Mary I of England

Mary I
Portrait by Anthonis Mor, 1554
Queen of England and Ireland (more...)
Reign	19 July 1553 – 17 November 1558
Coronation	1 October 1553
Predecessor	Jane (disputed) or Edward VI
Successor	Elizabeth I
Co-monarch	Philip
Queen consort of Spain
Tenure	16 January 1556 – 17 November 1558
Spouse	Philip II of Spain
House	House of Tudor
Father	Henry VIII of England
Mother	Catherine of Aragon
Born	18 February 1516(1516-02-18) Palace of Placentia, Greenwich
Died	17 November 1558 (aged 42) Saint James's Palace, London
Burial	14 December 1558 Westminster Abbey, London
Signature

Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and only surviving child of Catherine of Aragon. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived half brother, Edward VI, to the English throne. In the process, she had almost 300 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian Persecutions, earning her the sobriquet of "Bloody Mary". Her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed by her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth I.

Childhood and early years

Mary was the only child of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy. Her mother had many miscarriages, and Mary had been preceded by a stillborn sister and three short-lived brothers, including Henry, Duke of Cornwall. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. She was born at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. She was baptised with Thomas Cardinal Wolsey standing as her godfather. Mary was a sickly child who had poor eyesight, sinus conditions and bad headaches. John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford was her Chamberlain, and his wife, Lady Anne, daughter of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, was one of Mary's attendants.^[1]

Education and marriage plans

Despite her problems, Mary was a precocious child. A great part of her early education likely came from her mother, who consulted the Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives upon the subject and was Mary's first instructor in Latin. Mary also studied Greek, science, and music. In July 1521, when scarcely five and a half years old, she entertained some visitors with a performance on the virginal (a smaller harpsichord). Henry VIII doted on his daughter and would boast in company, "This girl never cries"; he would sometimes show delight in her developing music skills.^[2] When Mary was nine years old, Henry gave her her own court at Ludlow Castle and many of the Royal Prerogatives normally only given to a Prince of Wales, even calling her the Princess of Wales. In 1526, Mary was sent to Wales to preside over the Council of Wales and the Marches. Despite this obvious affection, Henry was deeply disappointed that his marriage had produced no sons.

Throughout her childhood Henry negotiated potential marriages for Mary. When she was only two years old she was promised to the Dauphin Francis, son of King Francis I of France, but after three years, the contract was repudiated. In 1522, she was instead contracted to marry her first cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, then 22, by the Treaty of Windsor. Within a few years, however, the engagement was broken off. It was then suggested that Mary wed the Dauphin's father Francis I, who was eager for an alliance with England. A marriage treaty was signed which provided that Mary should marry either Francis I or his second son Henry, Duke of Orléans. But, Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's chief adviser, managed to secure an alliance without the marriage.

The King's Great Matter

Meanwhile, the marriage of Mary's parents was in jeopardy because Catherine had failed to provide Henry the male heir he desired. Henry attempted to have his marriage to her annulled, but Pope Clement VII refused his requests. Some contend that the Pope's decision was influenced by Charles V, Mary's former betrothed and her mother's nephew. Henry had claimed, citing biblical passages, that his marriage to Catherine was unclean because she had been previously married briefly, at age 16 to his brother Arthur, although there was some debate as to whether that marriage had been consummated. In 1533, Henry married another woman, Anne Boleyn, and shortly thereafter, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, formally declared the marriage with Catherine void and the marriage with Anne valid. Henry then broke with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church of England. As a consequence, Catherine was demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales (a title she would have held as the widow of Arthur). Mary in turn was deemed illegitimate, and her place in the line of succession transferred to her half-sister, the future Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn. She was styled "Lady Mary" rather than princess because of her illegitimate status.

