Mary Tudor, daughter of the famous Henry VIII, remained in power for only five years, but left such an indelible mark on British history that the day of her death (and, accordingly, Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne) became a national holiday for many years. Everything this woman did as queen was doomed to failure in advance. The subjects hated Mary and feared her like wildfire.

And she sowed death around her as if a friendly pact had been concluded with her noseless ... The father of the future Queen Mary Tudor was Henry VIII - a monarch, something very similar to our Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. He married six times, and all his wives were the most unfortunate women in the kingdom. Two of them - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard - he executed, with two - Catherine of Aragon and Anna of Cleves - divorced. Another, Jane Seymour, died in childbirth, and only his last wife, Catherine Parr, did not have time to lose either her life or power - Henry was no longer young and died. Princess Mary was born from the first marriage of the king, who could be happy if would not die in childhood heirs to the throne. With Catherine of Aragon, Henry lived for more than twenty years.

Mary was born in 1516, seven years after Henry's marriage to Catherine, and the first years of her childhood were very happy - the king was glad at least that his baby Mary was alive. On the occasion of her birth, there was a lot of fun in the kingdom. The king hoped that after the birth of a healthy daughter, healthy sons would begin to be born. But this did not happen. And the king began to distance himself from both his wife and his daughter. She was mainly raised by her mother, a zealous Catholic who came from the royal house of Spain. So the young princess was pious, reserved in feelings, pious and very diligent. Even as a child, she shocked the courtiers with her knowledge. But she also amazed with her exceptional religiosity, which the king liked less and less. Henry did not like Catholics: politically, he considered him harmful to the country, religiously - boring and harsh. But little Mary was a true Catholic, she knew the sacred Latin texts by heart. This pissed off Henry. He wanted to reform the church and expel Catholic monks from the country. He forbade the princess to delve into questions of the Catholic faith, but she resisted. Then he deprived her of her retinue and generally ordered not to appear in front of her eyes. And only when he cooled down, he returned her monks and the Catholic lady-in-waiting, but from then on he looked at the princess as if she were an empty place. He needed a new marriage and an heir.

When the king began the divorce proceedings in 1533, the princess was seventeen years old. She experienced the divorce of her parents with despair. For her, it meant the loss of everything - Mary, who had been granted the title of Princess of Wales a few years ago, was now losing her right to the crown. The beautiful Anne Boleyn became the new queen. For Anna's sake, the king broke with Rome, and now the country has become Protestant. Henry closed the monasteries, banished the monks to a foreign land, and those who objected too much were shoved into prisons or executed. Mary, like a Catholic, wept bitterly and accumulated grievances. Anne Boleyn saw her as a threat to herself and her newborn daughter Elizabeth. She immediately strongly disliked the princess and in every possible way turned the king against her. At the request of Anna, he included his daughter in the queen's retinue, and now it was the princess's duty to look after the girl who could take her place. The queen pestered the princess with pretensions, pokes and pinches. In addition, the king forbade her to see her mother and forced her to call her mother almost the same age as Anna. With all the strength of her soul, Mary wanted this humiliation to end quickly. And it stopped.

Suspecting the queen of treason, Henry sent her to the chopping block. And then he married Jane Seymour. With the new wife of the king, Mary developed a completely human relationship. But this happiness did not last long: Jane gave birth to Heinrich - finally! - the long-awaited heir to the throne of Prince Edward and died after giving birth. The rest of Henry's wives occupied the throne * for a short time, no more children were born, and over the years Maria learned to deftly maneuver between them and her father. The princess perceived her own fate as a misfortune.
In 1547, when the Grand Duke Philiria was already 31 years old, Henry unexpectedly died. It seemed that this large and strong man would live to a ripe old age, but he had been sick with tuberculosis for many years, which he did not know about. In the year of his death he was 55 years old. The question of succession to the throne immediately arose. Edward was a weak nine-year-old boy. No one knew if he would live to come of age. Nevertheless, according to the law, Prince Edward became the new king of Great Britain under two regents - Somerset and Paget, who hated and feared Mary. They understood that an aging princess could sacrifice the life of a monarch boy. But Maria did not have to interfere in this matter. Little Edward turned out to be sick with the same terrible ailment as his father. But before his death, he managed to sign a decree on succession to the throne, according to which power passed not to Mary or Elizabeth, but to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Saf-folk, the royal brother, Lady Jane Gray.

Jane was a beautiful, intelligent, noble girl of sixteen. She wrote poetry, loved to read. Maria understood that she could not compare with Jane either in beauty or in a kind and pure disposition. And she decided to take the throne from the impostor, as Mary called the niece of the deceased king. Jane was queen for only nine days. Hiding behind the name of the people, Mary organized a conspiracy against the "illegal" daughter of the duke, arrested the entire family of Guildford Dudley, whom Jane was married to, and brought the young couple to justice. Maybe her relative would have been pardoned later, but then fate intervened. Jane was defended by her ardent supporter Thomas Wyatt; this decided Jane's fate - both she and her husband were beheaded by No.

Queen Mary began by deciding to finally get married. She had not been able to do this before. During her father's life, she was engaged for several years, and this did not go further. After her death, she could finally start selecting candidates for husbands. The choice fell on the Spanish prince Philip: he was a good Catholic - and Mary was going to restore the power of the Pope in England, already accustomed to Protestantism - and he was handsome. Maria liked it. Philip did not like Maria - she was scary, with a dry yellow face, on which despondency persisted, but he married her - the desire to become a king won out against affection. But after marrying and spending the night with Maria, Philip fled to his homeland, where there are so many pretty women and the warm sea.

