The rise of BLOODY MARY

Spanning from Henry VII’s accession in 1485 to Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, the House of Tudor has gone down in history for its colourful and controversial monarchs. Notoriously nicknamed “Bloody Mary” for the number of Protestants she executed, Mary Tudor was one of the most remarkable of these.

She ruled as Queen Mary I of England from the summer of 1553 until her death on 17 November 1558. Her reign was marked by her steadfast effort to convert the country back to Catholicism from Protestantism, which had been established by her father 20 years earlier and was intensified during the reign of her younger brother, King Edward VI. Her religion and early experiences during the English Reformation would significantly impact her life, as well as her policies as queen later on.

Born on 18 February 1516, Mary was the