UK Constitution and Government/British Monarchs/Mary of England
Born: 18 Feb 1516, Greenwich Palace, London, England Acceded: 30 Nov 1553, Westminster Abbey, London, England Died: 17 Nov 1558, St. James Palace, London, England Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England Father: HENRY VIII TUDOR (King of England) Mother: Catalina De ARAGON(Queen of England,Princess of Spain) Married: FELIPE II HABSBURG (King of Spain) 25 Jul 1554, Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire, England Mary Tudor was the only surviving child of Henry VIII's first wife, Catalina De Aragon. Henry doted on Mary when she was little, calling her "the greatest pearl in the kingdom." The princess received an excellent education, and was carefully sheltered.In 1522 Henry arranged Mary's betrothal to Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V. Carlos was an adult, and Mary was just six years old; the marriage would take place when she was twelve. Mary had met Carlos and liked the idea of marrying him. But in 1525 Carlos broke off the engagement so that he could marry Princess Isabella of Portugal. That same year Henry sent Princess Mary to live in Wales, as was traditional for the king's heir. But at the same time, her half brother, the bastard son of the King Henry Fitzroy, was created Duke of Richmond, a title that Henry had before he came to the throne.The year 1527 started off well for Princess Mary. She returned to live at her father's court and celebrated her engagement to a son of the King of France. But Henry VIII's attitude toward Mary and her mother had started to change. He had decided that God disapproved of his marriage to Catalina; why else had the Queen failed to produce healthy male children? And he was in love with the woman who was to become his second wife: Anne Boleyn. Soon Mary learned that Henry wanted to annul his marriage to her mother. For this, the King needed the pope's permission. While he waited, he continued to treat Catalina as his Queen and Mary as his heir. But Mary's legitimacy was now in doubt, making her less valuable on the marriage market. The French engagement was broken off and no other match was arranged for her, although her father's advisors considered marrying her to Henry's illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy.Henry grew increasingly angry at Catalina for resisting his attempt to end their marriage. Finally, in 1531, he sent Catalina away from court. After being shuffled between various castles and palaces, the Queen ended up a prisoner at Kimbolton Castle, near Huntingdon. Realizing that the Pope would never grant his divorce, Henry split from the Catholic church, established the Church of England, had his marriage declared invalid, and married Anne Boleyn. Anne gave birth to a daughter, Princess Elizabeth, in 1533. Mary was now officially a bastard, called "the lady Mary," but, like her mother, she refused to accept her change in status. Henry was infuriated by his daughter's defiance and threatened to have her executed if she did not stop referring to herself as a princess. When Mary was eighteen, her household was disbanded and she was sent to live in Princess Elizabeth's household, where she was treated badly. Henry refused to see her, but he was not completely indifferent to Mary. Once, glimpsing her at a window, he nodded and touched his hat politely.Catalina and Mary were not permitted to visit each other, and Catalina died in 1536 without seeing her daughter again. Now Mary was alone. Four months after Catalina's death, however, Mary's greatest enemy toppled from power when Anne Boleyn was arrested on false charges of adultery and executed. Anne had hated Mary and stated that she wanted her dead. With Anne gone, Henry treated his eldest daughter somewhat more kindly. His third, fourth, and sixth wives were all well-disposed toward Mary. (She got along less well with his teenaged fifth wife, Catherine Howard.) Although she never regained her former status or her father's affection, she was once again part of the royal family.