And Mary remained to rule the country. The first thing she did was to issue a decree depriving Protestants of the right to practice their faith. Moreover, she lit the fires of the Inquisition all over England. In a couple of years, 300 people were burned at the stake. These are terrible times.
The second thing she did was to drag England into a war with France, since her husband's homeland, Spain, was at war. It was the stupidest gamble. The British still remembered the Hundred Years War. Thank God the war did not last more than two years. But during this time, the British lost her last husband - possession in France. What she did not do was give birth to a legal heir. Philip, whom parliament refused even to recognize as their king, so stoically avoided communication with his wife that one could only hope for a miracle. And in May 1558, the queen solemnly announced to her subjects that the country would soon find a prince or princess. But Mary's joy turned out to be premature. Instead of the long-awaited heir, the queen wore a tumor under her heart. Doctors made a terrible diagnosis - dropsy. At the end of that same year, 1558, Mary died. The people were so happy about the deliverance that after her death they called Mary the Bloody. Although she did not shed much blood, the status of the villain remained with her forever.

Mary Tudor has been Queen of England since 1553. This is the turn of the Middle Ages and early modern times in British history. The queen from the Tudor dynasty, who was glorified, of course, not by her, but by her half-sister Elizabeth I the Great, daughter of Henry VIII from another marriage. During the reign of Mary, the history of the Tudors did not end, but did a stunning zigzag. A turn in an unexpected direction.

The fact is that the Tudor dynasty as a whole is characterized by support for the developing early capitalism and the reformation, while the support is reasonable, without extremes. And, of course, the rivalry with Spain. With Mary, the opposite is true. She was, in effect, trying to stop time by raising the banner of the counter-reformation. Roman Emperor Julian Apostate from another era.

It is possible to try to implement this kind of policy exclusively by direct violence. Mary resorted to this, who went down in history with the terrible nickname Mary Tudor - Bloody. And at first, she was the love of the nation, and even for some time a real idol, like a persecuted, offended. However, the same people that pitied her so much later called her Bloody. This nickname appeared in Protestant pamphlets during her lifetime. And Elizabeth I had a great deal of effort to cope with the consequences of Mary's policy.

Of course, there must have been very serious reasons for the strange, almost unnatural behavior of the monarch. And the personal fate of Mary Tudor can explain a lot.

Mary was born on February 15, 1515. Father - Henry VIII - ascended the throne in 1509. Over the years of his reign, he has changed almost beyond recognition. He came to the throne almost as a humanist, who loved not only knightly tournaments, but also ancient literature. Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote a laudatory ode in his honor. Henry appointed Thomas More as his first adviser, Lord Chancellor. And he was mercilessly executed because he rejected the Reformation.

By the time Mary was born, the king had been impatiently awaiting the birth of an heir for six years. And only a boy was to be the heir. In those days, no one could have imagined what an important role women's rule will play in the history of Great Britain - from Elizabeth I the Great and Queen Victoria to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In medieval Europe, it was believed that a woman could not be in power.

The wife of Henry VIII at that time was Catherine of Aragon. And she had boys - but only dead ones. A long, difficult divorce followed, which she did not recognize until the end of her life.

The next wife - a representative of the English nobility - became the mother of Elizabeth, later she was executed on charges of high treason and adultery.

Then the king married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after giving birth. There was also Anna Klevskaya, who did not like Henry to such an extent that he ordered her to be sent away and achieved divorce.

Another wife, Catherine Howard, was executed for lecherous behavior. The king told everyone incredible stories that she cheated on him with hundreds of men.

The last wife of Henry was Catherine Parr, young, sweet, meek, who persuaded the elderly glutton and libertine to calm down and recognize children from previous marriages. Perhaps he would have executed them too, if not for her ennobling influence.

The mother of Mary Tudor, Catherine of Aragon, was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, the famous Catholic kings who unified Spain. Isabella is a fanatical believer. Ferdinand is fanatically greedy.

At the age of 16, Catherine was brought to England and married to 14-year-old Arthur - Prince of Wales, the elder brother of the future Henry VIII.

She shouldn't have become Queen of England at all. Catherine's husband was seriously ill and soon died. Henry, barely becoming king, married his brother's widow, who remained in England due to the fact that her fantastically stingy father Ferdinand did not want to pay her dowry. Perhaps one of the main reasons for Henry's decision to marry Catherine was his intention to keep the peace with the growing strength of Spain. This country was part of the Habsburg Empire, over which, according to its emperor Charles V, the sun never set. The empire united German, Italian lands, small holdings in France, the Netherlands, holdings in the New World. It was tempting to be related to such a royal house. Moreover, Henry VIII treated the marriage with ease.

Catherine was six years older than her husband. After two sons, who were born dead, and the third, who died in infancy, she gave birth to a daughter, Mary, at the age of 30. And although this was not the long-awaited heir, hope persisted, and the girl was treated well. Her father called her "the greatest pearl of the kingdom." She was very pretty: fluffy blonde curls, a slender short figure. She was dressed up, brought to feasts, asked to dance in front of the ambassadors. By the way, it was their records that preserved the history of her childhood.

She had everything: balls and outfits. There was only parental attention. The king was busy both with the affairs of the state and with amusements, which he loved very much. Catherine tried to keep up. She was very worried not to look old against his background. Moreover, he always had favorites.