Mary was expelled from Court, her servants (including her favourite maid Susan Clarencieux) were dismissed from her service, and in December 1533 she was sent to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth. Upon arriving at the house she was asked by the Duke of Norfolk if she would not go and pay her respects to the Princess to which Mary curtly replied that she knew of no princess in England save herself but as the king had acknowledged Elizabeth to be his, she might call her sister, as she called the Duke of Richmond (Henry's son by Elizabeth Blount) brother. It was an insult, and Norfolk doubtlessly would have been offended though he did not show it. Mary was to continue repeating similar phrases to whomever compared her to her sister.

Despite the cold treatment she received at Hatfield, Mary was also determined to assert her seniority over Elizabeth. On one occasion when Elizabeth's household moved to another location, Mary, having made a protest during the last move, was given a litter with a velvet covered seat instead of a leather one. It may have seemed like a small victory, but to Mary it was undoubtedly a triumph.

Princess Mary in 1544

Despite her courage and determination, Mary was often sick. Mary was not permitted to see her mother or attend her funeral in 1536. It is said^{[by whom?]} that because of this treatment, Mary was very cold towards Elizabeth during Elizabeth's teenage years, deriding Anne Boleyn's execution and calling her a witch. Circumstances between Mary and her father worsened, and she attempted to reconcile with him by submitting to his authority as head of the Church of England. By this she repudiated papal authority, acknowledged that the marriage between her mother and father was unlawful, and accepted her own illegitimacy.

After Anne Boleyn

When Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536, Elizabeth was downgraded to the status of Lady and removed from the line of succession. Within two weeks of Anne Boleyn's execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after giving birth to a son, the future Edward VI. Mary was godmother to her half-brother Edward and chief mourner at Jane Seymour's funeral. In return, Henry agreed to grant her a household (which included the reinstatement of Mary's favourite maid Susan Clarencieux), and Mary was permitted to reside in royal palaces. Her privy purse expenses for nearly the whole of this period have been published and show that Hatfield House, the Palace of Beaulieu (also called Newhall), Richmond and Hunsdon were among her principal places of residence. She was later awarded the Palace of Beaulieu as her own.

Painting depicting the family of Henry VIII of England, ca. 1545, currently on display at Hampton Court Palace. Left to Right: 'Mother Jak', Princess Mary, Prince Edward, Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, Princess Elizabeth and William Sommers.

In 1543 Henry married his sixth and last wife, Katharine Parr, who was able to bring the family closer together. The next year, through the Third Succession Act, Henry returned Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession, placing them after Edward. Both women, however, remained legally illegitimate.

In 1547, Henry died and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. Since Edward was still a child, rule passed to a regency council dominated by Protestants, who attempted to establish their faith throughout the country. As an example, the Act of Uniformity 1549 prescribed Protestant rites for church services, such as the use of Thomas Cranmer's new Book of Common Prayer. When Mary, who had remained faithful to Roman Catholicism, asked to be allowed to worship in private in her own chapel, she was refused. It was only after Mary appealed to her cousin Charles V that she was allowed to worship privately. Religious differences continued to be a problem between Mary and Edward, however. When Mary was in her thirties, she attended a reunion with Edward and Elizabeth for Christmas, where Edward embarrassed Mary and reduced her to tears in front of the court for "daring to ignore" his laws regarding worship.

Accession

English Royalty
House of Tudor
Royal Coat of Arms
Henry VIII
Henry, Duke of Cornwall
Mary I
Elizabeth I
Edward VI
Mary I

House of Habsburg
Spanish line

Emperor Charles V (King Charles I)
Children
Philip II of Spain
Maria, Holy Roman Empress
Joan of Spain
Don John (illegitimate)
Margaret of Parma (illegitimate)
Philip II
Children include
Carlos, Prince of Asturias
Isabella of Spain
Catherine, Duchess of Savoy
Philip III of Spain
Maria of Spain
Philip III
Children include
Anne, Queen of France
Philip IV of Spain
Maria Ana, Holy Roman Empress
Infante Carlos
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand
Philip IV
Children include
Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias
Maria Theresa, Queen of France
Margaret, Holy Roman Empress
Charles II of Spain
Charles II

