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Mary Tudor was born on February 18, 1516 to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She was born into the Royal Family. She was the only surviving child of this marriage.
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Mary gained a new stepmother, Anne Boelyn. Henry was not officially divorced from Catherine of Aragon yet. However, he had taken Boelyn as a mistress and the two were secretly married.
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The divorce of Mary's parents is one main cause for her dislike towards the Protestants. She did not approve of her father and his actions to make the divorce legal.
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Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn invited another daughter into the world. Her name was Elizabeth. Mary and Elizabeth were just like most sisters. Even though sometimes they fought they were still very close.
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Henry married Jane Seymour next. She will end up being the only wife to give Henry the son that he longed for. His name would be Edward and he would become Mary's second sibling.
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Mary's half-brother, Edward took the throne at a very young age. He was a very sickly child. When he passed Mary became the next person in line to assume the crown.
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After a short fight against a conspiracy that wanted to keep Mary off the throne she was declared Queen of England. On October 1, 1553 Mary was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey.
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In January of 1555 Mary began arresting Protestant protestors. This was the beginning of the Protestant persecutions. Mary killed a total of 287 Protestants for committing treason. This is how she became known as Bloody Mary.
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Mary struggled with severe illness in her final months of existence. She conceded the crown to her sister Elizabeth. Her dying wish was for Elizabeth to keep the Catholic faith alive in England. After Mary's passing Elizabeth threw her an extravagant funeral. Mary was buried in Westminster Abbey.
