However, during their brother's reign they became known to some as “Princess Mary” and “Princess Elizabeth” despite technically being considered illegitimate.

Her path to the throne did not run smoothly. Edward unexpectedly changed the succession in their father's will in a new will drafted shortly before his death that excluded Mary from the throne because he didn’t want a Catholic to succeed him. However, his advisors told him that he couldn’t exclude one sister unless he excluded Elizabeth as well. The reason they used to stop Mary from becoming Queen was because her parents were divorced, however the issue with that was that Elizabeth (Edward’s preferred successor) was considered just as illegitimate as Mary; her mother had been beheaded by their father. As such, Edward passed them both over in favour of the royal siblings' Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor and daughter-in-law of John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, Edward’s regent.[[note]]This stunk so highly that a rumour arose claiming that the Duke himself wrote the will and forced the sickly Edward to sign it. An early draft of the will found in Edward's papers, however, shows that the devise was Edward's own idea.[[/note]] Queen Jane took the throne on Edward's death, but Mary was popular with the commoners and nobles and this made Jane's position untenable, and Jane was deposed by Mary nine days later. Mary was greeted by crowds of thousands of cheering subjects as she rode into London and took her rightful throne.

Her original intent was to punish only those she saw as responsible for the near-usurpation of the throne - mainly the Duke of Northumberland and his cronies - and release the comparatively innocent Jane and her husband Guildford Dudley as soon as the situation had stabilized; she wasn't stupid enough to truly consider either of them as the leaders of the coup - Jane was a naive, nerdy 16 year old {{Bookworm}}, after all! Unfortunately for Jane and Guildford, a rebellion led by Thomas Wyatt with the intention of restoring Jane to the throne opposed her fiancé from travelling to England, which caused Mary to sign the death warrant which led both of them to the block.[[note]]The execution of frail, beautiful, teenager Jane Grey was a popular theme for Romantic painters.[[/note]] Mary regretted executing her cousin for the rest of her life.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first queen of England to remain monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed [[UsefulNotes/PhilipII Philip of Austria]], King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Edward Courtenay, a suitor and longtime friend of Mary's, took the news poorly and actually cooperated with Wyatt's Rebellion, despite being a Catholic himself. After Mary and Philip married, he was titled as king and named her co-monarch[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a queen consort, despite his desire to be the main ruler.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts. Their marriage was happy only on her side, though, as Philip, being significantly younger and having different tastes in women, failed to return her infatuation. He had accepted the marriage solely out of political reasons (his father UsefulNotes/CharlesV intended to potentially unify England and the Netherlands under an English Habsburg dynasty), and ultimately considered his time in England a great sacrifice. To further complicate things, Philip's advisors in England were UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfAlba and the Prince of Eboli, who were bitter enemies with opposite stances towards the whole thing.

She might have succeeded in returning England to Catholicism had she borne a child to carry on her works, but that was not to be. She is thought to have become pregnant once, but although her abdomen swelled she never delivered a child. The most likely explanation is a molar pregnancy proceeding to choriocarcinoma, but some medical historians believe it was ovarian cancer. It was once suggested that she might have suffered a "phantom pregnancy",[[note]]this shows up often in books and shows of the 1950s[[/note]] but modern historians are confident that her condition was primarily physical in nature, as phantom pregnancy is ''far'' rarer in real life than doctors of the 1930s realized. Also, it isn't fatal. Mary was happy for many months, believing she’d give birth to a child that would be a Catholic King or Queen of England. Her physician told her a baby would come in May, but no baby came. Nobody really batted an eye, it was instead announced the baby was due in June. However, no child arrived. This was when some began to speculate the Queen wasn’t pregnant. However, some thought Mary would deliver a child in July. It didn’t happen. Mary said that a baby would come in August, by then she was probably the only person who thought she was expecting a child. On the August 2, Mary’s belly had reduced and she accepted she wasn’t going to give birth. By September, Mary was back to her normal size, very thin.

