Mary I was born on 18 February 1516 and was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Henry Vlll by his first wife Catherine of Aragon.

Queen of England

Mary I was the first Queen Regnant (that is, a queen reigning in her own right rather than a queen through marriage to a king).

There were other Queens of England before Mary but they only had the title Queen because their husband was the King. They are know as the Queen consort (i.e. wife and consort of a reigning king).

Possible claims to the first Queen of England

Both Empress Matilda and Lady Jane Grey were both uncrowned queen regnants.

Empress Matilda , daughter of Henry I, was declared "Lady of the English" at Winchester in 1141. However, she was never crowned in her short reign.

Lady Jane Grey, England's 'nine-days queen' was proclaimed Queen of England after the death of Edward VI on 6 July 1553, but again not officially crowned.

Links

Follow this link to read more about Mary I

King Henry VIII

Empress Matilda (bottom of page)

The Tudors

Timeline of Kings and Queens

Also on this day .....

10 May 1504: The 12 year-old future King Henry VIII was invested as Prince of Wales.

10 May 1678: Pilgrim’s Progress was published. John Bunyan started writing it during his second term in prison, for preaching on behalf of the Baptists.

10 May 1876: A direct telegraph line was established between Britain and New Zealand.