Queen of England Maria Bloody: biography, years of government

Maria I Tudor (her years of life - 1516-1558) is an English queen, also known as Maria Bloody. She was not put in the homeland of any monument (it is only in Spain, where her husband was born). Today the name of this queen is associated primarily with reprisals. Indeed, there were many in the years when the throne was Maria Bloody. According to the history of her reign, a lot of books are written, and interest in her personality does not fade to this day. Despite the fact that in England the day of her death (at the same time Elizabeth I ascended the throne) was celebrated as a national holiday, this woman was not so cruel as many had imagined. After reading the article, you will see this.

Maria's parents, her childhood

Parents of Mary - English King Henry VIII Tudor and Catherine of Aragon, the youngest Spanish princess. The Tudor dynasty at that time was still very young, and Henry was only the second ruler of England relating to her.

In 1516, Queen Catherine gave birth to her daughter, Maria, her only viable child (she had before had several unsuccessful births). The girl's father was disappointed, but hoped for the appearance in the future of the heirs. He loved Mary, he called a pearl in his crown. He admired the hard and serious nature of his daughter. The girl was crying very rarely. She studied hard. Teachers taught her Latin, English, music, Greek, playing harpsichord and dancing. The future Queen Mary the First Blood was interested in Christian literature. She was very attracted by stories about ancient warrior-maidens and martyr women.

Candidates for husbands

The princess was surrounded by a large suite, corresponding to her position: the court staff, chaplain, maid and nurse, lady mentor. After growing up, Maria Bloody began to engage in falconry and horse riding. The troubles about her marriage, as is the custom of the kings, began as early as infancy. The girl was 2 years old when her father signed a contract for the engagement of his daughter with the son of Francis I, the French Dauphin. The agreement, however, was terminated. Another candidate for the husbands of the 6-year-old Mary was Carl V Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor, who was older than his bride for 16 years. However, the princess did not have time to mature for marriage.

Catherine was disagreeable with Henry

In the 16th year of the marriage of Henry VIII, who still did not have heirs of a male, decided that his marriage to Catherine was not acceptable to God. The appearance of an illegitimate son in the world indicated that it was not Henry who was responsible for this. The case, it turns out, was in his wife. The king named his bastard Henry Fitzroy. He gave his son estates, castles and a ducal title. However, Henry could not be made heir, given that the legitimacy of the Tudor dynasty was questionable.

The first spouse of Catherine was the Prince of Wales Arthur. He was the eldest son of the founder of the dynasty. Five months after the wedding ceremony, he died of tuberculosis. Then Henry VII, at the suggestion of the Spanish matchmakers, agreed on the engagement of Henry, his second son (he was then 11 years old), with Catherine. Marriage should have been registered when they reach adulthood. Fulfilling the last will of his father, at the age of 18 Henry VIII married the widow of his brother. Usually the church forbade such marriages as closely related. However, as an exception, powerful people were granted permission to do so by the Pope.

Divorce, Henry's new wife

And now, in 1525, the king asked the pope for permission to divorce. Clement VII did not deny, however, he did not give his consent. He ordered as long as possible to delay the "business of the king." Henry expounded to his wife his opinion about the futility and sinfulness of their marriage. He asked her to agree to a divorce and go to the monastery, but the woman answered with a strong refusal. This she condemned herself to a very unenviable fate - vegetation in provincial castles under supervision and separation from her daughter. For several years the "business of the king" dragged on. Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as Henry's appointed primate of the church finally declared the marriage null and void. The king was married to Anna Boleyn, her favorite.

Announcement of Mary illegitimate

Then Clement VII decided to excommunicate from the church of Henry. He declared his daughter from the new Queen Elizabeth illegitimate. T. Cranber in response to this announced by order of the king of the illegitimate and Mary, daughter of Catherine. She was deprived of all the privileges that relied on the heiress.

Henry becomes head of the Anglican Church

Parliament in 1534 signed the "Supremacy Act", according to which the king headed the Anglican church. Some dogmas of religion were revised and abolished. So there was an Anglican church, which was as it were in the middle between Protestantism and Catholicism. Those who refused to accept it were declared traitors and subjected to severe punishments. From now on, property belonging to the Catholic Church was confiscated, and church fees began to flow into the royal treasury.

The plight of Mary

Maria Bloody, with her mother's death, became orphaned. She became completely dependent on the wives of her father. Anna Boleyn hated her, in every way she mocked her and even applied assault. The very fact that this woman, who wore jewelry and the crown of Catherine, now lived in the apartments that once belonged to her mother, caused great suffering to Mary. For her Spanish grandmother and grandfather would intercede, but by that time they had already died, and their heir had enough problems in their country.

Short lived the happiness of Anna Boleyn - before the birth of a daughter instead of the son expected by the king and promised by her. Only 3 years she was queen and survived Catherine for only 5 months. Anna was accused of state and adultery. The woman ascended the scaffold in May 1536, and Elizabeth, her daughter, was declared illegitimate, as formerly the future Mary the Bloody Tudor.

Other stepmothers of Mary

And only when, reluctantly, our heroine agreed to recognize Henry VIII as head of the Anglican Church, in her soul remaining a Catholic, she was finally returned to the retinue and access to the palace of the king. Maria the Bloody Tudor, however, did not marry.