Little Mary is not only a child with whom parents spend too little time. With the birth of it, it became what can be conventionally called a dynastic commodity. In the Middle Ages, royal children were seen as a kind of product that could be profitably sold on the international market.

From the age of 3, negotiations began on her future marriage.

The balance of power in 16th century Europe was highly uncertain. The system of international relations took shape much later, in the middle of the next century, after a 30-year war. In the meantime, the situation remained unstable. The papacy, this outgoing theocratic force, wove intricate intrigues. France started colossal Italian wars. The French king Francis I was in captivity during the war with the Habsburgs and sought to free himself from this humiliation through new conquests. In these contradictions, friendship with England could become a strong political trump card.

Maria, as the only heiress, had a high price. At first she was married to the Dauphin of France, the future Henry II. This marriage did not take place. Later, when Mary's position became not so strong, they began to predict for her the maximum of the Duke of Savoy as her husband.

1518 - Catherine of Aragon, who was still trying to give Henry VIII an heir, gave birth to a dead girl. And in 1519, the king had an illegitimate son from the noble lady of the court Elizabeth Blount. He was given the beautiful romantic name Henry Fitzroy. Little Maria did not yet understand what danger he posed to her. Henry VIII was not prevented from recognizing this child as legitimate. The king generally put his will above everyone, even above the will of the papal throne.

But so far, Maria continued a wonderful life. She was taught languages. She perfectly recited poetry in Latin, read and spoke Greek, was interested in ancient authors. She was even more attracted by the labors of the Church Fathers. None of the humanists who surrounded the king took care of her upbringing. And she grew up a devout Catholic.

Meanwhile, a dark shadow hung over her: the King wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. A divorce from a Spanish woman, a Catholic, the daughter of the "most Christian kings" Isabella and Ferdinand, who was the aunt of Emperor Charles V - this idea looked insane. But Heinrich showed incredible tenacity.

What drove his actions? Among other things - the desire to profit from the wealth of the church. In England, beginning in the 13th century, monarchs now and then found themselves in great dependence on the Roman throne, like, for example, John Lackland, who recognized himself as a vassal of the pope. The fact that a large tribute was paid to the Holy See caused a wave of protests. At the end of the XIV century, there was already the theologian Dison Wyclef, who theoretically questioned the authority of the popes.

When Henry VIII married Catherine, he had to obtain permission from the Roman throne, along with a special document confirming that her marriage to Prince Arthur was not realized and the bride kept her purity. Now the Pope did not want to give Henry VIII the right to divorce. In a rage, the king announced that he himself was pope in England. And in 1527 he allowed himself a divorce. Moreover, he declared the marriage invalid, and Mary was an illegitimate child.

1533 - the king finally "divorced himself" from his annoying wife. After that, Mary, who had previously been the only legal heiress and already held the title of Princess of Wales, was stripped of her status. From 12 to 16 years old, she - the daughter of a hated divorced wife, was in disgrace with her mother. Now she was called the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII. And they treated her accordingly: they moved her to much worse conditions, deprived her of her own yard, showed neglect in every possible way. Mary had reason to fear for her life: numerous executions began of people displeasing to the king, first of all those who did not support the policy of the Reformation pursued by him.

Thomas More was executed, refusing to take the oath of allegiance to Henry VIII as head of the Church of England and to recognize his marriage to Anne Boleyn as legal. Thomas More did this knowing full well that he was condemning himself to death. The reprisal against him made a terrible impression on the whole of Europe. Soon after receiving the news of Mora's execution, Erasmus of Rotterdam, who loved him as his closest friend, died.

It was in this gloomy moment that popularity again came to Mary. Before that, she was a sweet child, a pretty princess who danced for foreign ambassadors. Now she, being persecuted, has become popular among the people. Catherine of Aragon showed amazing firmness in this story. Until the end of her days, she signed "Catherine, the unfortunate queen," although she was no longer officially a queen. She was neither executed, nor even imprisoned, because she was from the powerful Spain. But she was doomed to a miserable existence in a distant castle with Maria. The girl, rejected by her father, was sincerely pitied among the people. Catherine of Aragon and Mary became the banner of the future Counter-Reformation. Scotland, in particular, fiercely resisted the reforms of Henry VIII.

And the Reformation took on extreme, cruel forms in the 30s of the 16th century. For example, the famous tomb of Thomas Becket, the holy archbishop of Canterbury, who was killed in the 12th century, was destroyed. It was a place of pilgrimage, where miraculous healings took place more than once. And now, under the banner of church reform and the fight against Catholic prejudices, with the knowledge of Henry VIII, the tomb was plundered, precious stones were dug out, precious fabrics were stolen, and the bones of the saint were burned. This was done on the basis of the permission of Henry VIII, who signed the following text: “Thomas Becket, the former Bishop of Canterbury, proclaimed a saint by the Roman authorities, is no longer such. And it should not be read. "

1536 - Henry VIII executed Anne Boleyn and after 11 days entered into a new marriage - with Jane Seymour, who in 1537 finally gave birth to his son - the future King Edward VI. The delivery was very difficult, and a few days later, Jane Seymour died. Rumors spread throughout the country that it was necessary to fight for the life of both mother and child, but the king said: "Only the heir should be saved."

22-year-old Maria became the godmother of the prince. It seems to be a favor. But now she had no hope of regaining the status of heiress. Her situation was very difficult: between the warring parents; between different denominations; between two England, one of which accepted the Reformation and the other did not; between two countries - England and Spain, where there were relatives who wrote to the girl and tried to support her. The powerful Charles V, her cousin, was ready to move his huge troops against England at any moment.

