The Truth Behind “Bloody Mary” - A Beginner’s Guide

When you hear the name Mary I, you probably hear one phrase: “Bloody Mary”.A queen of fire and fear. A religious fanatic. A failure compared to Elizabeth I.But that version of Mary is a shortcut, and it isn’t good history.Before the burnings, Mary was Henry VIII’s celebrated heir. A princess educated to rule. A woman who endured humiliation, illegitimacy, and political coercion, and survived. In 1553, when Edward VI died and her succession was challenged, England rallied behind her. She became the first woman to rule England in her own right.In this Beginner’s Guide to Mary I, we explore:• Her celebrated birth in 1516• The trauma of her parents’ annulment• Her years of resistance under Henry VIII• Her open defiance under Edward VI• How she won the throne in 1553• What she actually tried to achieve as queen• The context and consequences of the Marian burningsYes, we discuss the burnings. But in context, not isolation.Mary was not a caricature. She was a politically intelligent, legally minded, deeply devout Tudor shaped by fear, faith, and survival.If you think you know Mary I… think again.Recommended reading:Linda Porter - The Myth of "Bloody Mary": The First Queen of EnglandAnna Whitelock - Mary Tudor Princess, Bastard, QueenMelita Thomas - The King's PearlResearch by Johanna Strong & Peter Stiffell - Google them! Or access talks by them, Melita Thomas, Linda Porter and more in my Discovering Mary I course - https://claireridgway.com/history-event-archive/discovering-mary-i-instant-access-replay/I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author, and this is part of my Beginner’s Guide series exploring Tudor lives and turning points in depth.If you enjoy serious, nuanced Tudor history, don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications, there’s much more to come.#MaryI #BloodyMary #TudorHistory #HistoryExplained #WomenInHistory #HenryVIII #ElizabethI #EnglishReformation

Mary Tudor and the Will to Fight

Mary Tudor is often remembered through a single, brutal label: “Bloody Mary.”But in the summer of 1553, she revealed a very different side of herself.In this second part of my series on the two tough cookies of 1553, I explore how Mary I faced down danger, isolation, and overwhelming odds to claim her throne - not through force of arms, but through resolve, leadership, and legitimacy.Drawing on contemporary accounts, including Robert Wingfield’s Vita Mariae, this video looks at:
How years of pressure under Henry VIII and Edward VI shaped Mary’s resilience
Why her flight to East Anglia in July 1553 was a calculated act of courage, not desperation
How she rallied men, towns, and even the royal fleet, without a pitched battle
And how her victorious entry into London marked the triumph of legitimacy over force
Like Lady Jane Grey, Mary was unwavering in her beliefs and prepared to die for them.The tragedy of 1553 is not that one woman was strong and the other was not, but that only one could win.If you enjoyed this exploration of Mary, do consider subscribing for more beginner-friendly Tudor history guides.
 
#MaryTudor#BloodyMary#TudorHistory#1553Succession#LadyJaneGrey#WomenInHistory#TudorQueens#MaryI#EnglishHistory#HistoryDocumentary

Lady Jane Grey and the Will to Rule

Lady Jane Grey is usually remembered as a tragic pawn, a frightened girl forced onto the throne by ambitious men. But that story simply doesn’t hold up.
When Jane was told she was queen, she wept and insisted that Mary was the rightful heir. Yet once she learned that Edward VI had named her, she made a deliberate choice. She embraced the crown as God’s will, and she ruled.
This video reveals a very different Jane:
The teenage queen who signed herself “Jane the Quene”
The ruler who ordered troops, guards, curfews, and proclamations
The young woman who chose her husband’s title and took charge of London
The prisoner who refused to bend, denounced Catholicism, and argued theology with the queen’s own chaplain
The sixteen-year-old who faced death with unshakable conviction
Jane Grey was not weak.She was not passive.She was unyielding.
This is Part One of Two Tough Cookies, a two-part series on the rival queens of July 1553.In Part Two, we turn to Mary: the woman who outmanoeuvred every obstacle and claimed her throne.
Watch Jane’s story here , and discover why both queens of 1553 were far tougher than history often admits.
#LadyJaneGrey #QueenJane #TudorHistory #NineDaysQueen #TudorQueens #WomenInHistory #HiddenHistory #HistoryDocumentary #BritishHistory

