– Eldest daughter of Henry VIII
– the only surviving child of Catherine of Aragon
– the fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty
– restores Catholicism to England
(later to be reversed by Elizabeth I (reign: 1558-1603) her
half-sister, who Mary had imprisoned for nearly a year on
suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels).
– marries Philip ( later Philip II of Spain), the son of her cousin Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor 1519-1556).
During Mary’s reign, about 300 Protestants are burned, including 5 bishops, 100 priests, 60 women. John Rogers, Tyndale’s close assistant (alias “Thomas Matthew”), was the first to burn.
The roster of other prominent victims would include Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London; and the reformers John Rogers and Hugh Latimer.
Protestants are forced into exile or hiding. An attempt by Cardinal Pole (Mary’s archbishop of Canterbury) to restore monasticism fizzles when, among 1500 surviving monks, nuns, and friars, fewer than 100 are willing to return to celibacy.