Royals in history
Mary I and her sister Elizabeth had little in common except their father, Henry VIII. Mary was a staunch Catholic, Elizabeth a devout Protestant. Mary was deeply conventional in her views of women and took a husband as soon as she ascended the throne. Elizabeth was determined never to marry and became the Virgin Queen of legend.
Mary’s reign was brief and brutal, Elizabeth’s has been celebrated as one of the longest and most successful of any British monarch. But while they may have been opposites, the relationship between the two sisters would have a profound impact on the queenship of both.
At 4am on 18 February 1516, Catherine of Aragon was delivered of a daughter. The child might not have been the son Henry VIII so craved but she was at least healthy. The king’s daughter was named Mary, and enjoyed a pampered upbringing. As the king’s cherished only child she was ‘much beloved by her father,’ according to the Venetian ambassador.
