(born Feb. 18, 1516, Greenwich, near London, Eng.—died Nov. 17, 1558, London) Queen of England (1553–58).
The daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, she was declared illegitimate after Henry's divorce and new marriage to Anne Boleyn (1533). In 1544 Mary was restored to court and granted succession to the throne. After becoming queen (1553), she married Philip II of Spain, restored Roman Catholicism, and revived the laws against heresy. The resulting persecution of Protestant rebels and the execution of some 300 heretics earned her the hatred of her subjects and the nickname “Bloody Mary.” She waged an unsuccessful war against France that in 1558 resulted in the loss of Calais, England's last foothold on the Continent.
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