Random Things People Don't Know About Real Bloody Mary (12 items)

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  (#10) Mary Thought She Was Pregnant

  A few months after she married Philip, Mary became convinced she was with child. Understandably, many were excited at the idea of a Catholic heir while others were worried. The pregnancy "progressed" as Mary said she felt the fetus move in her womb. She even had an extravagant nursery made up for the royal heir. Eventually, rumors of her safe delivery of a prince spread, and Mary started getting notices of congratulations.

  However, no baby ever appeared. Apparently, she suffered a "phantom pregnancy," also known as pseudocyesis. Mary believed herself to be with child from various signs, as her menstruation had even stopped, but she sadly wasn't. When the baby didn't appear, she claimed that God wouldn't allow her son to be born until the Protestants were quelled, so she ordered more executions.

  Eventually, Mary had to emerge from confinement, embarrassed. She also believed she was pregnant a few years later, but to no avail. What happened? Mary might have had ovarian cysts or tumors, or perhaps she was actually suffering from menopause and mistook the symptoms for those of pregnancy. 
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  (#8) She Brought Back Heresy Laws And Burned Hundreds

  Fervent religiosity ran in Mary's family. Her maternal grandmother was Isabella the Catholic of Castile, while her mother, Catherine, was famously devout. Mary was no different, having been raised to be very religious (even after her father split from the Pope to create the Anglican Church). Ironically, Henry was once super Catholic, writing a rebuttal to Martin Luther's theses and defending the pope.

  Once she became queen, Mary began to persecute those she deemed "heretics" - mainly Protestants. In 1555, she brought back England's anti-heresy laws against those who refused to adhere to Catholic doctrine. She burned nearly 300 at the stake throughout her reign (including the Archbishop of Canterbury), sentencing dozens to die in prison and causing even more to flee England. 
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  (#12) Mary's Husband Courted Her Little Sister After Her Death

  Mary died on November 17, 1558, perhaps from uterine cancer. Despite her best attempts to produce a biological heir for England and to make her country Catholic again, she left her throne to her younger, Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. And her widower, Philip II, decided he would offer his hand in marriage to Elizabeth on a few conditions: he wanted her to convert to Catholicism and let him move away from England. Needless to say, Elizabeth didn't go for that. 
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  (#3) Mary Was A Really Smart Kid

  Mary was very bright for her age group. She could dance and play the virginals (a proto-keyboard/harp thing) by age seven, showing off for her cousin/betrothed's ambassador. By nine, she could write an entire letter in Latin. When she was eleven or twelve, she translated a prayer, "Concede mihi," written by Thomas Aquinas, from Latin to English. 
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  (#9) She Eventually Married Her First Cousin Once Removed, The Son Of Her Ex-Fiancé

  Mary ascended the throne at 37, long past the normal age childbearing or marriage for her time period. But she was determined to provide a Catholic heir for her country, in part, so that her rebellious little half sister, Elizabeth, wouldn't become queen after her. So, Mary quickly took a husband. Her groom of choice? Her first cousin once removed, the future King Philip II of Spain, a staunchly Catholic prince who was eleven years her junior (and son of her one-time fiancé, Charles V). 

  This was unpopular with many Englishmen, who didn't fancy making a foreign, Catholic royal their king. Philip reportedly didn't speak any English and was already engaged to someone else (he'd also been married before), but he gave it up to wed a queen regnant, although he wasn't happy to do so. They wed in July, 1554. 
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  (#7) Mary Became The First Sovereign Queen Of England

  After her younger half-brother, Edward VI, died, Mary was the next in line genetically (although Henry's will named the heirs of his sister, also named Mary, to inherit if Edward died childless). However, Mary still had supporters as she was Henry's eldest biological child and many had fond memories of her mother.

  She rallied men around her and marched on London to challenge her cousin, Jane Grey (a descendant of Henry's sister), who was declared queen by Edward on his deathbed. Jane Grey only enjoyed nine days as the proclaimed Queen, and never saw a coronation because Mary came rushing in and assumed the throne in August, 1553. Historians don't acknowledge Jane Grey as an actual monarch, as there had never been a coronation. Thus, Mary became England's first queen regnant in October of 1553 when she was crowned. 

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