Throughout history, England has had many rulers. Some were kind while others were cruel and some had long reigns while others had quite short ones. One ruler, however, was written down in history for her appalling actions during her reign. Despite her good intentions, Mary I of England was known as “Bloody Mary” by her subjects who hated what she had done. Mary’s mother, Catherine of Aragon, was the daughter of Isabelle of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Catherine was the youngest of five, born on December 16, 1485. Growing up, Catherine was well educated (Whitelock, p. 4-9). Catherine was arranged to marry Arthur, Henry VII’s son and they were wed on November 14, 1501 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, Arthur died suddenly at the age…show more content… On April 21, 1509, Prince Henry, now 17, was pronounced king of England. He wanted to establish his European status by claiming the French Crown (Whitelock, p. 10-11). To do so, He needed allies and sought to renew the alliance with Ferdinand of Aragon and he married his brother’s widow, Catherine. They exchanged vows at the Franciscan church at Greenwich on June 11. Two weeks later, Henry and Catherine were crowned together at Westminster Abbey. Then the Scottish King James IV declared war on England. He was killed at Flodden Field and it was one of England’s most resounding victories over the Scots (Whitelock 11-12). Catherine didn’t have much luck in producing children for Henry. Her first pregnancy was false. Her second pregnancy produced Prince Henry, first living child and son; unfortunately, three weeks later, he died. Over the years Catherine was pregnant four more times, which ended in miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. In spring of 1515, Queen Catherine was put in hiding during her seventh pregnancy, which was Mary. Days before Mary was born, there was news that Catherine’s father had died (Whitelock, p. 4-9). After Catherine had Mary, Henry petitioned the…show more content… The English people looked to the succession of Princess Elizabeth with fear and hope for their spiritual future (Benson 27). Mary’s attempts to return the country to Catholicism had failed. Also the alliance between England and Spain ended quickly. With Elizabeth’s help, the country steered back to the course of protestant. Soon it began illegal for an English monarch to be a catholic or to marry a catholic. The day of Mary’s death ended up being a holiday in England for 200 years (Shostak 165-166). After Mary dies, Elizabeth gave her sister a royal funeral. When Elizabeth was queen, Mary’s tomb was buried under piles of stones from broken alters. After Elizabeth died, James I built a magnificent tomb for both sisters, which is now located in Westminster Abbey