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

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  (#4) Mary Was Engaged To A Ton Of Princes In Her Childhood

  As was customary for medieval and Renaissance royals, Mary was engaged to a lot of different princes while she was a child in a series of broken and re-forged alliances. In her youth, her dad made a big show of allying himself with the king of England's ancient enemy, France. Mary was betrothed to King Francis' eldest son, the Dauphin. The Queen of France kept in touch, sending Mary money and gifts, even though the princess was only four at the time. 

  The next year, the Anglo-French alliance was broken, and Mary was re-engaged to her first cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (also king of Spain and her mother's nephew). At the time, she was five and he was twenty-five! They sent creepy love letters back and forth, but Charles broke the alliance by marrying another cousin, someone more age appropriate. Henry eventually re-established a bond with the French, promising Mary's hand to either King Francis (her one-time future father-in-law) or his second son.
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  (#6) She Was Turned Into A Servant For Her Half Sister

  Undoubtedly frustrated that she, too, could not provide a son for Henry, Queen Anne Boleyn took out her rage on Mary, whom she already despised. Anne rubbed in the slight of making Mary a bastard by calling her "the Lady Mary." She even made the ex-princess an attendant to baby Elizabeth. If Mary refused to acknowledge Elizabeth and insisted on calling herself "princess," Elizabeth's governess was to slap her and box her ears like "the cursed bastard" she was. 
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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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  (#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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  (#1) She Inspired The Legend Of A Bloody Ghost

  The ghost of "Bloody Mary" - which pops up in mirrors, covered in blood, shrieking, and holding a dead baby - has some important ties to her namesake monarch. Mary I desired to conceive a child, but struggled with fertility issues. She even suffered from a "false pregnancy." She became severely depressed after these episodes, and wanted nothing more than to give her country and husband an heir. 
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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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