What kind of faith-filled woman would slaughter hundreds of innocents? People asked this question of Mary Tudor, a child born into privileged but abused conditions. As a princess, she grew up believing she was always right. This would prove fatal to those who did not share his beliefs and faith. Mary Tudor was born on 18 February 1516. She was the only daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon. Mary was the fifth child of Henry and Catherine. However, she was the only surviving daughter. The others died at birth. Shortly after birth, Maria was baptized into the Catholic religion. When Mary grew up she was moved to the Welsh border with her parents. Her parents lived in a different part of the castle than Mary. She didn't get to see them often, but Mary was adored by her mother and King Henry called her the "Pearl of the Kingdom." In a short time Henry wanted to present his pearl to the world. Mary's father began negotiating marriages for her. Various husbands were proposed to her, such as the eldest son of Francis I of France, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Francis I himself, and many other royal men. King Henry declared his marriage to Catherine annulled. Catherine was angry when she found out. He sent a message to his nephew Emperor Charles V asking for help. Charles' armies controlled Rome and the pop, so when the king asked for a divorce, the pope denied it. Later Henry finally fulfilled his wish to divorce Catherine. Shortly thereafter, King Henry married Anne Boleyn. Boleyn had feared that Mary would challenge her for the throne. He insisted that an Act of Parliament declare Maria illegitimate. King Henry's spies told him that Boleyn had been having affairs. Henry had her arrested for... halfway down a sheet of paper... 1558 Mary awoke for Mass and spoke more clearly than she had in months. When it was all over, he closed his eyes and died. Some might say that what Mary did was out of ignorance, others out of injustice. He believed himself to be God's gift to humanity, an angel sent to earth to educate and punish. In a way he was an angel; an angel of death who shows no mercy to unbelievers. She started out as a real princess, then illegitimate. That didn't stop her from trying to get everyone to think like her, act like her, and believe like her. Works Cited Buchanan, Jane. Mary Tudor: brave queen or Bloody Mary? New York: Franklin Watts, 2008. Print. “Mary Tudor”. 2014. The Biographical Channel Website. January 31, 4014, 9:26am Biograpgy.com.“1516-58 Mary I, Queen of England.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition (2013):1. Central search plus.web. January 31st. 2014.
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