The birth of one of England's saddest queens

The little girl born at the Palace of Pleasance in London on this day in 1516 had, quite literally, a whole world at her feet.  And yet this same baby princess would grow up into a sad, lonely woman who could not get happiness to stick at her side however hard she tried.  Mary, princess of the House of Tudor and descendant of some of Europe's greatest monarchs, would make history by becoming England's first queen regnant.  But despite claiming that historic crown - as much through her own determination and charm as through birthright - Mary I, Queen of England is remembered by history as Bloody Mary, as a shadow that had to pass before the brightness of the reign of her half-sister, Elizabeth I.  And much of the blame for that can be laid at the feet of the man who celebrated her birth so fervently on this day in 1516, her father - Henry VIII.

The grim faced, ridiculed woman left to history began life as a much adored daughter and the hope of her father's dynasty.  Mary I, Queen of England, made history but lost many friends along the way.

Mary's arrival at the Palace of Placentia (translated by some as Pleasance) was celebrated as the birth of a royal child and proof that boys would yet arrive for a king who had now ruled England for seven years and his wife, Catherine.  But Mary would be their only child and just one more pregnancy would follow.   By the time Mary was ten, her father was trying to work out who to move her mother aside and replace her with the woman who already fascinated him, Anne Boleyn.   Henry treated his daughter harshly, removing her from the succession when he removed her mother as his queen, and then banning Catherine and Mary from seeing one another even when the latter was dying. Mary had his strong will but the more she showed it, the more he tried to repress it.  But perhaps the saddest part of this father/ daughter dynamic is Henry's refusal to find a husband for his daughter who quite clearly yearned to be married and to be a mother herself.  

Henry VIII kept his daughter on a tight leash and left her a lonely woman with little hope of personal happiness 

By the time the king died, in 1547, Mary was almost 31 years old and hardly the most marriageable princess in Europe.  When she became queen, in 1553, and could command more attention as a royal wife she chose a cousin, Philip II, to whom she was devoted but who showed little inclination to even spend time with her.  As he rejected her, and her chances of motherhood disappeared, Mary became an increasingly sad figure.  Her religious fervour lost her the love of her people which had been plain for all to see when she rode to London to claim the throne after the declaration of Lady Jane Grey as queen on the death of Edward VI.  By taking the throne in 1553 she made history by becoming England's first queen regnant and changing the very concept of monarchy in one brave move.  In her youth, Mary showed every sign of sharing the brilliance and intelligence of her much feted half sister, Elizabeth I.  But while Elizabeth became Gloriana, the first female regnant became Bloody Mary whose short reign came nowhere near to delivering the spectacle its very existence promised.