Mary was humiliated and so was her husband, who had to leave England to go to Spain. She was strong when she said goodbye to him, but after he had gone she was visibly upset. Mary believed God had punished her for tolerating Protestants. Mary thought there was only one way to gain God’s forgiveness. She ordered that at least 280 Protestants be burned at the stake, including bishops Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer (who actually converted to Catholicism to avoid execution, but Mary ordered his burning anyway). These men and women became known as the "Protestant Martyrs". There were 283 of them in all, and it is for their deaths that she's known as Bloody Mary (a term coined well after her death, though). In reality, she killed fewer subjects in her entire reign than her father did in any single year of his. Shows what happens when you're on the wrong side of history. Not only that, but Mary genuinely believed she was helping the Protestants she had burned, as she believed the immensely painful death of burning alive would be enough to make the Protestants convert to Catholicism to avoid spending eternity burning in the flames of hell.

In 1557, Philip returned to England having been made King of Spain (his father Charles had abdicated for him out of royal burnout) and asked for support against the France of Henry II. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops, obtaining a crushing victory in the subsequent Battle of St. Quentin, but in turn, England lost Calais back to France in a surprise attack. Although Philip eventually forced Henry II to sue for peace after another victory in Gravelines, it was not possible to recover Calais in Mary's lifetime, making her famously say, “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, she and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant again. Most of England thought it was unlikely and they were right. Mary was nearly 42, and the prospect of her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This time, the swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

By the time Mary died in 1558 aged 42, most of the crowds who cheered her five years earlier were heaving sighs of relief at her passing. She died surrounded by only her most loyal servants and ladies-in-waiting, as most of her court had left to try and gain favor with her half-sister. Her greatest ally, Cardinal Pole, survived her by only twelve hours; with the two of them dead, so too was any chance of a restoration of the Catholic faith with the English populace. She was succeeded by her younger half-sister, [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth]].

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first queen of England to remain monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed [[UsefulNotes/PhilipII Philip of Austria]], King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Edward Courtenay, a suitor and longtime friend of Mary's, took the news poorly and actually cooperated with Wyatt's Rebellion, despite being a Catholic himself. After Mary and Philip married, he was titled as king and named her co-monarch[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a queen consort, despite his desire to be the main ruler.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts. Their marriage was happy only on her side, though, as Philip, being significantly younger and having different tastes in women, failed to return her infatuation. He had accepted the marriage solely out of political reasons, and ultimately considered his time in England a great sacrifice. To further complicate things, Philip's advisors in England were UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfAlba and the Prince of Eboli, who were bitter enemies with opposite stances towards the whole thing.

In 1557, Philip returned to England having been made King of Spain (his father, UsefulNotes/CharlesV, had abdicated for him) and asked for support against the France of Henry II. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops, obtaining a crushing victory in the subsequent Battle of St. Quentin, but in turn, England lost Calais back to France in a surprise attack. Although Philip eventually forced Henry II to sue for peace after another victory in Gravelines, it was not possible to recover Calais in Mary's lifetime, making her famously say, “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant again. Most of England thought it was unlikely and they were right. Mary was nearly 42, and the prospect of her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This time, the swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

By the time Mary died in 1558 aged 42, most of the crowds who cheered her five years earlier were heaving sighs of relief at her passing. She died surrounded by only her most loyal servants and ladies-in-waiting, as most of her court had left to try and gain favor with her half-sister. Her greatest ally, Cardinal Pole survived her by only twelve hours; with the two of them dead, so too was any chance of a restoration of the Catholic faith with the English populace. She was succeeded by her younger half-sister, [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth]].

* AwfulWeddedLife: Philip of Spain is usually portrayed 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. [[note]]It should be noted that while Philip was not in love with Mary, he respected her and was attentive to her. However, he disliked England because it was cold and dreary compared to his home country, and this was a factor in why he spent far more time in Spain than with his wife.[[/note]]

* KissingCousins: She was originally meant to marry her first cousin Charles V when she was a child, but he married a Portuguese princess. She was briefly married to the same cousin’s son later.
* LawOfInverseFertility: Her failed attempts at providing England with an heir are explored in ''Elizabeth'' and ''Carlos Rey Emperador''.