The 1553 Succession Crisis: A Beginner's Guide

Three Monarchs - 13 Days - One Crown
 
In July 1553, England experienced one of the most volatile succession crises of the Tudor period. In just thirteen days, the crown passed from a dying teenage king, to a proclaimed queen who would never be crowned, and finally to Mary I, who became England’s first crowned queen regnant.This video offers a clear, step-by-step guide to the events of that summer, explaining how and why the succession unravelled so rapidly. It explores Edward VI’s decision to rewrite the succession, the proclamation of Lady Jane Grey, and Mary’s determined response, which transformed a disputed claim into an uncontested victory.Rather than focusing on myth or hindsight, this documentary examines what contemporaries believed was at stake in 1553, religion, legitimacy, and the stability of the realm, and how decisions made in the final weeks of Edward VI’s life shaped England’s future.Drawing on contemporary accounts and modern historical scholarship, including diplomatic reports and eyewitness chronicles, this video explains:
Why Edward believed Mary could not succeed him
How Jane Grey became queen, and why her regime collapsed
How Mary organised support, secured loyalty, and claimed the throne without a pitched battle
This is a beginner-friendly but in-depth exploration of a pivotal moment in Tudor history, designed to give viewers a solid understanding of the July 1553 succession crisis and its wider significance.Presented by historian and author Claire Ridgway.#TudorHistory#MaryITudor#LadyJaneGrey#EdwardVI#SuccessionCrisis#TudorEngland#BritishHistory#HistoryDocumentary#WomenInHistory#TudorQueens

When England Apologised to the Pope

On this day in Tudor history, 30 November 1554, England did something astonishing:Parliament itself asked to be forgiven for the kingdom’s break from Rome.This was the crucial first step toward the full reconciliation I covered in my 12 November 1555 video… but today was where it truly began.In this episode, I explore:✦ Why England couldn’t simply “return” to Rome — it had to be done legally and ceremonially✦ The role of Cardinal Reginald Pole, papal legate and later the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury✦ The humble petition presented by Lords and Commons to Mary I and Philip of Spain✦ The dramatic moment Pole, with full papal authority, absolved the realm✦ Why the day was ordered to be commemorated annually with processions, masses, and sermons✦ How the reconciliation was swiftly undone after Elizabeth I’s accessionBefore the public ceremonies of 1555, before the statues and processions, England first had to bow its head, and on this day, it did.If you enjoy travelling through Tudor history with me, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily videos.
 
12 November 1554 video - When Mary I Turned Back the Clock - https://youtu.be/7Xs5kjM_09A#MaryI #TudorHistory #OnThisDay #EnglishReformation #ReginaldPole #MaryTudor #ReformationHistory #Tudors #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway #BritishHistory #HistoryNerd #CatholicHistory

When Mary I Turned Back the Clock

On this day in Tudor history, 12 November 1555, Queen Mary I turned back the religious clock.Parliament passed the Second Statute of Repeal, restoring papal authority and reuniting England with the Catholic Church after more than twenty years of upheaval.I explore how Mary achieved what had once seemed impossible:
Undoing her father Henry VIII’s break with Rome and her brother Edward VI’s Protestant reforms
Bringing England spiritually home to the Pope
Balancing faith and politics by protecting nobles’ monastic lands
And why, intriguingly, she kept the title “Supreme Head of the Church” even as she restored papal power
For three short years, England was once again Catholic, until Mary’s death in 1558 and Elizabeth I’s sweeping reversal.Was Mary’s vision of unity ever possible in a country so divided by faith?Share your thoughts in the comments below.#TudorHistory #MaryI #CounterReformation #Reformation #QueenMaryI #ClaireRidgway #TheAnneBoleynFiles

From the Tower’s Master to Its Prisoner

On this day in Tudor history, 7th November 1565, Sir Edward Warner, soldier, courtier, Member of Parliament, and twice Lieutenant of the Tower of London, died at his Norfolk home.He was a man who lived at the heart of Tudor politics, serving four monarchs, guarding rebels and queens alike, and somehow surviving the shifting loyalties of an age where one wrong step could mean the scaffold.Warner fought in Scotland, helped defend Norwich during Kett’s Rebellion, and rose high under Edward VI, only to fall when he sided with Lady Jane Grey and the Duke of Northumberland.Under Mary I, he found himself imprisoned in the very Tower he had once commanded.When Elizabeth I came to the throne, his fortunes reversed again, until another scandal erupted involving Lady Katherine Grey, sister of the “Nine Days’ Queen", who somehow became pregnant while in his custody.Sir Edward Warner’s story is one of duty, compassion, and danger, a Tudor survivor who lived through rebellion, imprisonment, and redemption.Join me, Claire Ridgway, as we uncover the life of this remarkable - and often forgotten - man of the Tudor age.#TudorHistory #OnThisDay #TowerOfLondon #KatherineGrey #ElizabethI #HenryVIII #AnneBoleynFiles
 

The Tragic Fall of John Dudley

On this day in Tudor history, 21 October 1554, John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, died at Penshurst in Kent, just days after being released from the Tower of London.The son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and brother of Robert Dudley and Guildford Dudley, Warwick was born to power and promise. Knight of the Bath, Master of the Horse, and one of Edward VI’s glittering young courtiers, his rise seemed assured.But the failed attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne destroyed the family’s fortunes. Imprisoned, condemned for treason, and stripped of his titles, Warwick’s freedom came too late. He died in quiet disgrace at his brother-in-law Henry Sidney’s home, aged only in his twenties.I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and today we remember the overshadowed John Dudley, Earl of Warwick.#TudorHistory #OnThisDay #Dudley #LadyJaneGrey #EdwardVI #MaryI #PenshurstPlace #TudorTragedy #JohnDudley #TowerofLondon