Her Name Was Mary

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Mary, the royal

queen of the land

princess and lady

ain't she just grand

The name Mary certainly has Royal connections and history tells us of several Queens bearing the name. England had 2 reigning Queen Mary's - Mary 1 also known as Mary Tudor or Bloody Mary and Mary 11

Mary of Anjou

..... born 1404 died 1463 ..... Queen of France, she was the daughter of Louis 11, Duke of Anjou and in 1413 was betrothed to Count de Ponthian who afterwards became Charles V11. Although a plain person she was sensible and accomplished but was ill-fitted to take part in public affairs. She usually resided at Chinon or Tours where she expended an ample maintenance in courtly display and luxury. In her early life she was a devoted reader of romances but became famous for the encouragement she gave, both by example and by money, to the pilgrimages to holy places

Mary of Burgundy

..... born 1457 died 1482 ..... born at Brussels she was the daughter and heiress of Charles le Temeraire, Duke of Burgundy and Isabella of Bourbon. In 1477 she inherited all the Burgundian possessions in France and the Netherlands, as Duchess.  She married Maximilian 1, son of Ferdinand 111 and archduke of Austria and he helped to restore order in Mary's dominions and regained the vast Burgundian possessions which had been repossessed by the King of France, Louis X1. However these actions led to war with France but Louis was defeated. After her death from a fall from a horse whilst out hunting, her son Philip 1 married Joanna the Mad, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella 1 and their son became Emperor Charles V. Their daughter became Mary of Hungary

Mary

..... born 1496 died 1533 ..... Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk and grandmother of Lady Jane Grey. She was the third daughter of Henry V11 and Elizabeth of York and the sister of Henry V111. In 1507 she was betrothed to Charles of Castile who became Emperor Charles V but in 1514, when the arrangements were almost complete, his grandfather played false and the marriage never took place. Her brother, now Henry V111 and King, was insulted and he swiftly compelled her to marry Louis X11 of France, who was aged 52 years and was feeble and sick. Mary agreed to marry him on condition that should he die she would be free to marry whom she chose, being very much in love with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.  After only eight months of marriage Louis died  and she persuaded Suffolk to marry her secretly, an action which angered Henry very much as Suffolk had pledged not to marry her without Henry's consent.  To soothe him Mary and Charles presented him with £ 24,000 ( 200,000 French crowns) as well as jewels and rich clothing. They then retired to private life in Norfolk. Although in poor health Mary visited the court often and when she died she was buried in the abbey of Bury St Edmunds. In 1538 her coffin was moved and in 1784 when it was opened, some locks of her hair were taken by Horace Walpole and the Duchess of Portland. Although she was not historically important, Mary was the most romantic of the Tudors, was beautiful, loyal and strong, was an accomplished musician and enjoyed all the fun and pageantry of life

Mary of Austria

..... born 1503 died 1558 ..... daughter of Philip 1 of Spain who married Louis, King of Hungary and Bohemia in 1521. A few years later these countries were invaded by the Turks under Solyman the Magnificent and Louis was killed in 1526 at the Battle of Mohaez.  Her brother Ferdinand took possession of the crown in right of his wife the sister of Louis, but her other brother Charles V committed to her the government of the Netherlands, a duty which she discharged with great ability for many years. She was threatened by the Danes, intruded on by the Anabaptists of Munster and was required to co-operate against Henry 11 of France. However she maintained her authority and aided the interests of Charles. The names of Diana and The Mother of the Camp were given to her on account of her fondness for the chase and her military prowess and she was also a friend of the Protestants and a patroness of literature. When Charles abdicated in 1555 she returned to Spain where she lived until her death

MARY OF GUISE (also known as Mary of Lorraine)

..... born 1515 died 11th June 1560 ..... Queen of James V and Regent of Scotland, daughter of Cluade, Duke of Guise. In 1534 she married Louis 11 of Orleans but was soon widowed and in 1538 became the second wife of James V of Scotland to whom she had three children, one of whom became the celebrated Mary, Queen of Scots ( see below). On the death of James in 1542 she joined the party of the primate, Cardinal Beaton, and assisted him in his opposition to the alliance with England. By alternate bribes and threats, her daughter, whom she had affianced to the French dauphin, was induced to surrender the regency on receiving the duchy of Chatelherault and a liberal pension from France. With the consent of the Scottish Estates, Mary of Lorraine was immediately given the title and authority which she had abdicated. The estrangement between the regent and the nobles greatly increased after the young Queen married the dauphin and the accession of the young couple to the throne. More troubles followed and in the midst of hostilities Mary became very ill. She had possessed excellent natural talents and had a gentle and humane disposition. Her capacity for government was undoubtedly great and had she been allowed to follow her own dictates the close of her reign would have secured for the confidence of the nobility and the affections of the people