Meanwhile, trading continued on the dynastic market. At first, Mary was married to the Dauphin of France, then Henry VIII turned to an alliance with the Habsburgs, and she became the alleged bride of her cousin Emperor Charles V. As a child, she even sent him a ring, which he put on his little finger with a laugh and said: "Well, I will wear it in memory of her." Then the king of Scotland and someone from southeastern Europe were planned as suitors. This meant a drop in status. In the worst times, there were rumors that Mary could be passed off as some kind of Slavic prince. Then the candidacy of the son of the Duke of Kiev arose (this is also a province, a low level). Considered Francesco Sforza - the ruler of Milan. And again the French prince. Maria lived all the time as in a showcase, put up for sale.

1547 - her half-brother Edward VI became king. Mary's position at court was restored.

But she had no political prospects or personal life. She was increasingly interested in religious issues. Affected her inner loneliness, broken fate. And for the remnants of the Catholic clergy, it remained a symbol of the Counter-Reformation. She was perfect for this role: persecuted, living in unceasing prayer, a faithful Catholic. In addition, she is the daughter of the fanatical Catholic Catherine of Aragon and the granddaughter of the most Catholic Western European kings.

There were many in England who would like to return to yesterday. Where there was no Reformation, early capitalism with its massive impoverishment, fencing of lands, painful breakdown of familiar relations. After all, even today there are often people who asserted that only in that irrevocably gone world would they be good.

We do not know for sure how consciously Mary played the role of inspirer of the Counter-Reformation. Most likely, there was no politicking in her behavior.

Edward VI died very early - at the age of 15. So in 1553, Mary again becomes the real heir to the throne. But the court forces tried to prevent her and put forward another applicant - young Jane Gray - the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister. The people did not support this decision. The Londoners ardently stood up for Mary, a devout, unmarried woman who gave no grounds for any bad rumors.

After several days of popular unrest, Mary Tudor became Queen of England. The ghost of the crown, seemingly melted long ago, suddenly became a reality. And she immediately took revenge for all the years of persecution. The executions began immediately. Numerous Gray were executed - not only the unfortunate protégé of the courtiers, but all of her relatives. Executed was Archbishop Cranmer, an ardent supporter of the Reformation, a well-educated, intellectual, comparable to Thomas More. Every day, heretics were burned at the stake. In cruelty, Mary surpassed even her father.

The Queen decided that her husband could only be one person - the son of Emperor Charles V Philip II of Spain. He was 26 at the time, she was 39. But he was not just a young man - he managed, like herself, to become the banner of the Counter-Reformation, leading the struggle against Calvinism, which was rapidly spreading in Europe. In the Netherlands, Philip, who constantly demonstrated unity with the Inquisition, over time began to be considered a monster.

As you know, the spouse of the queen in England does not become king. His title is Prince Consort. Even so, the appearance of such an odious figure in the kingdom was a terrifying event. And Maria also emphasized that this was the decision of her heart, her soul.

The wedding took place on July 25, 1554. It was clear to most thinking people that it was a rainy day. But Maria was happy. The young husband seemed to her handsome, although his surviving portraits clearly indicated the opposite. Court feasts and balls began. Maria wanted to make up for everything she lost in her youth.

But there were also many problems. Philip arrived with a large Spanish entourage. It turned out that the Spanish aristocracy was poorly compatible with the English. They even dressed differently. The Spaniards had collars such that the head could not be lowered and the person acquired an arrogant look. The British wrote about the Spaniards with resentment: "They behave as if we were their servants." Conflicts broke out, and fights broke out at court.

A trial followed, someone was executed. And they were executed lavishly.

Philip was secular at court, but ardently supported Mary's bloody policy. He brought with him special people who conducted trials of Protestant heretics. The burning procedure has become commonplace. Philip seemed to be preparing for the nightmare that he would arrange in the Netherlands in the 1560s.

In England, during the time of Henry VIII, 3000 Catholic priests remained, who took refuge in abandoned, dilapidated temples, in the ruins of monasteries. They were hunted down and driven out of the country. 300 of those deemed especially active and dangerous were burned. Now Mary and Philip have launched reprisals against those who accepted the Reformation. The unhappy country found itself in the grip of religious fanaticism.

The persecuted Protestants began to arouse popular sympathy. As Mary herself had once been the object of ardent sympathy, now her enemies have taken this place. During public executions, some of them displayed exceptional courage. If at first many repented, as they were ordered, asked for forgiveness, then in the face of death they changed their behavior. Archbishop Cranmer, who also repented, said before his death: “I am sorry that I repented. I wanted to save my life to help you, my brothers, Protestants. " The people were shocked by the courage of these people. The attitude towards Mary, on the contrary, became worse and worse. After all, no one expected from her either such cruelty, or a crowd of foreigners.

There was also another important incident. It was announced to the people that the queen was expecting an heir from Philip of Spain. This important news meant that a new danger arose: Philip could achieve to be recognized as the English king. The news of the Queen's pregnancy turned out to be false. Maybe Maria herself believed that she would have a child, or she was playing a difficult political game. Trying to change popular opinion.

People tend to believe that with the birth of a child, a woman becomes softer, kinder. And the queen's husband, so not beloved by the British, was tired of court entertainments and departed for Spain. The subjects had to believe that everything would be fine now.