Though it took many years, Henry eventually managed to succeed in a divorce. However, as the Pope had refused to help, Henry converted to the Protestant movement, thus making him Head of the English Church. His new wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, became the new queen. With her parents' marriage declared invalid, Mary was declared a bastard, struck from the succession, stripped of her title as "Princess", instead being titled “the Lady Mary” separated from her mother, and eventually forced into her baby half-sister [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth Tudor’s]] service as a lady-in-waiting.

In 1557, Philip returned to England having been made King of Spain (his father, UsefulNotes/CharlesV, had abdicated for him) and asked for support against the France of Henry II. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops, obtaining a crushing victory in the subsequent Battle of St. Quentin, but in turn, England lost Calais back to France in a surprise attack. Although Philip eventually forced Henry II to sue for peace after another victory in Gravelines, it was not possible to recover Calais in Mary's lifetime, making her famously say, “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant again. Most of England thought it was unlikely and they were right. Mary was 41, nearly 42, and the prospect of her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This time, the swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

After Anne Boleyn fell from favour, Mary was allowed to leave Elizabeth’s household. After Henry’s third marriage, Jane restored Mary to her father’s favour due to her love for Catherine of Aragon and her hatred of Anne Boleyn (who hadn’t treated Mary well). While Elizabeth was ignored, Mary and her father became close again; though Mary never forgot her father’s cruel treatment of her mother. Jane hoped to legitimise Mary, so that Mary would be in the Line of Succession after Jane’s sons and their children. However, Jane died of an infection 12 days after the birth of her only child, Edward. Mary had an odd relationship with her fourth stepmother, Anne of Cleves. Mary had hated Anne Boleyn because her mother despised her, Anne disliked Mary and of course because she lost her access to the throne because of Anne. Mary got on well with Jane Seymour because of her kindness to Mary. However, with Anne of Cleves their relationship started badly. As Anne had started learning English, she now understood what her husband was saying, and Anne was jealous when Henry invited Mary to return to court. However, after Henry told Anne he wanted a divorce, Mary and Anne bonded over their shared rejection. They were soon very close. Despite Anne’s religion being Lutheranism (unlike devout Catholic Mary) the pair became great friends, it helped that Anne was only a few years older than Mary. Anne was part of Mary’s coronation and converted to Catholicism when Mary became Queen. Mary disliked Catherine Howard because she could tell that she wasn’t in love with her father; as well as Catherine being younger than Mary and due to Catherine’s ditziness.

* AbusiveParents: In several portrayals, regardless of how sympathetic they may be to her, especially ''Series/TheTudors'', Mary is depicted as the victim of this. In this adaptation, Mary's father first bastardizes her, then forces her to work as a servant for her new half-sister Princess Elizabeth as a punishment for refusing to accept her parents' divorce. She is not allowed to see or even write to her mother, even on her deathbed. Similarly, her stepmother Anne Boleyn campaigns for her execution so as to prevent Mary from contesting her own children's claims and inheritances. This line of thinking has been questioned in recentl years.

* AbusiveParents: In several portrayals, regardless of how sympathetic they may be to her, especially ''Series/TheTudors'', Mary is depicted as the victim of this. In this adaptation, Mary's father first bastardizes her, then forces her to work as a servant for her new half-sister Princess Elizabeth as a punishment for refusing to accept her parents' divorce. She is not allowed to see or even write to her mother, even on her deathbed. Similarly, her stepmother Anne Boleyn campaigns for her execution so as to prevent Mary from contesting her own children's claims and inheritances. This was all TruthInTelevision too.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: She's infamously known as "Bloody Mary" for being a fanatical Catholic who had three hundred Protestants burned during her reign, and is accordingly treated as a tyrannical villain in contrast to the more highly regarded UsefulNotes/ElizabethI. In reality, she wasn't particularly worse than her Protestant father, brother, and sister, who all had Catholics killed, and she was the one who originated policies for navy expansion and financial reform that were later credited to Elizabeth.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Philip of Spain is usually portrayed 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. [[note]]It should be noted that Philip was not in love with Mary, he respected her and was attentive to her. However, he disliked England because it was cold and dreary compared to his home country, and this was a factor in why he spent far more time in Spain than with his wife.[[/note]]