On 6 July 1553, at the age of 15, Edward VI died of tuberculosis. Edward did not want the crown to go to Mary, who he feared would restore Catholicism and undo his reforms, as well as those of Henry VIII. For this reason, he planned to exclude her from the line of succession. However, his advisors told him that he could not disinherit only one of his sisters, but that he would have to disinherit Elizabeth as well, even though she embraced the Church of England. Guided by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and perhaps others, Edward excluded both of his sisters from the line of succession in his will.^[3]

Edward VI and his advisors instead devised that he should be succeeded by Dudley's daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey, the granddaughter of Henry VIII's younger sister Mary, the French Queen. However, this exclusion contradicted the Act of Succession of 1544. This act had restored Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession. Around the time of Edward VI's death, Mary had been summoned back to London from Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, into which she had recently moved after having left her former residence at the Palace of Beaulieu. However, Mary initially hesitated; she suspected that this summons could be a pretext on which to capture her and, in so doing, facilitate Grey's accession to the throne.

On 10 July 1553, Lady Jane Grey assumed the throne as Queen of England in what can best be described as a coup d'état orchestrated by Dudley and his supporters. However, Dudley's support collapsed almost immediately, which led to the false Queen being deposed a mere nine days later. Mary rode triumphantly into London on a wave of popular support to legally assume the crown. Grey and Dudley were immediately imprisoned in the Tower of London. Mary understood that the young Lady Jane was essentially a pawn in Dudley's scheme, and did not immediately order the girl's execution.

One of Mary's first actions as Queen was to order the release of the Roman Catholic Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Stephen Gardiner from imprisonment in the Tower of London.^[4] At this time, Dudley was the only conspirator executed for high treason. Mary was left in a difficult position, as almost all the Privy Counsellors had been implicated in the plot to put Jane on the throne. She could only rely on Gardiner, whom she appointed both Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor. On 1 October 1553, Gardiner formally crowned Mary.

Reign

Spanish marriage

Philip and Mary

At age 37, Mary turned her attention to finding a husband and producing an heir, thus preventing the Protestant Elizabeth (still her successor under the terms of Henry VIII's will) from succeeding to the throne. Mary rejected Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, as a prospect when her cousin Charles V suggested she marry his only son, the Spanish Prince Philip, later Philip II of Spain. It is said that upon viewing the Titian full-length portrait of Philip now in the Prado,^[5] which had been sent to her, Mary declared herself to be in love with him.

Their marriage at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Philip's view of the affair was entirely political (he admired her dignity but felt "no carnal love for her"), and it was extremely unpopular with the English.^{[citation needed]} Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons petitioned her to consider marrying an Englishman, fearing that England would be relegated to a dependency of Spain. This fear may have arisen from the fact that Mary was – excluding the brief, unsuccessful and controversial reigns of Jane and Empress Matilda – England's first Queen regnant.

Under the terms of the marriage treaty, Philip was to be styled "King of England", all official documents (including Acts of Parliament) were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. Coins were also to show the heads of both Mary and Philip. The marriage treaty further provided that England would not be obliged to provide military support to Philip's father in any war.

In order to elevate his son to Mary's rank, Emperor Charles V ceded the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to Philip. Therefore, Mary I became Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem upon marriage. In 1556, Mary's father-in-law abdicated and she became Queen of Spain. Mary ruled England for five years. After that, Elizabeth succeeded her.

Domestic politics

Insurrections broke out across the country when she insisted on marrying Philip, with whom she was in love. The Duke of Suffolk once again proclaimed that his daughter, Lady Jane Grey, was queen. In support of Elizabeth, Thomas Wyatt led a force from Kent that was not defeated until he had arrived at London. After the rebellions were crushed, the Duke of Suffolk, his daughter, Lady Jane Grey, and her husband were convicted of high treason and executed. Elizabeth, though protesting her innocence in the Wyatt affair, was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months, then was put under house arrest at Woodstock Palace.

