Bloody Mary

Queen and Mother: Mary I the woman behind the legend

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 Written by Peter Stiffell When we discuss England’s first queen regnant the history books and documentaries usually first recall the break with Rome, the struggle of a princess against her autocratic father, and the burnings. Yet Mary I’s reign is not seen in the same regard as her father or half-sister despite Henry executing c.72,000and Elizabeth hanging, drawing, and quartering around two hundred Catholic priests. Though Geoffrey Elton once described Mary as ‘arrogant, [More]

Misremembering Mary I: History’s Largest Misconceptions about England’s First Crowned Queen

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Guest post written by Johanna Strong Mary I, England’s first crowned queen regnant (1553-1558), is often popularly remembered as either a tragic figure or as a tyrannical one. While traditional histories such as G.R. Elton’s focus on the religious persecution undertaken throughout Mary’s reign, others attempt to soften her character by narrating her phantom pregnancies and the frequent absences of her husband, Philip II of Spain. Both of these approaches and styles of [More]

Can We Give Mary Tudor a Break? (Guest Post)

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Guest post by Juliana Cummings She is known as one of the most evil women in history and is responsible for burning more protestants at stake than any other English Monarch.  There are alcoholic drinks and children’s sleepover games named after her, but in all fairness was Mary Tudor, the first Queen regnant, evil? Born on February 18, 1516, Princess Mary would be the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. By the time Mary was born, [More]

The Relationship Between Mary and Elizabeth Tudor

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Princess Mary Tudor was the apple of her father's eye for many years prior Anne Boleyn returning to England. Freshly back from her duties in France, Anne was unlike most women and Henry VIII noticed. We don't know the exact date that Henry noticed Anne but once he did it changed the course of English history. After Katherine of Aragon's last unsuccessful pregnancy Henry began to consider that he would never have a male heir. He believed the fact that he had married his [More]

Dishing with the Tudors: My Adventures in Renaissance Comedy

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Guest Article by: JoAnn Spears Dishing with the Tudors:  My adventures in Renaissance comedy I am one of those people who ‘reads out’ a subject or author of interest. That took some doing with Jean Plaidy’s canon of eighty-odd historical fiction novels.  Having started in on the task at the age of twelve, with The Captive Queen of Scots, I was actually able to exhaust all that Plaidy had to offer before I was out of my twenties.   My favorite sub [More]