Bloody Mary

Good morning, we are continuing our exploration of women in history and we are going to throw it back to a David Starkey documentary on Queen Mary I.  She was otherwise known as “Bloody Mary.”  This was the first documentary posted when Chronicle became a YouTube Channel.  The run time for this documentary is 48:05.

Queen Mary’s story begins as she arrives in London to be crowned Queen.  She had lived a turbulent life until this point.  Londoners were in tears of joy when they saw her crowned.  However, the joy was short-lived.  Queen Mary was a queen driven by conviction and would send hundreds of her subjects to the scaffold.  She would see that England would be restored to the Catholic Faith.

Starkey then goes into the story of Mary’s birth and christening.  She was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, so she was an important child.  Her density was to be a royal bride and to reign alongside her husband.  At the age of two, she was promised to the Dauphin, the heir to the French throne.  However, this was eventually set aside.  She was promised a variety of suitors to make treaties with other countries.  She was a princess and a potential heir to the throne.  Marriage to her would have been a good prospect.  She was a child who loved music, dancing, and games.  Mary spoke Spanish and English.  Henry was devoted to Mary.  Catherine was equally devoted and gave her an education befitting her destiny.

Mary was treated as the second most important person in England, after her father.  Catherine was fiercely ambitious for Mary.  Catherine was educating Mary in Latin and was pleased when Mary changed to a professional tutor.  Catherine wanted Mary to have good Latin and so prepared Mary to rule England in her own right.  Mary was sent to Ludlow Castle to learn the business of ruling.  By doing this, Henry regarded her as the future ruler of England.  For three years, Princess Mary learned the business of governing while living in Ludlow Castle.

However, life as she knew it would change.  Henry VIII had decided to divorce Catherine and marry another woman.   For the next five years, Mary’s world was shattered.   Eventually, Henry VIII was able to divorce Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn.  When Mary was seventeen years, Henry married his mistress.  Eventually, a sister, baby Elizabeth was born.  Mary was sent to Hatfield House to be a servant to her sister.  She was stripped of her titles as Royal Princess, declared a bastard, and abused by members of Anne’s household.  Henry VIII disowned Mary and refused to let Mary see her mother.

Worse was to come: Henry VIII was undermining the faith Mary had grown up with.  This treatment would have an effect on her and she was going to revenge on her treatment.  Eventually, cracks started to show and Mary begged her cousin Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor for asylum.  However, Anne was beheaded, so Mary looked to reconcile with her father.  Henry would only reconcile with Mary on his terms.  Mary would eventually be forced to submit to Henry’s wishes and acknowledged him as head of the church. 

Peace would come to the household, eventually after the birth of Edward.  She was even reinstated in the line of succession and she would be Queen after Edward.  She was fond of Edward.  However, when Henry died, Edward became King, and relations between the pair grew strained.  Mary had suddenly become a devoted Catholic attending mass frequently.  Edward was going after the Catholic faith and was trying to ban the Catholic Mass.

Mary begged Emperor Charles for asylum in Spain.  In one of the most bizarre episodes in Mary’s life, Emperor Charles would provide her with sanctuary.  Plans were made, even though advisors told her that she would forfeit the chance at the English throne if she fled.  The night of the arranged escape, Mary was found in an agitated state.  Would she flee England that night?  Would Mary change her mind?  Would she flee England?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more.