Mary and Philip appear on the above medal by Jacopo da Trezzo made circa 1555.

Pregnancy

Mary, thinking she was pregnant, had thanksgiving services at the diocese of London in November 1554. This turned out to be the first of two phantom pregnancies. Various theories have been put forward to explain her condition, including cysts or a psychological problem.^{[citation needed]} Philip persuaded his wife to permit Elizabeth's release from house arrest, probably so that he would be viewed favourably by her in case Mary died in childbirth.^{[citation needed]} Soon after the disgrace of the false pregnancy, Philip headed off to Flanders to command his armies against France. Mary was heartbroken and gradually fell into deep depression.

Religion

As Queen, Mary was very concerned about heresy and the English church. She had always rejected the break with Rome instituted by her father and the establishment of Protestantism by Edward VI. She had England reconcile with Rome and Reginald Cardinal Pole, the son of her governess the Countess of Salisbury (who was beheaded for treason by Mary's father Henry VIII) and once considered a suitor, became Archbishop of Canterbury; Mary had his predecessor Thomas Cranmer burned at the stake. Mary came to rely greatly on Pole for advice.

Edward's religious laws were abolished by Mary's first Parliament in the Statute of Repeal Act (1553). Church doctrine was restored to the form it had taken in the 1539 Six Articles.

Mary also persuaded Parliament to repeal the Protestant religious laws passed by Henry VIII. Getting their agreement took several years, and she had to make a major concession: tens of thousands of acres of monastery lands confiscated under Henry were not to be returned because the new landowners created by this distribution were very influential. This was approved by the Papacy in 1554. The Revival of the Heresy Acts were also passed in 1554.

Persecutions

Numerous Protestant leaders were executed (typically by burning) in the Marian Persecutions. Many rich Protestants chose exile, and around 800 left the country. The first to die were John Rogers (4 February 1555), Laurence Saunders (8 February 1555), Rowland Taylor (9 February 1555), and John Hooper, the Bishop of Gloucester (9 February 1555). The persecution lasted for almost four years. It is not known exactly how many died. John Foxe estimates in his Book of Martyrs^{[citation needed]} that 274 were executed for their faith. The Marian persecutions are commemorated especially by bonfires in the town of Lewes in Sussex: there is a prominent martyrs' memorial outside St John's church at Stratford, London, to those Protestants burnt in Essex, and others in Christchurch Park Ipswich and the abbey grounds, Bury St Edmunds, to those executed in East and West Suffolk respectively.

Foreign policy

Mary I c. 1555, unknown artist, National Portrait Gallery, London.

Henry VIII's creation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1542 was not recognised by Europe's Catholic powers. In 1555 Mary obtained a papal bull confirming that she and Philip were the monarchs of Ireland, and thereby the Church accepted the personal link between the kingdoms of Ireland and England. Furthering the Tudor Reconquest of Ireland, the midlands counties of Laois and Offaly were shired and named after the new monarchs respectively as "Queen's County" and "King's County". Their principal towns were respectively named Maryborough (now Portlaoise) and Philipstown (now Daingean). Under Mary's reign, English colonists were settled in the Irish midlands to reduce the attacks on the Pale (the colony around Dublin).

Having inherited the Spanish throne upon his father's abdication, Philip returned to England from March to July 1557 to persuade Mary to support Spain in a war against France (the Italian Wars). There was much opposition to declaring war on France. There existed an old alliance between Scotland and France; French trade would be jeopardised; and England had a distinct lack of finances because of a bad economic legacy from Edward VI's reign. As a result of her agreement to declare war (which violated the carefully-written marriage treaty), England became full of factions and seditious pamphlets of Protestant origin inflaming the country against the Spaniards. English forces fared badly in the conflict and as a result lost Calais, England's sole remaining continental possession, on 13 January 1558. Although this territory had recently become financially burdensome, the effects of its loss were ideological. Mary later lamented that when she died the words "Philip" and "Calais" would be found inscribed on her heart.

