Q: What was Mary's early childhood like?
A: Mary was born on 18 February 1516 at Greenwich Palace, the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She had a very happy childhood for the first few years of her life and was doted on by her parents, particularly her mother. The sorrow that Catherine of Aragon felt upon losing four pregnancies upon Mary's birth must surely have intensified the love she felt towards her only daughter. She did her utmost to ensure that Mary was well-educated and cared for, and took a hand in Mary's education herself.
Mary wouldn't have spent a great deal of time with her father, Henry, but he showered her with adoration and gifts and seems to have loved her very much. And in 1525, when she was nine years old, Mary was sent to Ludlow in the Welsh Marches, effectively to learn how to be a princess of Wales and be trained in the art of rulership.
Q: What do we know about the young Mary's personality?
Mary was a very vivacious child who enjoyed dancing. She was always conscious of her royal blood and knew from the start what was expected of her,to have had an aptitude for languages, but I think she was also a child who wanted to please her parents.
