Why Was Bloody Mary Called That?

Queen Mary I was the first ruling queen of England, crowned on 1 October 1553.

She was a Catholic who tried to make England a Catholic country again, and in doing so, she earned her nickname as the villainous “Bloody Mary”.

During her turbulent life, Mary I was responsible for ordering the execution of hundreds of clergymen and ordinary people who dared to oppose her dedication to restore the country to Roman Catholicism. Ultimately, Mary would burn over 300 people at the stake.

Her Catholicism would become the guiding principle of her reign - and would define her reputation following her death.

Queen Mary I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, born at Greenwich Palace on 18 February 1516.

The Protestant cousin of Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, was tipped for the throne after his death. Mary, however, was able to gather enough support nine days after Jane's accession to ride to London and claim the throne. Jane and her husband, Lord Dudley, were both executed.

Calais, England's last lands in Europe, was lost to the French during Mary Tudor's reign, further blemishing her legacy.

After Mary thought she was pregnant on two occasions, both proved false. Consequently, she never bore a Catholic heir, and the Crown passed to her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth after her death.

Mary died at St James’s Palace on 17 November 1558 from an ailment identified as uterine cancer, ovarian cysts, or even influenza.

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