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: She's infamously known as "Bloody Mary" for being a fanatical Catholic who had three hundred Protestants burned during her reign, and is accordingly treated as a tyrannical villain in contrast to the more highly regarded UsefulNotes/ElizabethI. In reality, she wasn't particularly worse than her Protestant [[UsefulNotes/HenryVIII father]] or sister, who had Catholics killed, and she was the one who originated policies for navy expansion and financial reform that were later credited to Elizabeth.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Philip of Spain is usually portrayed 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.
** However, while it should be noted that Philip was not in love with Mary, he respected her and was attentive to her. However, he disliked England because it was cold and dreary compared to his home country. As such, when Mary humiliated him when she never gave birth when it was said she was pregnant, he did leave for Spain. He also used her so he could fight his enemies.

* BreakTheCutie: In ''The Tudors'', Mary goes from a sweet and caring PrincessClassic to a bitter, cynical fanatic as a result of her father's cruel and neglectful treatment of her after he divorces her mother.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Often given this while her sister is given a HistoricalHeroUpgrade by depicting Mary as intolerant towards Protestants while her sister was religiously tolerant.However, in actual fact Elizabeth executed nearly as many Catholics for heresy as Mary did. In fact, Mary didn’t get called “Bloody Mary” until after her death, which was by sexist Protestants who wanted to stop women from ruling, so they made it seem like Mary was worse than she actually was. In reality, Mary wasn’t that different from any Monarch of her time (including Elizabeth).
* HufflepuffHouse: Mary gets considerably less attention than her father or Elizabeth. Whenever she appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in relation to either Henry or Elizabeth.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first queen of England to remain monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed [[UsefulNotes/PhilipII Philip of Austria]], King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. After Mary and Philip married, he was titled as king and named her co-monarch[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a queen consort, despite his desire to be the main ruler.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts. Their marriage was happy only on her side, though, as Philip, being significantly younger and having different tastes in women, failed to return her infatuation. He had accepted the marriage solely out of political reasons, and ultimately considered his time in England a great sacrifice. To further complicate things, Philip's advisors in England were UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfAlba and the Prince of Eboli, who were bitter enemies with opposite stances towards the whole thing.

* {{Foil}}: She often serves as one to her half-sister Elizabeth. Mary was a Catholic who wanted to undo the policies of her father, got married, and was intolerant towards non-Catholics. By contrast, Elizabeth never married, wanted to build on her father's policies with the Church Of England, and is depicted as being mostly tolerant of non-Protestants. However, in actual fact Elizabeth executed nearly as many Catholics for heresy as Mary did. In fact, Mary didn’t get called “Bloody Mary” until after her death, which was by sexist Protestants who wanted to stop women from ruling, so they made it seem like Mary was worse than she actually was. In reality, Mary wasn’t that different from any Monarch of her time (including Elizabeth).

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first queen of England to remain monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed [[UsefulNotes/PhilipII Philip of Austria]], King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. After Mary and Philip married, he was titled as king and named her co-monarch[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a queen consort, despite his desire to be the main ruler.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts. Their marriage was happy only on her side, though, as Philip, being significantly younger and having different tastes in women, failed to return her infatuation. He had accepted the marriage solely out of political reasons, and ultimately considered his time in England a great sacrifice. To further complicate things, Philip's advisors in England were UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, Duke of Alba, and Rui Gomes da Silva, Prince of Eboli, who were bitter enemies with opposite stances towards the whole thing.