Understandably, hearing about the imminent birth of an infant is difficult to maintain beyond nine months. Maria was able to hold out for 12 months. The medicine of that era was not very precise. But in the end I had to admit that there was a mistake. This happened in 1555, at a time when Charles V abdicated power and Philip became king of Spain. He received half of the Habsburg empire and was preparing to fight for the unification of all its lands.

To support her husband, Maria came into conflict with France. An ill-conceived war began, for which England was not ready. In 1558, the British lost Calais - the "gateway to France", the last piece of their former possessions on the continent. Mary's words are known: "When I die and my heart is opened, they will find Kale there."

Her whole destiny was one big setback. During her lifetime, the people began to call her Bloody. And he put his hopes on another princess - the future Elizabeth I. As it turned out, not in vain. Being by nature much smarter, Elizabeth saw the terrible mistakes of her half-sister, who tried to forcibly turn history back.

Elizabeth, who was part of Mary's retinue for some time, behaved quietly and therefore remained alive. And after the death of her sister in 1558, she became the great ruler of England.

MARIA I TUDOR (MARIA BLOOD)

(born in 1516 - d. in 1558)

Queen of England. Restored Catholicism in the country and brutally persecuted supporters of the Reformation.

Mary I ruled England for a very short time - from 1553 to November 1558. But during this short period, about 300 Protestants accused of heresy were burned in England. Hundreds of others fled or were expelled from the country. No wonder the British called her "Bloody" - "Bloody", although the consequences of her tyranny were not nearly as dire as in Spain and the Netherlands during the reign of her husband Philip II, who, on a whim of history, for some reason did not deserve such a name.

The story of the accession to the throne and the reign of Mary the Catholic (another of her nicknames) is full of drama. The church reform of her father, King Henry VIII, that freed England from submission to the pope, was in serious danger after his death. His numerous offspring from different wives, marriages with two of whom were invalidated, created a confusing succession situation during Henry's lifetime. This led to the emergence of various parties in the court environment that supported different candidates for the throne in the hope of strengthening their own power in the state. In the end, Parliament invited the king to name a successor himself, and Henry in his will was the first to name Edward's son, born of a marriage to Jane Seymour. In the event of his death, the throne was to be given to the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, Maria.

The ten-year-old prince, the prototype of the hero of Mark Twain's famous novel The Prince and the Pauper, ascended the throne under the name of Edward VI, but the country was ruled by a Regency Council of zealous reformers. Therefore, during this period, the country, where there were still many supporters of Catholicism, did not experience any upheavals associated with the church system. But on July 6, 1553, the young king died of tuberculosis, and the latent confrontation between Catholics and supporters of the Anglican Church splashed out to the surface. At the same time, the Catholics pinned their main hopes on the legitimate (according to the will of Henry VIII) heiress to the throne, Mary the Catholic.

Mary was born on February 18, 1516 and was Henry's first child. The king clearly did not have much love for his offspring. The desire to marry Anne Boleyn made him, despite the Pope's protests, divorce Catherine of Aragon and break with the Catholic Church. And after the birth of a son from his third wife Jane Seymour, he declared Mary illegitimate in order to deprive her of her right to the throne. However, the princess was not completely forgotten. She was given a good education at that time, which consisted in an excellent knowledge of languages: French, Spanish and Latin.

Childhood and youth of the future queen were bleak. This even left an imprint on her appearance. The Venetian envoy Giovanni Michele, who saw the portraits of the queen, wrote: "In her youth she was beautiful, although her features expressed moral and physical suffering." And this is not surprising: almost all her life, until her accession to the throne, Mary did not feel safe. Her own father saw behind her the Catholic camp of Europe, primarily the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and feared conspiracies. But a particularly difficult situation developed after the death of Henry, when the court groups behind the young king's back began to fight for their candidates for the throne. It is known that in the spring of 1550, Charles V's ambassador to England, Van der Delft, by order of the emperor, even drew up a plan for the princess to escape on a Spanish ship. The ship was already waiting for Maria near Harwich, but the conspiracy was discovered, and surveillance of her intensified.

The throne, despite the legitimacy of her claims, Mary had to defend, and the princess at the same time showed extraordinary courage. The favorite and mentor of the late Edward, the Duke of Northumberland, conceived of enthroning a queen who would support Protestantism, and therefore his own interests. The choice fell on sixteen-year-old Jane Gray, daughter of Henry VIII's younger sister. Under pressure from the duke, the dying Edward bequeathed the throne to Jane. Then Northumberland hastily married his son, Guildford Dudley, to her, hoping in this way to secure the right to the English throne for his family. The duke decided to deprive Mary of the throne as a "stubborn heretic." The princess was supposed to be arrested even before Edward's death, but loyal people warned her of the conspiracy, and the horse detachment sent for her could not fulfill the order.

Maria took refuge in Norfolk with her supporters. She had to choose: run to Charles V - or fight. The princess, after some hesitation, chose the latter. Upon learning of the events in London, she declared herself queen, sending letters to all counties and cities calling "to submit to her as the legitimate queen of England."

The choice was correct. In the eyes of most Englishmen, she was the rightful heiress. Moreover, it was clear to everyone what Northumberland was seeking. Therefore, not only Catholics, but also Protestants followed Mary. Already by July 16, she managed to collect an army of forty thousand, at the head of which the contender for the throne moved to London. The Privy Council urgently reversed its previous decision and announced the "deposition of Jane as illegally abducting the throne."