Henry, a few days after his death, Boleyn married the maid of honor Jane Seymour. She felt sorry for Maria and persuaded her husband to return her to the palace. Seymour gave birth to Henry VIII, who by that time was already 46 years old, the long-awaited son of Edward VI, and she died of a maternity fever. It is known that the king valued and loved the third wife more than others and bequeathed to bury himself near her grave.

The fourth marriage for the king was unsuccessful. When she saw Anna Klevskaya, her husband, in kind, he became enraged. Henry VIII after the divorce with her executed Cromwell, his first minister, who was the organizer of matchmaking. With Anna, he divorced six months later, in accordance with the marriage contract, not entering into a carnal relationship with her. He gave her after the divorce title of foster sister, as well as a small possession. Relations between them were almost related, as did the relationship of Cleves with the children of the king.

Catherine Gotward, Maria's next stepmother, was beheaded in the Tower, after 1.5 years of marriage, for adultery. For 2 years before the death of the king was concluded the sixth marriage. Catherine Parr took care of the children, looked after her sick spouse, was the mistress of the yard. This woman persuaded the king to be more kind to his daughters Elizabeth and Mary. Catherine Parr survived the king and escaped execution only because of her own resourcefulness and by a fluke.

The death of Henry VIII, the recognition of Mary of the legitimate

Henry VIII died in January 1547, bequeathing Edward, his young son, the crown. If his descendant died, she should have gotten to the daughters - Elizabeth and Maria. These princesses were finally recognized as legitimate. This gave them the opportunity to count on a crown and a worthy marriage.

Edward's government and his death

Maria was persecuted because of her commitment to Catholicism. She even wanted to leave England. For King Edward, it was unbearable that she would enter the throne after him. On the advice of the Lord Protector, he decided to rewrite his father's will. Heiress was announced 16-year-old Jane Gray, second cousin of Edward and granddaughter of Henry VII. She was a Protestant, and also a daughter-in-law of Northumberland.

Edward VI suddenly fell ill 3 days after the approval of the will made by him. This happened in the summer of 1553. Soon he passed away. According to one of the versions, death came from tuberculosis, since he was weak from the very childhood. However, there is another version. The Duke of Northumberland, under suspicious circumstances, removed the physicians from the king. A sorceress appeared at his bedside. She allegedly gave Edward a dose of arsenic. After that, the king felt worse and emanated his spirit at the age of 15.

Maria becomes queen

After his death, the queen was Jane Gray, who was at that time 16 years old. However, the people rebelled, not recognizing it. A month later, Mary ascended the throne. She was by this time already 37 years old. After the reign of Henry VIII, who proclaimed himself the head of the Church and was excommunicated by the Pope, about half of all monasteries and churches were destroyed in the state. The difficult task was to decide after Edward's death, Mary the Bloody. England, which she got, was ruined. It needed to be revived urgently. In the first six months, she executed Jane Gray, her husband Guilford Dudley, as well as John Dudley's father-in-law.

Execution of Jane and her husband

Maria Bloody, whose biography is often represented in gloomy tones, did not by nature resemble a penchant for cruelty. For a long time she could not send her relative to the block. Why did Maria Bloody decide to do it? She knew that Jane was just a pawn in someone else's hands, who did not want to become a queen. The trial of her and her husband was initially conceived simply as a formality. Queen Mary of Blood wanted to pardon this couple. However, the fate of Jane solved the mutiny of T. Wyatt, which began in January 1554. On February 12 of the same year, Jane and Guildford were beheaded.

The reign of Mary the Blood

Maria again brought closer to her those who had recently been among her opponents. She understood that they could help her in governing the state. The restoration of the country began with the revival of the Catholic faith, which was undertaken by Maria Bloody. The counter-reformation attempt is so called in the scientific language. Many monasteries were reconstructed. However, during the reign of Mary, many executions of Protestants took place. The bonfires were flamed since February 1555. There are many evidences of how people suffered, dying for the faith. About 300 people were burned. Among them were Latimer, Ridley, Kramner and other hierarchs of the church. The Queen ordered not to spare even those who agreed to become a Catholic, facing the fire. For all these cruelties, Mary received her nickname Bloody.

Marriage of Mary

The Queen married the son of Charles V Philip (in the summer of 1554). The spouse was 12 years younger than Maria. According to the marriage contract, he could not interfere in the government of the country, and the children born of marriage were to become heirs of the English throne. Philip in case of premature death of Mary was to return to Spain. The English disliked the queen's wife. Although Maria made attempts through the parliament to approve the decision that Philip was considered the king of England, she was denied this. The son of Charles V was arrogant and pompous. The arriving with him retinue behaved defiantly.

Bloody skirmishes between the Spaniards and the British began to occur on the streets after the arrival of Philip.

Disease and death

Mary had signs of pregnancy in September. They made a will, according to which Philip was to become the regent of the child before his coming of age. However, the child did not come into the world. Mary appointed Elizabeth the successor, her sister.

In May 1558 it became clear that the imaginary pregnancy was in fact a symptom of the disease. Maria suffered from fever, headache, insomnia. She began to lose her sight. In the summer the queen got flu. Elizabeth was officially appointed successor on November 6, 1558. Maria died on November 17 of the same year. Historians believe that the disease, from which the queen died - ovarian cyst or uterine cancer. The remains of Mary rest in Westminster Abbey. The throne after her death was inherited by Elizabeth I.