* An attraction based on Mary is in the London Dungeon, where the guests are told about the burnings of Protestants. A guest is usually invited on stage to be burnt at the stake.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first queen of England to remain monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed UsefulNotes/PhilipII, King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. After Mary and Philip married, he was titled as king and named her co-monarch[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a queen consort, despite his desire to be the main ruler.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts.

Mary was humiliated and so was her husband. He left England to go to Spain. She was strong when she said goodbye to him, but after he had gone she was visibly upset. Mary believed God had punished her for tolerating Protestants. Mary thought there was only one way to gain God’s forgiveness. She ordered that at least 280 Protestants be burned at the stake, including bishops Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer (who actually converted to Catholicism to avoid execution, but Mary ordered his burning anyway). These men and women became known as the "Protestant Martyrs". There were 283 of them in all, and it is for their deaths that she's known as Bloody Mary (a term coined well after her death, though). In reality, she killed fewer subjects in her entire reign than her father did in any single year of his. Shows what happens when you're on the wrong side of history. Not only that, but Mary genuinely believed she was helping the Protestants she had burned. She believed the immensely painful death of burning alive would be enough to make the Protestants convert to Catholicism to avoid spending eternity burning in the flames of hell.

In 1557, Philip returned to England (having been made King of Spain by his father who abdicated for him) and asked for support against the French. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops. The battle was a disaster, and England lost Calais back to France. When Mary found out, she said “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant again. Most of England thought it was unlikely and they were right. Mary was 41, nearly 42, and the prospect of her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This time, the swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

In 1557, Philip returned to England (having been made King of Spain by his father who abdicated for him) and asked for support against the French. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops. The battle was a disaster, and England lost Calais back to France. When Mary found out, she said “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant. Most of England thought it was unlikely and they were right. Mary was 41, nearly 42, and the prospect of her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This time, the swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first Queen of England to remain Monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed UsefulNotes/PhilipII, King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Philip was named King of England and believed he'd be named his wife's Co-Monarch as Philip I of England and be the main ruler[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a Queen Consort.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts.

She might have succeeded in returning England to Catholicism had she borne a child to carry on her works, but that was not to be. She is thought to have become pregnant once, but although her abdomen swelled she never delivered a child. The most likely explanation is a molar pregnancy proceeding to choriocarcinoma, but some medical historians believe it was ovarian cancer. It was once suggested that she might have suffered a "phantom pregnancy",[[note]]this shows up often in books and shows of the 1950s[[/note]] but modern historians are confident that her condition was primarily physical in nature, as phantom pregnancy is ''far'' rarer in real life than doctors of the 1930s realized. Also, it isn't fatal. Mary was happy for many months, believing she’d give birth to a child that would be a Catholic King or Queen of England. Her physician told her a baby would come in May, but no baby came. Nobody really batted an eye, it was instead announced the baby was due in June. However, no child arrived. This was when some began to speculate the Queen wasn’t pregnant. However, some thought Mary would deliver a child in July. It didn’t happen. Mary said that a baby would come in August, by then she was probably the only person who thought she was expecting a child. On the 2nd of August, Mary’s belly had reduced. She accepted she wasn’t going to give birth. By September, Mary was back to her normal size, very thin.

In 1557, Philip returned to England (having been made King of Spain by his father who abdicated for him) and asked for support against the French. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops. The battle was a disaster, and England lost Calais back to France. When Mary found out, she said “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news, however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant. Most of England thought it was unlikely. They were right. Mary was 41, nearly 42 and her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, as she genuinely loved children and didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, but to also simply be a mother and love and dote on her own family.

* {{Foil}}: She often serves as one to her half-sister Elizabeth. Mary was a Catholic who wanted to undo the policies of her father, got married, and was intolerant towards non-Catholics. By contrast, Elizabeth never married, wanted to build on her father's policies with the Church Of England, and is depicted as being mostly tolerant of non-Protestants.

