Mary I: How Henry VIII's Actions Turned Her into Bloody Mary

It is worth looking at two scenarios to see how Mary I’s life could have been different. The first is to consider the way Henry VIII treat Anne of Cleves. In 1540, Anne of Cleves married Henry VIII but just six months later their marriage was annulled. Anne never fought against Henry for this and agreed to his terms of remaining in England and living as “the King’s good sister”. She became one of the wealthiest women at the time on a yearly wage of £4,000.

Had Catherine simply agreed to her divorce, it is likely that she and Mary would have lived their lives happily. Henry wanted Catherine to live the rest of her years in a nunnery and she would have been looked after. Henry was a trustworthy man and it can be presumed that he would have stuck to his word had Catherine just co-operated. Of course, the question is why should she if she was so certain that she was in the right?

Another scenario is if the religious reformation had happened under different circumstances. Had it never happened, it would have been considered normal for protestants to be burned at the stake; this was considered heresy at the time. The name “Bloody Mary” came because she persecuted people following the religion they have been allowed to follow for decades before. While the persecutions could have happened no matter how the religious reformation occurred, it is unlike Mary would have been so forceful with the return to the catholic church had they happened for a different reason.

Henry VIII used a change in religion to get his own way. He wanted the divorce and to marry Anne Boleyn and this was the best way to get that. In a short space of time, Mary went from being a princess to an illegitimate heir. It is possible that Henry would have allowed Mary to remain in the line of succession had Catherine agreed to the divorce and the reformation happened gradually over time. It is possible that Mary held onto the catholic religion because it was all she had left of her mother. She was furious with her father for taking Catherine away from her and fought back every step of the way; leading to the persecutions of 300 people – many of whom were part of the original changes, such as Thomas Cranmer.

It is no secret that Mary never liked her step-mother, Anne Boleyn. In Mary’s eyes, along with the eyes of many of the English people, Anne was a home-wrecker and had no right to take the crown away from Catherine of Aragon. Anne knew that Mary I was a threat; the English people loved Catherine and Mary and despised her.

Mary feared for her life while living under the rule of Anne Boleyn; believing that she wanted her and her mother dead. This would have been at the start of Mary’s teenage years, when she would have been most influential. On top of that, the ability to no longer see her mother or know how she was doing would have been heartbreaking for her.

After the fall of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII married again. His third wife was a meek woman named Jane Seymour, who was raised in the catholic religion. Jane did everything she could to bring Mary and Henry back together. However, Henry VIII imposed conditions for a relationship with his own daughter. Mary had to acknowledge that Henry was the head of the church and that there was no papal authority. She had to acknowledge that she was an illegitimate child and that the marriage between himself and her mother was never valid.

These conditions would have made Mary feel inadequate and that her father didn’t really want his daughter back into his life. It would have felt that Henry simply needed Mary to prove that she view him in the way he wanted, which would have helped convince the rest of England to view him in that way. At this point, there were still many of the English people against the reformation.

In the end, Mary decided that signing the documents was right to get her father back into her life. It is likely that she was bullied into signing. She found herself back at court but practised her own religion behind closed doors. She remained true to her mother’s faith.

It was not until 1543 that Mary was placed back into the line of succession, after Henry’s marriage to Katherine Parr. She remained illegitimate and was placed after her half-brother, Edward, the son of Jane Seymour.

Mary heard about her brother’s death and after just nine days of being on the throne, Lady Jane Grey saw her crown taken from her. The people were still in favour of Mary, including the protestants. This should have been a sign that she was accepted and should have let the country remain as it was. However, upon taking control of the throne and placing Lady Jane Grey and her family in the Tower, Mary took the steps to turn the country back into the one it was before Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon.

Historians believe that the psychological abuse would not have been all that affect Mary. It was likely that she suffered from a problem with her ovaries since she could not have children. Doctors believe that she had ovarian cancer, which is why she only lived to the age of 42. For whatever reason, Mary could not have any children.

In fact, Mary suffered two phantom pregnancies after marrying Philip of Spain. While the second was close to her death, the first was early into her reign and would have affected her mindset. She would have been distraught believing that she was pregnant for nine months and realising that there was no heir to her throne.

It is likely that Mary’s outbursts by burning 300 protestants was a way of fighting back after years of emotional abuse. She was one loved by her father but he made her sign an oath to state that his marriage to her mother was never valid. He broke away from the catholic church just to gain the divorce he wanted so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII forced Mary to view him as the head of the church and her brother belittled and threatened her when she just wanted to practise the religion of her mother; the only thing that she had left. While Mary’s actions can never be excused, it is interesting to look at them from her possible point of view.