Why Was Mary 1 illigetiment?

Answer 1

There is some debate as to whether Mary I was illegitimate or not. Her parents were Queen Katherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII. Henry VIII had Archbishop Cramner proclaim his marriage to Katherine null and void, and their daughter Mary illegitimate, because he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, partly because he had the hots for her and partly because he assumed that she would give him a male heir. Henry declared that he had never been married to Katherine because she had been previously married to his elder (deceased) brother Arthur. He based this on a passage in Levicticus which forbids a man to marry his brother's wife. If they do, they shall be childless (Leviticus 20 : 21). However, in Deuteronomy, it says: "If two brothers live on the same property, and one of them dies, leaving no son, ... it is the duty of the dead man's brother to marry her." (Deuteronomy 25 : 5). Henry VIII's marriage to Katherine of Aragon was considered valid by the Roman Catholic church and therefore Mary was legitimate. Under English law as decreed by Henry VIII, his marriage to Katherine was invalid and therefore Mary was illegitimate.