Biography

Mary was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She was declared declared illegitimate after Henry re-married and was forced to act as Lady-in-waiting to the baby Elizabeth I. She renounced Catholicism and was reconciled with her father, and in, 1544 she was granted succession rights after Edward. At 37 years old she ascended the throne as the first woman to rule on her own right in England. She married Philip of Spain and tried to restore Papal supremacy. This led to Thomas Wyatt's uprising and the re-introduction of laws against heresy. During her rein over 300 heretics were burned and other rebels hung. Philip I left Mary in 1555 and drew England into the war between Spain and France. Mary never had any child and died in London in 1558.