Pondering Mary I (from "The Private Lives of the Tudors" book)

  I'm currently reading this book about the Tudors called " The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty" - a very thoughtful gift from a friend (thank you Ronda).

  Last night I read the chapter on the death of Mary I. Although the book totally omits how truly horrific the 5 years of her reign really were, in the end, history records that she died a slow painful death, had two very public and humiliating false pregnancies, and was totally abandoned by her husband who went back to live in Spain.

   The final paragraph attempts to elicit just a tad bit of empathy from readers: Mary's prayer book survives to this day (some 450 years later), and the pages with prayers for expecting mothers are stained with her tears.

I know, a weird post, but something I couldn't stop thinking about while trying to fall asleep last night.  - Tom 

Mary 1 of England

WHO WAS MARY I? 

Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558) was the Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death. She is best known for her aggressive attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, Henry VIII. The executions that marked her pursuit of the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and Ireland led to her denunciation as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents.

Mary was the only child of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to survive to adulthood. During her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stakein the Marian persecutions. 

ABOUT THE BOOK: England’s Tudor monarchs—Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I—are perhaps the most celebrated and fascinating of all royal families in history. Their love affairs, their political triumphs, and their overturning of the religious order are the subject of countless works of popular scholarship. But for all we know about Henry’s quest for male heirs, or Elizabeth’s purported virginity, the private lives of the Tudors remain largely beyond our grasp.

  In The Private Lives of the Tudors, Tracy Borman delves deep behind the public face of the monarchs, showing us what their lives were like beyond the stage of court. Drawing on the accounts of those closest to them, Borman examines Tudor life in fine detail. What did the monarchs eat? What clothes did they wear, and how were they designed, bought, and cared for? How did they practice their faith? And in earthlier moments, who did they love, and how did they give birth to the all-important heirs?
   Delving into their education, upbringing, sexual lives, and into the kitchens, bathrooms, schoolrooms, and bedrooms of court, Borman charts out the course of the entire Tudor dynasty, surfacing new and fascinating insights into these celebrated figures.