“Last night, a daughter was born to the Queen to the irritation of all. Never had the kingdom so keenly desired a prince.”
So it was that Mary Tudor was received, on a cold February 18, 1516, at the Palace of Placentia. Since her conception, she was a baby highly desired by King Henry VIII, who wished to beget his successor, the prince of England. The one who would lead the European country on the same path as his father, who would make it a winner and conquer new nations as did the Spanish kingdom, to which he would also belong thanks to his mother, Catherine of Aragon. He would be the greatest monarch ever seen; however, when the queen gave birth to the little boy, they realized that he was more of a girl. A small but healthy baby that the parents would welcome with pleasure, despite the primal disappointment it caused them.
Mary grew up surrounded by affection, but also by hatred from Anne Boleyn, who would force her father to exile the little girl and Catherine. Since then, the sweet and compassionate Mary became a vengeful being with grudges that gave her a reputation of being “grumpy,” uncomfortable, and even despot. However, she always remained calm in the face of chaos. After going through many difficulties, Mary Tudor became queen at the age of 37. She is often remembered as one of the most villainous monarchs England has ever seen, but, in fact, she was a very benevolent regent. She became Queen of England and Ireland, Queen consort of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, Duchess consort of Milan, titular Duchess consort of Burgundy, and Sovereign consort of the Netherlands.
But Mary Tudor was more than a woman with a strong nickname, she was a monarch who suffered and lived to tell the tale, fell in love, and dared to shout it. She stood up for her beliefs and held them high with pride. Mary Tudor marked the history of England, and despite that, she is a little-remembered monarch, but her legacy remains in that country.
She Was Engaged as a Child
During her childhood, her father negotiated some future marriages given the constant failure to conceive a son. The most important was when she was only two years old and was betrothed to Francis I of France, although it was soon called off. She was engaged to much older men, boys, and young men. However, she ended up marrying Philip, son of Charles V, in 1554, with whom she would reign.
She Was Expelled from Court by her Father
When her father was unable to conceive an heir with Catherine, a young woman arrived at court who made him fall in love: Anne Boleyn. She convinced him to send Mary and her mother away. Henry VIII did so by separating them so that they would not join forces against him or his new wife. With Anne, he had a child, Elizabeth I, whom Mary always treated distantly for having been relegated by her mother. However, when Mary reigned, Elizabeth supported her, and it was she who would inherit the crown after her sister.
She Was a Fervent Catholic
In part, what caused her to be exiled were the religious beliefs she held, since she intended to maintain the Catholic faith that her mother and Spain proclaimed. On the other hand, her father intended to change the ecclesiastical laws to be able to unite with Anne Boleyn, a fact that he achieved at the cost of hundreds of claims and some battles. Mary, while isolated, never stopped professing her religion. She was even threatened by Boleyn and persuaded to change her mind; however, Mary always defended her rights and liberties at the expense of the King’s opinion.
She Reconciled with her Father Thanks to his Third Wife
Although she always refused to return until she was treated as she was as a child, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, succeeded in getting the girl to meet with the King and accept the new religion as part of a change, which led the King to remove her from exile.
During the time she spent away from her family (and being forced to procure Elizabeth I, her half-sister, as a lady-in-waiting) she accumulated a great hatred that would eventually spill over during her reign. Both she and Elizabeth were added to the line of succession to the throne thanks to Jane Seymour.
Her Accession Was Controversial yet Applauded
Jane Seymour and Henry VIII had begotten a child they named Edward VI, who would ascend to the throne. In 1536, after a joust from which he was seriously wounded, the King sat for hours resting and grew considerably in size. Finally, on January 28, 1547, he passed, leaving his 9-year-old son in charge of the throne until he turned 15.
Although he was small, he had a certain repugnance toward his sister occupying the throne for fear that she would change the religion again. Therefore, when Edward died, he kept it a secret to give the crown to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey. However, when it happened, Mary, accompanied by Elizabeth, claimed the throne. Mary was applauded and cheered by the people. Thus she was crowned, and Catholicism returned to England.
Mary Was a Hopeless Romantic
Mary, like all royalty, had to get married soon, so from an early age, she was showered with suitors, more for arrangements than for love or true interest. The French “Dauphin” was her suitor when she was very young, and they even arranged the marriage when they were both under 10 years old. She was “sued” by Emperor Charles, with whom she did not have a solid alliance. Likewise, James V, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, Don Luis of Portugal, and the Duke of Cleves were some of the future queen’s options for marriage.
However, she had eyes for only one, Philip II, son of Charles V. Mary saw him for the first time in a portrait that the painter Titian painted of the young prince; she was captivated by his gallantry, who, by the way, his Spanish origin gave her a plus, since she wanted to maintain her mother’s legacy. Philip reciprocated from the beginning, which made her a fulfilled woman. She was finally happy. He was 27, and she was 38.
Her People Soon Started Hating Her
Many Englishmen had already adopted the Protestant religion, either for survival or for taste, but with the new queen, Catholicism would return to England. Radical transformations would be imminent, and the inhabitants were not willing to change at the mere whims of their monarchs. However, she implemented policies that forced Protestants to change their religion or at least consider the change. When they refused, she imprisoned them as she did her sister. She soon earned the repudiation of the population that had placed their hopes on her for a better life. To the eyes of the English, the penultimate Tudor proved to be as corrupt, capricious, and untrustworthy as the rest of them.
She Had no Offspring
One of the goals of her marriage was to conceive an heir to the throne to prevent leaving it in the hands of her Protestant sister. Three months into her marriage, Mary noticed that her belly was growing. She imagined that the heir to the crown would soon arrive; however, it was only a condition that had afflicted her since she was very young. Later, it turned out that she retained fluids, but she was never able to bear offspring.
The Birth of an Infamous Nickname
Her marital and family frustrations greatly influenced the way he ruled. Unfortunately, like almost all the other monarchs of her family, she was unable to separate her reign from what was going on behind closed doors. Her wish to maintain Catholicism as an English banner turned her into a despot monarch who forced her people to believe in something they did not. Unfortunately, when they did not obey, she became so strict with them that she resorted to horrible fates. These types of actions earned Mary her famous nickname, as she did not tempt her heart; she acted out of anger and instinct.
She Passed Under a Wave of Hatred and Repudiation
Philip had traveled to Spain to settle matters of territories. On his return, he convinced Mary to join him in defending Spanish interests, to which the queen succumbed. Thus, after an unsuccessful dispute against France, England lost Calais. Her people were upset and blamed her mercilessly. She, between despair and sadness, became seriously ill. It is said that she cried day and night; she could not stop lamenting and blaming herself for the misfortunes of the country. On November 17, 1558, at the age of 42, Maria left the earthly world to join her parents in paradise. Or so the Tudor heiress believed.
Elizabeth succeeded her with an immense responsibility that many said she would not be able to carry alone. Philip II, widower of Mary, offered her to marry him and continue the marriage, but Elizabeth decided to live alone forever; without a King or suitors nearby.
Mary Tudor was a woman who lived in emotional distress. Under the shadow of her father and his wives, she became the uncomfortable daughter who does not keep quiet and fights for the family legacy, as well as for her own interests. Mary found in power an outlet to unburden herself of all the problems that had afflicted her all her life, so she decided to use it, and regardless of the consequences, she set out to reign.
Maybe she was just a victim of the life she had to witness. Perhaps she did not know how to handle it as she should have, but she left as a legacy the memory of a woman who fought for herself and herself only, strong and hard-hearted, not for lack of feelings, but for her own protection. She loved herself more than others because, in the end, she only had herself.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
