![A 17th century Dutch portrait of Queen Mary I of England (1516-1558), eldest daughter of Henry VIII. She was nicknamed "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of English Protestants. The painting hangs in the Dutch Room of the Gardner Museum in Boston. | Located in: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Photo by Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images) A 17th century Dutch portrait of Queen Mary I of England (1516-1558), eldest daughter of Henry VIII. She was nicknamed "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of English Protestants. The painting hangs in the Dutch Room of the Gardner Museum in Boston. | Located in: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Photo by Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2018/01/Mary-Tudor_GettyImages-635758513-feb64f7.jpg?quality=45&crop=4px,73px,1463px,974px&resize=620,413)
Mary Tudor
Mary I (1516–58) was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary succeeded the English throne following the death of her half-brother Edward VI in 1553. Mary married Philip of Spain (later King Philip II of Spain) in July 1554. The couple had no children, so Mary was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth (who became Elizabeth I). Mary is remembered for being the first queen regnant of England and for burning nearly 300 Protestant men, women and children during her reign, which caused her to be known posthumously as “Bloody Mary”
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