Fifteenth episode of Siggie, presenting her take on the history of the monarchs of England in the context of her favorite topic….herself. This episode continues the dramatic, turbulent, and (of course) violent story of the Tudor Dynasty. In particular, the brief reign of Edward VI (son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour), the controversy of naming his cousin, Jane Grey, the heir to his throne, and her 9 day reign are discussed. Finally, Siggie talks about one of the most discussed (and maligned) monarchs in English history, “Bloody” Mary I.

So, after Henry the VIII, we had King Edward VI. He was the son of Henry the 8th and Jane

Seymour. Jane Seymour was Henry the 8^th’s third wife. Edward was a whopping nine-years-old

when he was made King. While he ruled his very short reign, as he died only at the age

of 15, the Church of England was distinctly Protestant. Shortly before he

passed away he appointed his Protestant cousin, Jane, as next in line to succeed

him on the throne. Not his sister, Mary, his Catholic sister, Mary, or his other sister,

Elizabeth. Both were pretty  illegitimate at the time and I think

that’s why he kind of like bypassed them. Instead, Lady Jane Gray. Everybody was

like who’s this Jane? Jane who? Lady Jane Gray was known as the “Nine Days Queen.”

Jane’s death though was a bit more violent than Edward’s as her head was removed

from her body. So what led up to this? While the Privy Council. I love that… the Privy Council.

The Privy Council ended up supporting Edward’s Sister, Mary, who’s like totally

and seriously devout Catholic. And also like totally and seriously

believed that she deserved to be Queen. So, Mary had Jane imprisoned and tried

for treason. Jane was just so Protestant and she shouldn’t have been,

not under the reign of Bloody Mary. Jane as well as her husband and eventually

her papa were all beheaded in the famous Tower of London. So, Queen Mary the

First, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VII. She ran for a

total of five years after coronation in 1553.

So, Mary took the throne, and she deposed  Lady Jane gray as Queen. She also 

had her own half-sister, the Protestant Elizabeth the First,

imprisoned in the Tower of London. There were rumors that Elizabeth may have been behind a rebellion against Mary.

Elizabeth seemed to be supportive of Mary when Mary took the throne. But as we know

from other prominent examples throughout history, you know, royal siblings didn’t always

have each other’s back when it came to power. Mary continued to be quite popular

with the masses until she insisted on marrying Philip the Second of Spain,

which folks really didn’t like too much because, well he was Spanish. And Mary

seemed to be a lot more into him than he was into her, so all in all are kind of

crappy decision on Mary’s part. Mary had close to 300 Protestants burned at the

stake in her mad attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in England. She

wholeheartedly believed that she was doing the right thing, a righteous thing,

by going to such radical lengths to enforce her religious beliefs. But sadly,

what she did was earn herself the nickname “Bloody Mary” as well as a

somewhat tarnished reputation. Mary desperately wanted to bear a child and

heir to the throne. She had a lot of health problems though. She had a swollen

belly at one point. She was proudly displaying her silhouette to the public

and totally convinced that she was pregnant. But the due date came and it

went and there was no child. The swelling could have been wishful thinking on her

part like a phantom birth. The public actually joked that it might have been

gas. Ha. Anyway, Mary died at the age of 42. She was succeeded by her half-sister

Elizabeth. It didn’t really end too well for Mary. The sickness that that caused

the premature death and the reputation that she ended up with, you know, and

being overshadowed by her sister, Elizabeth… and the fact that in a lot of

paintings of her it doesn’t really look like she has eyebrows.

(Stay tuned for Episodes 16: Elizabeth I, The Virgin Queen)