The people greeted this news with jubilation. In honor of Mary, the merchant guilds organized a grand banquet, rolling out barrels of wine onto the streets. And the angry mob nearly tore Northumberland to pieces as they drove him to the Tower. Soon the duke and his three sons ascended the scaffold. After a while, the same fate befell the sixteen-year-old Jane Gray, who has recklessly become a toy in the hands of an ambitious person.

These executions marked the beginning of the Catholic reaction in England, inspired by the new queen. Catherine of Aragon raised her daughter in adherence to the Catholic Church, and perhaps Mary, so fanatically, against the will of her father, defended her right to profess Catholicism, thus protesting against the injustice and tyranny of Henry in relation to herself and her mother. It is also clear that religion helped her find the strength to withstand adversity. From a young age, the future queen was ready to sacrifice her own interests in the name of the interests of the church. For example, such a case is known: upon the admonition of her confessor, she burned her own translation of Erasmus of Rotterdam, which she did with enthusiasm and thoroughness. Over the years, this feeling-conviction has only intensified. “It is better to destroy ten crowns than to destroy a soul,” she often declared to courtiers in response to advice on government that contradicted her ideas.

Alas, Maria was completely incapable of a sober political calculation. Had she been more flexible in religious matters and softer in character, she most likely would have been able to restore Catholicism in England. Indeed, at first, the decision to return the country to the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church was met with approval. However, the queen was unable to take advantage of her position.

The psychological state of this straight woman, seized by a sense of religious selflessness, is not difficult to understand. Finally, after many years of oppression, she could openly profess her religion, and most importantly, stop the spread of Protestantism in England, which, from her point of view, was God-repugnant. Mary easily obtained from Parliament a petition to the Pope for "forgiveness" of the English people and the acceptance of this petition by the papal legate. The married priests were defrocked.

However, despite all efforts, the queen did not succeed in returning the lands and property confiscated from her to the church. It fell into the hands of large landowners, including Catholics, who stood to their death for the newly acquired property. As an example, an interestingly frank statement by one of the ministers, John Russell, Duke of Birdford, who at a meeting of the Royal Council vowed that "he values ​​his dear Woburn Abbey more than any paternal instruction from Rome." The assertion of the modern English historian A. L. Morton that Mary, in fact, “remained a hostage in the hands of a class of landowners, is absolutely true. She could reintroduce the Catholic Mass and burn heretic weavers, but she could not force any squire to return even one acre of the captured monastery land. " As a result, the queen had to compromise. She agreed to carry out the restoration of Catholicism without affecting property rights.

Mary the Bloody got her terrible nickname in connection with the restoration of the old laws on the burning of heretics. It is known that at first several prominent Protestant clerics were burned. The British reacted calmly: in the 16th century. it was in the order of things. And only the mass executions that followed in the last four years of Mary's reign were perceived with horror and indignation. This killed simple artisans and small farmers, apparently Calvinists and Anabaptists from London, East Anglia and Kent. To know, who quickly changed her views, did not suffer. Thus, large-scale popular indignation over the fight against the heretics did not threaten Mary. The throne staggered for a completely different reason: the queen's marriage put England in the hands of Spain.

It is quite natural that the granddaughter of her fellow believers, the Spanish kings, always inclined towards an alliance with Spain. For their part, the Spanish relatives did not leave her without attention. It is known that even at the time when Mary was six years old, Emperor Charles V, who was also the Spanish king Carlos I, during a visit to England entered into an agreement with the obligation to marry the princess upon reaching the age of majority. However, the mature man soon forgot about the promise, which had promised so far very ghostly hopes, and married Isabella of Portugal. When Mary became queen, he remembered his matrimonial plans and decided to marry her his son and heir Philip. The thirty-six-year-old queen, looking at the portrait of the twenty-six-year-old prince, painted by the great Titian, immediately fell in love. Philip was attracted by the opportunity to become king of England and receive from his father the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan.

Both were pleased, but the British were horrified. Spain, long the main rival of England in trade, has traditionally been considered the main political adversary of the kingdom. In addition, knowing the fanatical hatred of Mary and Philip for heretical movements, the British were rightly afraid of the introduction of the Inquisition in the country.

Philip was still in Spain, and in England in January 1554 a rebellion had already broken out, led by a Protestant nobleman Thomas Wyatt. The rebels managed to break into London, where they were defeated by the royal troops. It became known that Wyatt had sent a letter to the queen's half-sister, daughter of Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth with an offer of the throne. However, the future queen, already in her youth, was distinguished by balanced actions, left the message unanswered. Nevertheless, Mary sent her to the Tower. In the years that followed, Elizabeth would come under suspicion more than once, and only the intercession of Philip, who hoped to marry her after his wife's death, would save her from execution.

In the middle of the summer of 1554, Philip arrived in England. The wedding took place on July 25 with great solemnity. But soon the prince, who was trying with all his might to ingratiate himself with the British, began to feel irritated by the situation in which he found himself. Hopes for the English throne did not materialize - Parliament flatly refused to crown him. A withered and eternally sick wife constantly bothered him with her tenderness. Therefore, without a doubt, the prince took the order of his father to urgently leave for Brussels to accept the throne of Spain with relief. In the summer of 1555 he left England and returned only in March 1557 to the great joy of Mary, who greatly yearned for her husband. But Philip returned to get help from England in the war with France. It cost him nothing to persuade a woman in love to meet him. Four months later, he left the island forever, and this very unpopular decision of the Queen among the British cost England the important commercial port of Calais, which was captured by the French in January 1558. This dealt a blow to English trade. Maria, whom London had greeted with delight just five years ago, is now a source of hatred. The people were ready for an uprising, but further events made it unnecessary.