Commerce and revenue

The most prominent problem was the decline of the Antwerp cloth trade. Despite Mary's marriage to Philip, England did not benefit from their enormously lucrative trade with the New World. The Spanish guarded their trading revenue jealously, and Mary could not condone illegitimate trade (in the form of piracy) because she was married to a Spaniard. In an attempt to increase trade and rescue the English economy, Mary continued Northumberland's policy of seeking out new commercial ports outside Europe.

Financially, Mary was trying to reconcile between a modern form of government — with correspondingly higher spending — and a medieval system of collecting taxation and dues. A failure to apply new tariffs to new forms of imports meant that a key source of revenue was neglected. In order to solve this problem, Mary's government published the "Book of Rates" (1558), listing the tariffs and duties for every import. This publication was not reviewed until 1604. Mary also appointed William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester as Surveyor of Customs and assigned him to oversee the revenue collection system.

Mary also started currency reform to counteract the dramatic devaluation overseen by Thomas Gresham that had characterised the last few years of Henry's reign and the reign of Edward VI. These measures, however, were largely unsuccessful..

Death

During her reign, Mary suffered two phantom pregnancies. It has been speculated^{[by whom?]}that these could simply be a result of the pressure to produce an heir, though the physical symptoms (including lactation and the later loss of her eyesight) reported by Mary's attendants may be indicative of a hormonal disorder such as a pituitary tumour.^{[citation needed]}

Mary decreed in her will that her husband should be the regent during the minority of her child. No child, however, was born, and Mary died at age 42 at St. James's Palace on 17 November 1558. She was succeeded by her half-sister, who became Elizabeth I. Although her will stated that she wished to be buried next to her mother, Mary was interred in Westminster Abbey on 14 December in a tomb she eventually shared with Elizabeth. The Latin inscription on a marble plaque on their tomb^[6] (affixed there by James VI of Scotland when he succeeded Elizabeth to the throne of England as James I) translates to "Consorts in realm and in tomb, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of resurrection". The Latin plays on the multiple meanings of consorts, which can mean either sibling or sharer in common.

Legacy

Queen Mary, by Hans Eworth

Mary enjoyed popular support and sympathy during the earliest parts of her reign, especially by the Roman Catholic population, who recalled her mistreatment by Henry VIII and Edward VI.^{[citation needed]} Her marriage to Philip, however, was unpopular among her subjects. The marriage treaty clearly specified that England was not to be drawn into any Spanish wars, but this guarantee proved meaningless. Philip spent most of his time governing his European territories, while his wife usually remained in England. After Mary's death, Philip sought to marry Elizabeth, but she refused him.

The persecution of Protestants led them to call her Bloody Mary, though her father Henry VIII and Elizabeth executed as many people. While historians disagree how many were put to death during Mary's brief reign, several notable clerics were executed:Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London; and the reformers John Rogers and Hugh Latimer. Mary was prominently featured and vilified in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, published by John Foxe in 1562, five years after Mary's death. Subsequent editions of the book remained popular with Protestants through the 19th century.

One popular tradition traces the nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" to Mary's attempts to bring Roman Catholicism back to England, although it may well be about her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots.^{[citation needed]}

Titles, style and arms

Mary I's titles and styles from birth to death:

• 18 February 1516 – 23 May 1533: Her Highness Princess Mary of England
• 23 May 1533 – 19 July 1553: Her Grace Lady Mary Tudor
• 19 July 1553 – 17 November 1558: Her Majesty The Queen of England and Ireland
• 16 January 1556 – 17 November 1558: Her Majesty The Queen of Spain and Sicily

Arms of Mary I, impaled with those of her husband, Philip II

Like Henry VIII and Edward VI, Mary used the style "Majesty", as well as "Highness" and "Grace". "Majesty", which Henry VIII first used on a consistent basis, did not become exclusive until the reign of Elizabeth I's successor, James I.

