BLOODY MARY ON THE ENGLISH THRONE

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

Mary I of England, known as Bloody Mary, owed her infamous nickname to the torture she inflicted on nearly 300 Protestants burned alive for their faith, in just 5 years of reign.

But Mary I was above all a woman hurt by the tyranny of her father, the terrifying King Henry VIII, who broke with the Pope to create the Church of England. He was adamant to have a son so he withdrew from his eldest daughter, Mary, her title of legitimate heiress before sending her into exile.

It is only by sheer tenacity that Mary Tudor succeeded in seizing the throne of England.