The queen was already dying. Her health had long been undermined by an incurable disease. Mary died on November 17, 1558, leaving the throne to the Protestant Elizabeth, who quickly destroyed the results of her fanatical labors, destroyed the alliance with Spain, and thereby directed the development of European history in a new direction. And in the memory of the English people, the unfortunate queen, thanks to her intolerance, left an unkind memory embodied in a terrible nickname, although the results of her reign were much less bloody than the deeds of the Protestant Cromwell, who almost a century later, in a terrible civil war, literally flooded "good old England" with the blood of his compatriots.

the author Birkin Kondraty

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Character Mary Tudor from childhood he was tempered in the most incredible trials, which would be more than enough for a hundred people. The princess was born in her first marriage and was first brought up in incredible bliss and reverence. She was the beloved and only surviving child of King Henry, his true pride and the joy of his mother. At the age of seven, she was already fluent in Latin, amazed the ambassadors from Flanders with the knowledge of their native language, played the harpsichord masterly and was an excellent horsewoman. She remembered how her father, King Henry, who adored hunting, personally taught her to ride. He loved her, oh, undoubtedly, he loved ...

Otherwise, would he have allowed her, his little princess, to fall asleep in his lap? Would he be filled with pride in her successes, not hesitating to praise little Mary's talents at court? And then this nasty whore appeared in the life of the king,! And the world of the little princess turned upside down. Anna, as if bewitched the king! However, no! She probably bewitched him, otherwise how else can one explain that a loving father to the whole world declared that she, Mary, was illegitimate, that she was a bastard. How could King Henry have declared an eighteen-year marriage to her mother invalid on the sole ground that he had married the widow of his older brother Arthur? How could a king, to please Anna, even deny God? From faith?

Only in the mind, clouded with witchcraft, could the thought arise that henceforth the king of England, and not at all the pope, is the head of the Church of England? Anne Boleyn, an adulteress and a heretic, a vile Protestant, deprived Mary of everything - her position in society, title, mother and father's love. Henry sent her mother into exile, forbidding them to see each other, and made her, Mary, an ordinary servant in the retinue of the newborn Princess Elizabeth, thus trying to break the will of his eldest daughter. He forced her to sign a paper in which she would also recognize the marriage of the king to her mother as invalid, and herself illegitimate, and also renounced the Catholic faith and recognized King Henry as the head of the Church of England.

But Mary couldn't do that! If she signed this despicable paper, it would mean that she betrayed her mother, Catherine of Aragon, betrayed her faith, betrayed God! The princess resignedly endured all the hardships of life. She dutifully served Princess Elizabeth, until she was already recognized as a bastard. The father approved the death sentence for Anne Boleyn, and doubted his paternity. Anna cheated on him more than with a hundred men, so they said at the trial. So how can the king be sure that Elizabeth, who has the same bright red hair as Henry himself, is his daughter? And then the father got married again.

By this time Mary was already an orphan. Her mother died of cancer in exile. The father's third wife, Jane Seymour, returned both disgraced princesses to the court. She tried with all her might to make the king happy, to make him feel that he, Henry, was surrounded by love and care. And the king's heart melted. Jane died of childbirth fever as soon as she gave birth to the heir to the throne, Prince Edward. And Mary became attached to this baby with true love. She strove in everything to replace his loving mother. Therefore, when, after the death of Henry, the crown passed to Edward, she was only glad, having long resigned herself to secondary roles.

And then King Edward died suddenly, and Mary Tudor suddenly became Queen of England. She became the first woman in the history of England to take the throne. Now she needed to get married in order to give birth to an heir. When she looked at the portraits of potential suitors, she immediately fell in love with Philip of Spain, her cousin, who was eleven years younger than her. Philip was indifferent to Mary, who, moreover, was nicknamed Ugly. (This is the second nickname after "Bloody" with which Queen Mary went down in history).

Mary, it seemed, did not notice anything: neither the fact that her husband, without hiding, was cheating on her, nor the fact that he was clearly avoiding her. With all her heart, hungry for love, she longed for only one thing - to give birth to a child whom she could love. But this dream of the queen was not destined to come true. Once it seemed to her that she suffered, her rigules stopped and her belly began to grow. But it was not a child at all that grew in the queen's womb, but a terrible tumor, which brought her to the grave. He gave the throne to her half-sister Elizabeth, asking the Protestant sister for only one thing - so that she would strengthen the position of the Catholic faith in England.

Maria herself, with true feminine enthusiasm and stubbornness, eradicated "heresy" throughout the country. During the five years of her reign, the queen sent only 287 people to the fire, while under King Henry, seventy two thousand (!) People were sentenced to death, and during the reign of her sister Elizabeth, even more - 89 thousand. Compared to them, Mary the Bloody is the most merciful ruler England has ever seen. But, nevertheless, it was she who got such an impartial nickname.

The fact is that Mary was a Catholic, and Protestant England still celebrates the day of her death as a national holiday. Queen Mary Tudor died in 1558. She is the only Queen of England to whom not a single monument has been erected.