MARY TUDOR

..... born 18th February 1516 died 17th November 1558 ..... the daughter of Henry V111 and Catherine of Aragon. She became Queen of England in 1553 taking the crown from Lady Jane Grey who had reigned for only 9 days. She was the first woman to rule in her own right when she ascended the throne at the age of 37 years but she died 5 years later lonely, ill and childless after a reign in which she became known as Bloody Mary. In 1555 she re-introduced the laws of heresy and over 300 heretics were burned at the stake. Mary Tudor was born at Greenwich in 1516. Henry had wanted a son but at least he saw to it that she received a good education. When he married Anne Boleyn Mary was not allowed to call herself Princess any more and was also considered to be illegitimate after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer declared that the marriage of Catherine of Aragon and Henry V111 had been unlawful. Mary never forgave him for this and as Queen she sent him to the stake. When Henry V111 died in 1547 the throne passed to his Protestant son Edward but the Lord Protector of England, Edward Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour, was the real power and he set out to make England a Protestant country with the help of the Archbishop. Mary was a staunch Roman Catholic and had to say her mass in private. When Edward died in 1553 she was ready to take the throne, which by an Act of Parliament and under Henry's will made her next in line, but as he lay dying Edward had signed away his sister's birthright to the Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley, who was determined to protect his own power and that of other Protestant nobles. To this end he used Lady Jane Grey, who was third in succession after Mary and Elizabeth. Against Jane's protests she was given the throne but in any event she was only to reign for nine days. Mary's supporters rallied around her and on October lst 1553 she was crowned at Westminster by the Catholic Bishop Stephen Gardiner. The bells rang out in London and the crowds gathered to cheer her as she passed by. However the happiness did not last. When she married Phillip of Spain a year later Mary set about disposing of those who had plotted against her and allowed nothing or no-one to stand in the way of her dream to restore the Roman Catholic Church and the  supremacy of the Pope in England. In 1555 her reign of terror against the Protestants began and by the time she died 3 years later 283 Protestants had been burned at the stake and Lady Jane Grey had been executed as a traitor. Against her wishes, Phillip persuaded her to declare war against France and through this England lost Calais. Bloody Mary died on November 17th 1558. Her last act was to sign the death warrant of two more Protestants but as she died before the time that the execution was set for the men were reprieved.

Her sister Elizabeth gave Mary a splendid Catholic funeral and then began her own glorious reign.

MARY, QUEEN of SCOTS

..... born 1542 died 1560 ..... the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise (his second wife) and the great granddaughter of Henry V11 and at the age of 16 married Francis 11, Dauphin of France. When he died in 1560 she returned to Scotland and 5 years later married the Earl of Darnley by whom she had a son, James 1. Darnley died in mysterious circumstances and she then married the Earl of Bothwell. She was imprisoned in 1567 by Elizabeth after escaping from Scotland and was made to sign an Act of Abdication in favour of her son. For 19 years she was imprisoned in various castles and on February 8th 1587 was finally beheaded on a charge of conspiracy. Mary, Queen of Scots was a great beauty, she could speak and read in six languages, including Greek, sang, played various musical instruments and by 1567 had a library of over 300 books which contained the largest collection of French and Italian poetry in Scotland. It is also believed that she was one of the world's first known golfers and was heavily criticised for playing golf soon after her husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered. It is almost certain that she played golf at St Andrews which was less than a mile from her house and which now forms the library of St Leonard's school. She is known to have played against her lady-in-waiting MARY SETON and the Mary Seton necklace was presented to her to commemorate her victory. Her mother was MARY OF GUISE, also known as MARY OF LORRAINE, the daughter of Claude of Lorraine, 1st Duke of Guise. In 1534 she married Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville, and when he died she married James V of Scotland. She was Regent of Scotland from 1554 until her death in Edinburgh Castle

MARY STUART

..... eldest daughter of Charles 1, she was married at the age of ten to William 11, Prince of Orange. He was fifteen at the time. Such marriages between children of the aristocracy were not uncommon during the 17th century to strengthen families or to help families in financial difficulty. sometimes they would be returned to their parents after their wedding so that they could continue their education. Mary and her husband died in their early twenties of smallpox and their son became King William 111 of England in 1689. A painting of the couple at their wedding is in the Gallery Hall at Bowhill, Scotland

MARY OF MODENA - QUEEN

..... born 1658 died 1718 ..... daughter of Alfonso 1V, Duke of Modena, she became the second wife of James 11 in 1673 at the age of fifteen. She had never heard of England and due to her religion was unpopular there. The marriage contributed to the Popish Plot five years later. They had six sons, of whom five died and the surviving son became James Edward, the 'Old Pretender'. At the Revolution she was the principal influence in persuading James to flee his country and they went to France where they remained in exile. When James died she lived at St Germains or at the nunnery of Chaillot

MARY 11

.....  born 1662 died 1694 ..... the Stuart Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. She was the eldest daughter of James 11 and Anne Hyde and was born in 1662 at St James's Palace, London. In 1677 she married her cousin William of Orange and was invited with him to take the throne of England and Scotland after the deposition of her father. She was proclaimed Queen on February 13th 1689 and reigned jointly with William until her death from smallpox in 1694 at Kensington Palace. There were no children as she had suffered several miscarriages

MARY of TECK ..... Princess

..... born 1867 died 1953 ..... wife of George V and became Queen on his accession to the throne in 1910. She was the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck and was formerly engaged to George's eldest brother Prince Eddy, Duke of Clarence, but he died within 6 weeks of their engagement of pneumonia. Many rumours were spread around about Prince Eddy at the time. He was mentally immature, drank and one of the rumours was that he might be Jack the Ripper. To this day there are those who believe that he was poisoned to remove him from the line of succession. She married George in 1893 and they had 4 sons and 1 daughter of whom David, later King Edward V111, abdicated and Bertie who later became King George V1. Her passion for the British Monarchy was stoical but on no account would she allow herself to be called Queen Mother, even though she held the position for 17 years. She died in 1953, three months before her granddaughter Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth 11 and never forgave her son for abdicating. In answer to his pleas  she said " All my life, I have put my country before everything else and I simply cannot change now'. Her third child and only daughter, Princess MARY (1897­1965) married Viscount Lascelles in 1922 and he became Earl of Harewood seven years later. In 1932 she became Princess Royal

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