When Mary ascended the throne, she was proclaimed under the same official style as Henry VIII and Edward VI: "Mary, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head" (Latin: Maria Dei Gracia Anglie, Francie et Hibernie Regina, Fidei Defensor, et in terra ecclesie Anglicane et Hibernice supremum caput). The "supremacy phrase" at the end of the style was repugnant to Mary's Catholicism; from 1554 onwards, she omitted the phrase without statutory authority, which was not retroactively granted by Parliament until 1555.

Under Mary's marriage treaty with Philip, the couple were jointly styled Queen and King. The official joint style reflected not only Mary's but also Philip's dominions and claims; it was "Philip and Mary, by the grace of God, King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tirol". This style, which had been in use since 1554, was replaced when Philip inherited the Spanish Crown in 1556 with "Philip and Mary, by the Grace of God King and Queen of England, Spain, France, Jerusalem, both the Sicilies and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tirol".

Mary I's arms were the same as those used by all her predecessors since Henry IV: Quarterly, Azure three fleurs-de-lys Or [for France] and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or [for England]. Sometimes, Mary's arms were impaled (depicted side-by-side) with those of her husband.

Mary's title Queen of Spain also carried with it, the title "Queen of the Spanish East and West Indies and of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea". This titulary held by Philip came from his father, her cousin, Charles, under the original form "Rex Hispaniarum et Indiarum" (i.e., King of the Spaniards and the Indians). This is the earliest explicit reference to the Indies as a dominion with indirect connection to the English, who would nevertheless, adopt the tea trade and culture from Portugal. Soon enough, England became involved in piracy in the Caribbean, as private agents of Mary's sister, Elizabeth. England's New World excursions had previously been conducted under Anglo-Spanish treaty, with sole relation to Newfoundland, under the marital alliance sought by Prince Arthur and Infanta Catherine, which Henry repudiated. While Mary restored these ties, Elizabeth continued their father's policy of English enterprise in the New World without any stipulation other than to avoid settling or claiming areas which were already possessed by another Christian nation. Possession meant actually settled lands, rather than territorial claims like those made between Spain and Portugal under their Papal treaties.

Ancestry

See also

• Cultural depictions of Mary I of England
• Pilgrimage of Grace

Notes

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2008)

• TudorHistory.org, Eakins, L. E. (2004). "Mary I"
• "Mary I". (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
• NewAdvent.org, "Mary Tudor" (1910). The Catholic Encyclopedia (Volume IX). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Williamson, D. (1998). The Kings and Queens of England New York: National Portrait Gallery.
• Weir, Alison. "The Children of Henry VIII".

Further reading

Non-fiction

• Deary, Terry. "The Terrible Tudors". ISBN 0-590-55290-2
• Deary, Terry. "Even More Terrible Tudors". ISBN 0-590-11254-6
• Erickson, Carolly. Bloody Mary: The Life of Mary Tudor. (June 1993) ISBN 0-688-11641-8
• Hugo, Victor. Mary Tudor: A Drama. ISBN 1-58963-478-0
• Loades, David M. Mary Tudor: A Life. (March 1992) ISBN 0-631-18449-X
• Loades, David M. The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government & Religion in England, 1553-58. (May 1991) ISBN 0-582-05759-0
• McHarque, Georgess. Queen in Waiting: A Life of "Bloody Mary" Tudor. (June 2004) ISBN 0-595-31254-3
• Porter, Linda Mary Tudor: The First Queen. (UK, 2007) ISBN 978-0-7499-5144-3
• Linda Porter The First Queen of England: The Myth of "Bloody Mary. (USA, 2008) ISBN 978-0-312-36837-1
• Prescott, H. F. M. Mary Tudor: The Spanish Tudor. (October 2003) ISBN 1-84212-625-3
• Ridley, Jasper. Bloody Mary's Martyrs: The Story of England's Terror. (July 2002) ISBN 0-7867-0986-3
• Slavicek, Louise Chipley. Bloody Mary (History's Villains). (July 2005) ISBN 1-4103-0581-3
• Tytler, Patrick Fraser (1839), England Under the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary, I, London: Richard Bentley, http://books.google.com/books?id=414JAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2008-08-17 
• Tytler, Patrick Fraser (1839), England Under the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary, II, London: Richard Bentley, http://books.google.com/books?id=tl4JAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2008-08-17 
• Waldman, Milton. The Lady Mary: a biography of Mary Tudor, 1516-1558. (1972) ISBN 0-00-211486-0
• Waller, Maureen, "Sovereign Ladies: Sex, Sacrifice, and Power. The Six Reigning Queens of England." St. Martin's Press, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-312-33801-5
• Weir, Alison. "The Children of Henry VIII. (1996)
• Whitelock, Anna. 'Mary: the first queen of England' (bloomsbury forthcoming)
• Meyer, Carolyn 'Mary Bloody Mary' (half fiction half non-fiction)
• Simpson, Helen. The Spanish Marriage, at Project Gutenberg Australia

