As the old saying goes, history is written by the victors, and in the case of Mary Tudor, England's first ruling queen, the Anglican victors in the country's religious struggle have done their worst to her.
But, clear-eyed and fair as always, British historian Lucy Worsley is here to set the record straight.
'Lucy Worsley Investigates' Probes the Real Life of Mary Tudor
On Sunday, March 23, on PBS (and on PBS.org, for Passport members) the latest episode of Lucy Worsley Investigates looks at the life of Henry VIII's first daughter, Mary Tudor, Catholic daughter of Spanish-born Catherine of Aragon.
Was Mary Tudor Really a Bloody Tyrant?
History has labeled Mary Tudor as "Bloody Mary," for her persecution of non-Catholic Christians during her reign.
Yes, that happened, but it didn't happen in a vacuum.
What history often fails to include was the much greater persecution of Catholics that happened under Henry VIII, and under his immediate successor, Edward VI, and Mary's successor, Elizabeth I.
Also, it often overlooks the brutal treatment of Spanish Catholic Catherine of Aragon, whom Henry tossed aside when she couldn't produce a living male heir. That was followed by the teenage Mary being declared illegitimate, stripped of her title and rank, and essentially exiled from court.
Worsley does an admirable job of sifting through the evidence to find the real woman underneath the layers of propaganda.
Watching Lucy Worsley
Lucy Worsley Investigates is also available on Prime Video, IF you have a BBC Select subscription. But, there is also a lot of Worsley's delightful content on YouTube, so check her out.
For example, this full episode about the War of the Roses, a tale of Catholic England:
And another, about the so-called Glorious Revolution, when Catholicism threatened to return to England:
Reprinted in part with permission from Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati blog.
Image: Lucy Worsley holds a rare miniature portrait of the young Mary Tudor/PBS
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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