QUEEN MARY 1THE CHILHOOD YEARS OF MARY I OF ENGLANDQueen Mary 1, or Mary Tudor,was the eldest surviving daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. On 18th February 1516 at Greenwich Palace in southeast London(on the site of the Old Naval College which is now part of the University of Greenwich)the future Queen Mary of England, the only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy was born.
The young Mary Tudor, had a very good childhood and was much loved by her father, King Henry VIII. As was the custom, shortly after the birth of a royal or noble child, plans would be made for their future marriages to suitable spouses. Mary was no different, for at the age of two she was promised to the son of King Francis I of France. When the contract was rejected three years later in 1522, her first cousin Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor was chosen. It was not to be however, for within a few years this contract was broken off.
ABOVE: QUEEN MARY 1 KNOWN AS QUEEN BLOODY MARY A marriage treaty was then signed between Mary Tudor and either the French King Francis I himself, who actually desired an alliance between the two countries, or his second son Henry, the Duke of Orleans. This contract was not fullfilled either as King Henry VIII's chief adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, secured an alliance with France without the marriage.Although King Henry VIII was devoted to his daughter, for she was considered to be a very sweet natured child and had a glowing reputation wherever she went, far removed from the Queen Bloody Mary name and reputation associated with it that she would receive later in life, he was also deeply disappointed that his wife Catherine of Aragon and mother to the future Queen Mary 1 had produced no sons. So disappointed was he, that he claimed his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was unclean, as a consequence of her brief marriage to his brother Arthur at the age of sixteen, quoting passages from the Bible to support his claim. Arming himself with this ammunition he had taken from the bible, he attempted to have his marriage annulled, but his requests were flatly refused by Pope Clement VII. Anne Boleyn, whom he had long admired but who would not contemplate becoming his mistress, accepted his proposal of marriage, which would then elevate her to become the Queen of England. With her it had been a case of all or nothing. King Henry VIII and Anne Bolyn were married on January 25th 1533. On March 30th Thomas Cranmer was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was declared Null and Void by him on May 23rd. The new Archbishop of Canterbury crowned Anne Bolyn as Queen of England, prompting Pope Clement VII to respond by excommunicating both Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer from the Roman Catholic Church on July 11th. It was now that Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church of England. As a result of this momentous upheaval Catherine of Aragon was demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales, which was the title she would have had as the widow of Henry's brother Arthur. The future Queen Mary 1 of England, lost her place in the line of succession, as she was legally deemed illegitimate. Her half sister, the daughter of Anne Boleyn and future Queen Elizabeth 1, took her place in the line. However with the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, the future Queen Elizabeth 1 herself lost her place in the line of succession.
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