However, Mary was very close to Catherine Parr. Catherine helped Mary and her younger half-sister Elizabeth be restored to the succession after their younger brother Edward. Though they were technically legitimised when it came to the Succession, they remained with the title “Lady” rather than “Princess” until their father died. However, during their brothers reign they became known to some as “Princess Mary” and “Princess Elizabeth” despite technically being considered illegitimate.

Her path to the throne did not run smoothly. Edward unexpectedly changed the succession in their fathers will in a new will drafted shortly before his death that excluded Mary from the throne because he didn’t want a Catholic to succeed him. However, his advisors told him that he couldn’t exclude one sister unless he excluded Elizabeth as well. The reason they used to stop Mary from becoming Queen was because her parents were divorced, however the issue with that was that Elizabeth (Edward’s preferred successor) was considered just as illegitimate as Mary; her mother had been beheaded by their father. As such, Edward passed them both over in favour of the royal siblings Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor and daughter-in-law of John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, Edward’s regent.[[note]]This stunk so highly that a rumour arose claiming that the Duke himself wrote the will and forced the sickly Edward to sign it. An early draft of the will found in Edward's papers, however, shows that the devise was Edward's own idea.[[/note]] Queen Jane took the throne on Edward's death, but Mary was popular with the commoners and nobles and this made Jane's position untenable, and Jane was deposed by Mary nine days later. Mary was greeted by crowds of thousands of cheering subjects as she rode into London and took her rightful throne.

Despite his affections for Mary, Henry was disappointed with his lack of male heirs. After 1534, it became clear that Catherine, aged 40, was not going to have any more children. Catherine focused on Mary rather than continuing to hope and pray for a son. Catherine encouraged Mary to believe she would be her father’s successor. However, Henry was convinced a male heir was needed, and decided to get a divorce.

She might have succeeded in returning England to Catholicism had she borne a child to carry on her works, but that was not to be. She is thought to have become pregnant once, but although her abdomen swelled she never delivered a child. The most likely explanation is a molar pregnancy proceeding to choriocarcinoma, but some medical historians believe it was ovarian cancer. It was once suggested that she might have suffered a "phantom pregnancy",[[note]]this shows up often in books and shows of the 1950s[[/note]] but modern historians are confident that her condition was primarily physical in nature, as phantom pregnancy is ''far'' rarer in real life than doctors of the 1930s realized. Also it isn't fatal. Mary was happy for many months, believing she’d give birth to a child that would be a Catholic King or Queen of England. Her physician told her a baby would come in May, except no baby came. Nobody really battered an eye, it was instead announced the baby was due in June. However, no child arrived. This was when some began to speculate the Queen wasn’t pregnant. However, some thought Mary would deliver a child in July. It didn’t happen. Mary said that a baby would come in August, by then she was probably the only person who thought she was expecting a child. On the 2nd of August, Mary’s belly had reduced. She accepted she wasn’t going to give birth. By September, Mary was back to her normal size, very thin.

In 1557, Philip returned to England (having been made King of Spain by his father who abdicated for him) and asked for support against the French. Mary was lovesick and agreed, she was just thrilled Philip had returned to her. He left with English soldiers to battle with the French troops. The battle was a disaster, and England lost Calais back to France. When Mary found out, she said “when I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip and Calais lying in my heart”. Mary did get a bit of good news however. Though sad over Philip returning to Spain so he could rule, Mary and a couple of physicians believed that she might be pregnant. Most of England thought it was unlikely. They were right. Mary was 41, nearly 42 and her giving birth to a child at that age in that era was almost impossible. Her swelling was most likely cancer. This swelling didn’t reduce. Mary soon accepted that she wouldn’t have children. This was one of the hardest things she would ever accept, she genuinely loved children, she didn’t just want to have a child to have a Catholic heir, she wanted to have a child to also love and dote on.