The British frankly dislike Mary I Tudor - although, in an amicable way, she should be pitied

MariaI Tudor, who became the first crowned Queen of England, went down in European history as one of the most brutal rulers. If the father, HenryVIII, called her "the pearl of the world", then the subjects preferred a different nickname - Mary the Bloody subsequently shortened to laconic Bloody Mary... At home, not a single monument was erected to her. And on the day of her death, there is a holiday in the country - they celebrate the ascent to the throne of one of the beloved queens, ElizabethI.

Illegitimate princess

The future first crowned queen of England was born on February 18, 1516. The father, Henry VIII, dreamed of a son - and a girl was born, whom they decided to call Maria. The princess was given an excellent upbringing. At 16, she was separated from her mother, Catherine of Aragon- it was part of Henry VIII's plan to have his marriage annulled.

And then a real nightmare began in the life of the young princess. After the church finally recognized her parents' marriage as invalid, the girl was formally considered illegitimate and was deprived of the right to the crown.

When her father's new wife Ann Bolein, gave birth to a daughter Elizabeth - Mary was included in the number of her courtiers. According to some contemporaries, Boleyn fiercely hated her stepdaughter and used every chance to humiliate her. It all ended only with the death of his stepmother. Fortunately, the subsequent wives of the loving Henry VIII treated Mary much better. And she herself did not settle scores - she even participated in the fate of her half-sister, who, after Boleyn's death, found herself in almost the same beggarly status as Maria herself once did.

Disgraced Catholic

In January 1547, Henry VIII passed away. He bequeathed the crown to his young and poor health son Edward, the only male heir born from a third marriage with a maid of honor Jane Seymour... According to legend, before his death, he asked for forgiveness from his daughter - for the fact that he was cruel to her and could not provide a worthy husband - all of Mary's engagements were terminated, or the candidates did not suit Henry. And he asked to take care of his younger brother. In the last years of his life, the king again "recognized" his daughter - Mary began to be considered the heir to the throne in the event of the death of Edward.

Young Edward, during whose reign the position of the reformers in the country was consolidated, died unexpectedly six years later, in July 1553. Many historians believe that the king was poisoned. After all, he died a few days after he wrote a will, according to which his second cousin, a Protestant, 16-year-old lady, became the heir to the throne. Jane Gray... Mary was an ardent Catholic - and how she could resist the persecution of Catholics.

Unloved wife

The new queen managed to stay in her status for only a few days - the people did not recognize her. As a result, the girl who became a pawn in the confrontation between Catholics and Protestants was executed, and the 37-year-old Mary Tudor took the throne. The coronation took place on October 1, 1553.

As one might expect, soon the queen did not lack offers of marriage, now she could choose, and not her father. Well, what of the fact that the marriageable bride was far from young and no longer very pretty: short, thin, sickly looking, with blackened and half-lost teeth and wrinkles?

Mary I Tudor, as a convinced Catholic, led a rather chaste lifestyle. According to some sources, she admitted that she was ready to even spend the rest of her life as a girl, but the country needed a legitimate heir. And, therefore, her husband.

Writers attributed to her falling in love with the admiral Thomas Seymour, brother of Henry VIII's third wife. But historians have doubts about this. The ambitious admiral and schemer unsuccessfully wooed her and, at the same time, her sister Elizabeth after the death of the king, and then quickly married the widow of Henry VIII. As a result, he was executed for treason. Maria at this time was no longer a young girl and. Apparently, she perfectly understood that the admiral was only interested in power. But perhaps, deep down, she really did care for Seymour.

But Mary I Tudor fell in love with her husband recklessly. As the legend says - only one of his portrait. Spanish prince PhilipII, son of the emperor CarlaV, was incredibly handsome, 11 years younger than her. The Queen was persuaded to change her mind and choose an Englishman, but she was adamant. Popular riots broke out in the country - they were brutally suppressed. Even then, Maria began to show her toughness.

In the summer of 1554, the marriage took place - by that time Philip II was already in the status of a monarch and, unlike the bride in love, understood perfectly well that this marriage was a state one. In September of the same year, the subjects were told the happy news: the queen was expecting an heir. But then it turned out that the pregnancy was false. Subsequently, history repeated itself. The young husband moved more and more away from Mary, used every opportunity to leave for Spain, and then completely stayed there for two years. He returned only once - in the summer of 1557, to persuade his spouse to support Spain in the war with France.

Mary the Bloody

Mary I Tudor turned the remaining unsatisfied passion in a different direction - to the fight against Protestants. The unfortunate woman's rage can be terrible, and besides, the queen could not forget how just a few years ago the reformers oppressed her herself. Religious persecution continued for almost four years, in 1555 bonfires blazed throughout England. The Queen ordered not to spare even those who agreed to convert to Catholicism.

More than three hundred people were martyred for their faith; among the victims of persecution were many prominent figures of the state and the Church. Subsequently, this period went down in the history of Great Britain as the "era of martyrs", and Mary herself, to whom the people were initially very supportive, earned the nickname Bloodthirsty and Bloody. The latter was later reduced to a shorter one - Bloody Mary.

Only the death of Mary put an end to the bloody era. In the early autumn of 1558, she fell ill with a fever (flu) - the epidemic had been raging in Europe for a year. Throughout the fall, the queen slowly faded away. Many historians believe that she also had oncology.

The Queen passed away on November 17, 1558, shortly after hearing a Catholic Mass. A few days before her death, realizing that her days were numbered, she blessed her half-sister on the throne. After the death of that in 1603, they were reunited - Elizabeth I was subsequently buried in her sister's grave in Westminster Abbey. The common tombstone is decorated with a single sculpture - Queen Elizabeth.