Not Just the Tudors – "Bloody Mary": Debunking the Myths

Host: Professor Suzannah Lipscomb
Guest: Professor Anna Whitelock (Dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, City University London, author of a key Mary Tudor biography)
Release Date: February 2, 2026
History Hit Podcast

Episode Overview

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Anna Whitelock to examine the reign and legacy of Mary I—better known by her controversial sobriquet, "Bloody Mary." The episode seeks to unravel the myths and propaganda that have overshadowed Mary’s complex life, reassessing her not only as England's first reigning queen but as a pivotal and trailblazing monarch. Discussion highlights include the evolution of Mary’s reputation, her achievements, her challenges as a female ruler, and the persistent "Black Legend" that painted her reign in the darkest tones.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mary I and Her Enduring Reputation

• Historical Sidelining and the ‘Bloody Mary’ Epithet

  • Mary I’s reign (1553–1558) is often unfairly overshadowed by Elizabeth I’s long and storied rule.
  • The label “Bloody Mary” was cemented posthumously, largely thanks to the writings of Protestant martyrologist John Foxe and, later, centuries of anti-Catholic English sentiment.
  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 08:53):
    "[John Foxe’s] graphic detail with woodcuts and so on, the 287 men, women, and children who were burnt under Mary... really did set up this evil caricature of Mary... and Elizabeth as a direct contrast."
  • The actual phrase "Bloody Mary" was not coined by Foxe but evolved from phrases like "the bloody time of Mary" into a near-permanent part of her legacy.

• Evolution of Mary Studies

  • During the past two decades, scholarship has shifted from an Anglocentric focus to a broader, European perspective, including Spanish admiration for Mary as a "successful Catholic queen."
  • The blending of English and Spanish academics at recent conferences reflects these new historiographical approaches.

2. Mary and Gender: The First Queen Regnant

• Overcoming Gendered Dismissal

  • Early historians frequently described Mary's reign with gendered terms like "sterility" and the "intensity of a nun," equating lack of an heir with failure both as queen and as a woman.
  • Mary’s "failure" to produce an heir is often unfairly foregrounded, even though producing an heir was newly, perilously, and uniquely a female monarch’s responsibility (childbirth being extremely dangerous for women at the time).

• Trailblazer for Female Sovereignty

  • Mary was the first woman to be crowned, rule in her own right, and attempt to fulfill all the expectations of monarchy, including marriage and ensuring succession.
  • Legal, ceremonial, and practical changes had to be instituted to accommodate a queen regnant—such as modifying coronation rituals and passing the 1554 Act for Regal Power, which affirmed the monarch's gender was irrelevant to sovereignty.
  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 21:42):
    "Mary... blazed a trail for all the female monarchs that came after her. She sort of degendered monarchy or made monarchy gender-neutral."

3. Mary's Childhood, Trauma, and Personal Resolve

• Her mother (Catherine of Aragon) instilled in Mary both a sense of royal legitimacy and a model of unwavering female sovereignty.

• Submission and Steadfastness: Mary's forced submission to her father in 1536—signing away her legitimacy and faith under duress—was a defining trauma. Thereafter, she never compromised on her core beliefs.

  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 17:20):
    "That moment of submission was also the moment which defined her and from which she became absolutely steadfast and strong."

• Parallels are drawn between the courage of Catherine of Aragon, Isabella of Castile (Mary’s grandmother), and Mary herself, highlighting a powerful female lineage.

4. Political Achievements & Realities

• Dynastic Security
  • Maintaining her claim against Lady Jane Grey, averting lasting civil conflict, and sustaining Tudor legitimacy all count as major political achievements.
• Legal and Institutional Precedent
  • The passage of the Act for Regal Power, rendering monarchy officially gender-neutral.
• Statecraft
  • Naval and coinage reforms.
  • Engagement with the broader European scene, making England a site for Counter-Reformation experimentation and thought.
  • Dispels the myth that Mary’s reign was only about "turning back the clock" to a pre-Reformation era; she and Cardinal Pole introduced progressive Catholic reforms.

5. Mary's Counsellors and Court Dynamics

• Power in the Privy Chamber
  • With a female sovereign, the Privy Chamber was dominated by women. Their proximity to Mary, especially in personal matters like her health and possible pregnancies, granted them informal power, often overlooked by male-centered historiography.
  • Long-standing male supporters from Mary’s household, such as Robert Rochester and Edward Waldegrave, played pivotal political roles.
• Key Advisors
  • Simon Renard (Imperial ambassador), Cardinal Reginald Pole, and eventually Philip of Spain—each had direct channels of influence independent of the formal Privy Council.
  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 31:31):
    "The key decisions of the reign... were decisions that were taken outside of the Privy Council and dictated to it through initial conversations with Mary and some of those other individuals."

6. Marriage to Philip of Spain: Disaster or Opportunity?

• Why Philip?
  • For international legitimacy and to restore the Anglo-Spanish alliance underpinning the Tudor claim since the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII.
• Marriage Treaty as Precedent
  • Mary uniquely submitted her marriage treaty with Philip for parliamentary approval—which Henry VIII never did—demonstrating political prudence and respect for public opinion.
  • The treaty included legal safeguards limiting Philip’s power.
• Complex Reception
  • Some nobles welcomed the restoration of a "masculine" presence at court, there were genuine fears of foreign domination, and Wyatt's Rebellion reflected multiple anxieties, not solely opposition to the marriage.

