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35
Queen Mary I was determined to return England back to the Pope, as she was a fanatic Roman Catholic. She
failed
to understand the English hostility to Catholic Spain, and her marriage to Philip of Spain, son of the
Emperor Charles V, was her own idea, celebrated in July 1554 despite the pleas of privy councillors and
Parliament. Parliament had to accept Philip as King of England for Mary's lifetime; moreover, his rights in
England were to expire if Mary died childless, which proved to be the case. Her marriage
was very unpopular
and
caused several uprisings simultaneously. She crushed the rebels and pursued an aggressive policy against
protestants:
more than 300 people were executed in the worst traditions of the Inquisition – burned them. That
is why she earned the nickname Bloody Mary.
During the reign of Bloody Mary France was the traditional enemy and England was little better than a
Province of Spain. Being the wife of Philip II she got England to be drawn into a war with France and Calais,
the last English possession on the continent, was lost in 1558.
Her reign and life were a political and a personal disaster. When Mary died in November 1558, deserted,
unhappy and hated by many, people in the streets of London danced and drank to the health of the new queen.