On this day in history, Mary I of England, or - Bloody Mary, as she was also known, was born on this day in 1516. Mary I of England was born on the 18th of February 1516. She was the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII, and the daughter of King Henry VIII's first wife: Catherine of Aragon.
Mary was not only the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, she was also Henry's eldest child. The King had two other legitimate children: Elizabeth and Edward. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife: Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was born on the 7th of September 1533. Elizabeth, went on to become England's second female monarch. After the death of her sister Mary, Elizabeth became Elizabeth I and Queen of England. Henry VIII's third legitimate child, was his youngest child: Edward. Edward was born on the 12th of October in 1537, his mother was Henry VIII's third wife: Jane Seymour. Edward went on to become King Edward VI until his death. Edward was the first of the three siblings to become monarch after King Henry VIII died. Edward was not a long King, he only reigned as monarch from 1547 to 1553, until his premature death at just 15 years old. Edward VI was just a child when he became monarch of England. His siblings, on the other hand, were both adults when they became monarchs of England. Mary was the second of the three siblings to become monarch - Mary Tudor was 37 years old when she became Queen. And, Elizabeth was the last of the three siblings to become monarch: she became England's second Queen in history after Mary had died. Mary Tudor became England's first ever Queen in 1553. Mary Tudor became Mary I of England on the 1st of October 1553, when she was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey. She became monarch after Lady Jane Grey made a claim to the English throne after the death of Edward VI. Lady Jane Grey was a distant relative of Mary's, which was partly Jane's claim to the English throne. However, after just nine days of Lady Jane Grey being de facto Queen of England, Mary removed her from power and later had her executed. Mary's claim to the English throne was that she was the sister of Edward VI's. Mary also had a legal claim to the English throne, due to the Third Act of Succession in 1543. Henry VIII passed the Third Act of Succession in 1543 to make it law that all three of his children - Edward, Mary and Elizabeth - had a right to become King or Queen. Edward was first in line to the throne, as he was Henry's male heir. Mary was second in line to the throne, as she was the eldest of the two sisters: Mary and Elizabeth. And, Elizabeth was last in line to the throne as she was the youngest of the two sisters. All three siblings ruled England. Mary Tudor's reign of England wasn't a long one, she was only Queen of England between the 1st of October 1553 until her death on the 17th of November 1558. Mary was only 42 years old at the time of her death, and only was Queen for around five years. Despite only being Queen for five years, Mary I of England did make her mark on history. Her reign started off with Mary executing her distant cousin - Lady Jane Grey - on grounds of treason. She then made a notable mark in history for becoming England's first ever female monarch. Perhaps most infamously, Mary I of England is and was known for her persecution of Protestants. As a Catholic, Mary was determined to restore Catholicism in England after her father - King Henry VIII, had turned England into a Protestant country. Mary's attempt to restore Catholicism in England and turn England back into a Catholic country is why she became infamous. Mary became infamous for the way that she went about trying to restore Catholicism to England: she persecuted Protestants and had them executed for nothing more than their faith. Mary's persecution of Protestants was cruel, and can be seen as a persecution of Protestants just because of their faith. She had hundreds of Protestants killed in a brutal way: Mary I of England had Protestants executed by being burnt at the stake, which is why she got the name 'Bloody Mary'. Although burning at the steak was a common method of punishment at the time for those who committed acts of 'heresy' in Europe, it's undoubtful that her primary motivation for burning people at the stake was due to the fact that they were Protestant, and not Catholic. Mary's reign may have been short, but she made her mark in history, more so for being, seemingly, blood-thirsty of those who didn't agree with her, rather than being more remembered for being England's first female monarch. Mary I of England was born on the 18th of February 1516,
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