Fiction

• The short appearance of the future Queen Mary in Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper had a considerable influence on her negative image^{[citation needed]}, given the enduring popularity of Twain's work. His depiction of her as a cold and cruel person seems to connected both to Twain's outspoken atheism and to the strong anti-Catholic prejudice prevalent in American society at the time of writing.
• Ainsworth, William Harrison. The Tower of London. London, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.; New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. [1946], 455 p.
• Baker, Kage. In The Garden of Iden. (December 2005) ISBN 0-7653-1457-6 (listed as science fiction, as it involves time travel)
• Churchill, Rosemary. Daughter of Henry VIII. (May 1978) ISBN 0-523-40325-9
• Suzannah Dunn. The Queen's Sorrow. (July 2008) ISBN 978-0-00-725827-7. Attempts to show the other side to Mary as seen through the eyes of Rafael, a member of Prince Philip's entourage.
• Dunnett, Dorothy. "The Ringed Castle" includes a sympathetic portrayal of Mary's marriage and pregnancies
• Dukthas, Ann. In the Time of the Poisoned Queen. (February 1998) ISBN 0-312-18030-6
• Feather, Jane. Kissed by Shadows. (February 2003) ISBN 0-553-58308-5
• Gregory, Philippa. The Queen's Fool. (November 2004) ISBN 0-7432-6982-9 makes an effort to revise her long-lasting horrific image and show her through the eyes of a devoted and loving servant - without hiding the horror of the persecutions
• Irwin, Margaret. Trilogy: Young Bess, Elizabeth, Captive Princess and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain.
• Lewis, Hilda. I Am Mary Tudor ISBN 0-446-78017-0, Mary the Queen ISBN 0-09-116030-8, and Bloody Mary (1973), a trilogy.
• Meyer, Carolyn Mary, Bloody Mary. (April 2001) ISBN 0-15-216456-1 (Juvenile Fiction, ages 11 and up)
• Parkes, Patricia. Queen's Lady. (May 1981) ISBN 0-312-66008-1
• Plaidy, Jean. In the Shadow of the Crown: The Tudor Queens. (May 2004) ISBN 0-609-81019-7
• "Queen Mary" by Alfred Tennyson - full online text
• Santiago Sevilla. Dracula and the Bloody Mary: A Tragicomedy, published in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades. (Liceus.com)
• Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir (2007).
• The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir (2008).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mary I of England

• Eakins, Lara E. (1995-2009). "Mary I Queen of England". Tudor History Web Ring. http://tudorhistory.org/mary/. Retrieved 19 November 2009. 
• "Queen Mary I". Historic Royal Palaces. 2004-2009. http://www.hrp.org.uk/learninganddiscovery/Discoverthehistoricroyalpalaces/monarchs/maryI.aspx. Retrieved 19 November 2009. 

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