500 years since her birth, Mary I is a monarch who continues to divide opinion.

Signed, dated and inscribed on the counter-enamel in black paint: Queen Mary Tudor / After Holbein / Painted by W. Essex 1851 / Enamel Painter to Her Majesty / & H.R.H. Prince Albert.

Portrait of Queen Mary I by unknown artist, c.1590. English school. Oil on panel; 56 x 44.5cm. Sold at Christie’s in 2007 for £21,600. The portrait used to belong to Newburgh Priory near Coxwold, North Yorkshire, which was once visited by Mary’s aunt, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland. The painting dates to a period when portraits of past royals were sought after. It may have even been part of a set of the Kings and Queens of England. Now owned by The Weiss Gallery…

Queen Mary I of England was known for her piety and religious fervor. During her reign, there were about sixty religious processions and celebrations which allowed the ordinary citizens to make evi…

Thank you to historian and author Conor Byrne for writing this article to commemorate the anniversary of Mary I's birth on this day in 1516.

Mary I became England's first female monarch in 1553. She was known as Bloody Mary for burning nearly 300 Protestants at the stake during her short reign.

▴ Artistic Accessories ▴ clothes, jewelry, hats in art - Sir Godfrey Kneller | Queen Mary II in court dress, 1690

Mary Tudor By Richard Burchett Oil on panel, 1850’s