Curious ElfRumour has it that if you stand against your mirror at 3 am, whispering Bloody Mary thrice in a row, you are likely to have your eyes scratched out. Others say you might end up with claw marks on your body. And so the story goes on and on. But did you know that this haunting Bloody Mary we speak of was once a queen and the evilest in the history of England?
During her reign, Queen Mary was a living nightmare for the people of England. She was known to conduct mass executions even for pregnant women and burnt them alive. She also had nearly 300 religious dissenters burned at stake in Marian Persecutions. But what made her so brutal? How did she turn out to be such a demonic figure? Was she always like this? Only when you dive into the depth of these questions, you get to unleash the real Queen Mary, the tragic Mary.
Her birth was a nightmare for Henry XII
Mary, I (later known as Bloody Mary) was born in 1516 to Henry XII and wife, Catherine. At that time, her father reigned as the King Of England. Unfortunately, Henry was disappointed upon having birthed a girl instead of a son, which would eventually be a concern for the throne’s future. Since women did not succeed to the throne in those days, Henry was disheartened to have Mary as his daughter and despised her. But the worst hadn’t even begun.
Henry XII’s divorce with Catherine was a blur
After a few years, news about Henry’s love affair began to spark curiosity among people in England. While the masses had a new topic to gossip upon, Mary and her mother, Catherine, were devastated. It went on to be worse when Henry decided to divorce Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn. Although divorces seem to be a cakewalk today, it was quite a big deal in those days. To make matters worse, it would go on to become one of the most popular divorces in the history of England. This threw Mary in the worst state of shock and resentment. But it wasn’t the end of all her sufferings. After a few days, Henry XIII decided to throw Catherine out of his castle, eventually separating Mary from her Mother. Now, she was not only devastated but also alone and scared for her future.
Mary and her hopeless longing for a better life
By this time, Mary had entered her puberty years, and life turned out to take worse turns. Soon, Mary was diagnosed with Dysmenorrhea, a condition that causes unbearable pain and cramping. Several doctors were called upon to treat her, but her illness was chronic. As a result, Mary had to suffer enormously and lost all hope of recovering. If that was not all, soon, Henry XII claimed that Mary was an illegitimate daughter of his and that his marriage with Catherine was unlawful. This made Mary feel even more unloved, lonely and discouraged. On top of that, she was treated as a servant to Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth, who went on to enjoy her life and gain the fame that was Mary’s to keep. Naturally, Mary felt wrecked and envied every moment that Elizabeth spent as Henry XII’s daughter.
The tragic death of Catherine
Even after all that Mary had to undergo, she was unauthorised from visiting her mother, Catherine, which made her lose all the hope in the world. Now, she was destroyed, trapped inside her broken heart, waiting for a miracle to happen. But it only got worse for her. Soon, her chronic condition returned and made Mary suffer again. In no time, the news of Catherine’s death started spreading like wildfire in England. When it arrived at Mary, she sobbed like a child waiting to be mended. But there was no escape. She wanted to leave for Spain, her Mother’s home, but she was denied.
A tragedy left forgotten
In the later years, Mary also had to suffer tremendously before achieving her right to the throne. Even when she became England’s first queen, her sufferings did not end. All her life, Mary went on to live in the pit hole of her tragedy and take revenge from people who contributed to her wretched life. It was indeed a tragedy for the famous Mary Tudor that we now remember as Bloody Mary.
