Please don’t call her ‘Bloody’

Mary I deserves a new name

First off, a thrilling announcement. On Sunday 23^rd February, 7pm London time, I’ll be having a Substack live video chat with macho medievalist and million-copy bestselling author Dan Jones! It’s for paid subscribers to both MY LIFE IN THE PAST and Dan’s Substack HISTORY, ETC. I don’t know enough about the medieval period, but Dan’s my man. Join us, for a Girl’s Guide to the Middle Ages! What do you think I should ask him?

Now then: ‘Bloody’ Mary. If you’re British and of a certain age, you were probably brought up to think that Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and elder half-sister of Elizabeth I, was a bad ‘un.

What a villainess! She burned Protestant martyrs! She married a foreigner! (boo hiss)

The very instant it was announced that our recent BBC show on Bloody Mary would be reassessing her reputation, I saw people arguing about it on social media.

Mary I shares her monument in Westminster Abbey with her half-sister Elizabeth I, but Elizabeth gets top billing

I was surprised at first to see so many people so very committed to the idea that Mary was a baddie. But when I thought about it a bit, I wasn’t surprised. That’s what 500 years of hostile, religiously-motivated propaganda tends to do to a lady’s reputation.

So what’s the case for giving Mary more credit than has traditionally been her due?