By the time Mary died in 1558 aged 42, most of the crowds who cheered her five years earlier were heaving sighs of relief at her passing. She died surrounded by only her most loyal servants and ladies-in-waiting, as most of her court had left to try and gain favour with her half-sister. Her greatest ally Cardinal Pole survived her by only twelve hours; with the two of them dead, any chance of a restoration of the Catholic faith. She was succeeded by her younger half-sister, [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth]].

%%Please do not add any personal tropes. This page is for her appereances in fiction.

* AbusiveParents: In several portrayals, especially ''Series/TheTudors''. In this adaptation, Mary's father first bastardizes her, then forces her to work as a servant for her new half-sister Princess Elizabeth as a punishment for refusing to accept her parents' divorce. She is not allowed to see or even write to her mother, even on her deathbed. Similarly, her stepmother Anne Boleyn campaigns for her execution. TruthInTelevision too.

** However, while it should be noted that Philip was not in love with Mary, he respected her and was attentive to her. However, he disliked England because it was cold and dreary compared to his home country, Spain. As such, when Mary humiliated him when she never gave birth when it was said she was pregnant, he did leave to Spain. He also used her so he could fight his enemies.

* BreakTheCutie: In ''The Tudors'', Mary goes from a sweet and caring Princess to a bitter, cynical fanatic as a result of her father's cruel and neglectful treatment of her after he divorces her mother.
* {{Daddys Girl}}: Mary used to be one to her father, Henry VIII. Of course, after his divorce from Mary’s beloved mother, their relationship was never the same agin. However, after Jane Seymour encouraged Henry to see Mary again, they did become close again, but not like they used to be. However, compared to her sister, Mary was Henry’s preferred daughter, being his second favourite child, with their brother Edward being the favourite and Elizabeth being his least favourite child (however he did hold affection for her).
* FreudianExcuse: ''The Tudors'' explores Mary's 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.
* {{Foil}}: She often serves as one to her sister Elizabeth. Mary was a Catholic who wants to undo the policies of her father, got married, and was intolerant towards non-Catholics. By contrast her sister Elizabeth never married, wanted to build on her father's policies with the Church Of England, and is depicted as being mostly religiously tolerant with non-Protestants.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Due to the brutality of her reign and her nickname 'Bloody Mary', England often gets portrayed as a CrapsackWorld in works set while she's on the throne.

* HufflepuffHouse: Mary gets considerably less adaptations love than her father or Elizabeth. Whenever she appears in HistoricalFiction, it's usually in relation to either Henry or Elizabeth.

* LawOfInverseFertility: Her failed attempts at providing England with an heir is explored in ''Elizabeth'' and ''Carlos Rey Emperador''.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Reports of her describe her as a precocious child, and adaptations that feature her show her past self being nice and slowly getting corrupted by the trauma going on around her.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first Queen of England to remain Monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed UsefulNotes/PhilipII, King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Philip was named King of England and Philip believe he’d be named his wives Co-Monarch and known as Philip I of England, and be the main ruler[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a Queen Consort.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first Queen of England to remain Monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed UsefulNotes/PhilipII King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Philip was named King of England and Philip believe he’d be named his wives Co-Monarch and known as Philip I of England, and be the main ruler[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a Queen Consort.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was determined to bring England back into the arms of Rome. As the first Queen of England to remain Monarch long enough to be crowned, she needed a husband. Many suitors were considered (including Edward Courtenay, who was a close friend of Mary’s and Catholic like her) but Mary ultimately chose her cousin once removed - [[UsefulNotes/Philip II Philip II]], King of Naples, Jerusalem and the heir to the throne of Spain - and brought her cousin Reginald Cardinal Pole back to England as Archbishop of Canterbury. Philip was named King of England and Philip believe he’d be named his wives Co-Monarch and known as Philip I of England, and be the main ruler[[note]](Though titled as king per common law that a husband was entitled to share in his wife's lands and titles, legislation passed by Parliament reserved most power for Mary, leaving Philip with just about the same power as a Queen Consort.)[[/note]], and as such worked with Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws passed in the time of Henry and Edward and reinstate the Heresy Acts.