7. The "Black Legend" and the Marian Burnings

• The association of "Spanishness," Catholicism, and bloodthirstiness is a posthumous construct, popularized far more after Mary’s reign than during it.
• Scale and Context of the Burnings
  • About 312 people died for their Protestant faith—including those who perished in prison.
  • Burnings were public spectacles, and attitudes toward such punishments were significantly harsher than today’s sensibilities.
  • While the scale and intensity under Mary were notable, religious executions were a feature of other reigns as well; it was the posthumous packaging in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs that made them central to her myth.
  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 42:14):
    "If you look at the number of people who died for their faith under Elizabeth or Henry... over a longer period, you see people dying for their faith, but [under Mary] just with this ferocity."
• Mary’s Role
  • There’s debate about the degree of Mary’s personal involvement or knowledge of the burnings; some bishops acted independently, and there may have been local excesses.

8. Was Her Faith More Personal?

• Mary’s faith was deeply personal (shaped by trauma), but she showed pragmatism, notably downplaying her Catholicism during the succession crisis to foreground her Tudor legitimacy for political survival.

9. England’s Return to Roman Catholicism

• Restoration of pre-Reformation Catholicism by 1529 standards was impossible due to irreversible changes and new Counter-Reformation influences; Mary’s vision was modern, not purely reactionary.
• Role of Counsel
  • Advisors included both men and women, English and foreign, personal and institutional, indicating a dynamic political environment.

10. War against France and the Loss of Calais

• Mary's involvement in the Habsburg-Valois conflict (Spain vs France) was partly inspired by her marriage and her mother’s outlook.
• The loss of Calais in 1558 was a symbolic blow, often used posthumously (especially in Protestant historiography) to define her as a failed ruler.

11. Mary’s Health, Phantom Pregnancies, and Death

• Mary experienced at least two publicized phantom pregnancies. The precise cause of death is unknown but may have involved cancer or other abdominal illness.
• Quote (Anna Whitelock, 52:42):
  "What was happening here, I have to say I still don’t feel confident that we... well, I don’t think we will ever really know."

12. How Should We Remember Mary I?

• Not as a Failure, But a Trailblazer
  • Mary’s courage, tenacity, and role as the first Queen Regnant were historically monumental.
  • The challenges she faced—dynastic crises, gendered expectations, religious conflict—required extraordinary resolve.
  • Quote (Anna Whitelock, 54:44):
    "I would argue that she was absolutely a trailblazer... one of the most underestimated monarchs in history."
  • Had her body not failed her, the course of English and even European history might have shifted dramatically, with the possibility of an Anglo-Spanish catholic heir and a different model of dual monarchy.
  • Her reign set enduring precedents for female sovereignty, government, and English identity—even as later Tudor myth-making sought to erase or vilify her legacy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the John Foxe myth-making:
  "Bringing light, where Mary was darkness, bringing truth, where there was deception." – (Anna Whitelock, 08:53)

• On gender and monarchy:
  "She had to navigate that and then produce an heir... and, you know, that's incredible." – (Suzannah Lipscomb, 15:21)

• On personal trauma shaping policy:
  "I do think that moment of submission was also the moment which kind of defined her and from which she became absolutely steadfast and strong." – (Anna Whitelock, 17:20)

• On legacy:
  "She... maintained the Tudor dynasty and showed and navigated being a woman very much a man’s world." – (Anna Whitelock, 22:15)

• On the burnings:
  "Are the burnings notable and significant and should they define Mary's reign? Yeah, in part, of course they should, because... they were significant at the time, given the numbers as you... as you said. But... the centrality of them to the perception of Mary came afterwards." – (Anna Whitelock, 42:14)

• On how to remember Mary:
  "Her, her heart and her courage, I think, were absolutely there. And if we think about what could have been if she had, if her body hadn't failed her... things could have looked very different." – (Anna Whitelock, 54:44)

Structured Timestamps for Key Segments

• Mary’s formative years and early trauma: 01:59 – 08:53
• Origins of "Bloody Mary" and myth-making: 08:53 – 13:19
• Gendered criticism of Mary & the role of the female monarch: 13:41 – 17:08
• Impact of childhood and personal trauma: 17:20 – 21:20
• Mary’s political achievements and queenly precedent: 21:27 – 26:14
• Re-Catholicizing England: possibilities and limits: 28:46 – 31:11
• Counsellors, personal and political networks: 31:11 – 35:52
• Marriage to Philip of Spain – politics and consequence: 35:52 – 39:48
• Black Legend, Protestant martyrdom, and historical memory: 41:05 – 45:19
• Was her faith more personal? Pragmatism vs conviction: 45:19 – 48:04
• Calais and involvement in European wars: 48:04 – 52:23
• Mary’s death, phantom pregnancies, and legacy: 52:23 – 54:44
• Summary assessment: Mary as trailblazer: 54:44 – 57:17

Final Reflections

This episode persuasively positions Mary I not as a tragic failure, but as a formidable and pioneering monarch, unjustly vilified by centuries of Protestant propaganda and gendered historical writing. Both intellectual and pragmatic, courageous and sometimes tragic, Mary’s reign was a turning point for the English monarchy and demands an update in public and scholarly understanding. The conversation is energetic, incisive, and directly challenges conventional Tudor narratives, inviting listeners to revisit one of history's most misunderstood queens.