Today in 1558 Mary I died, aged 42 years old. She had made a will at Easter believing herself to be pregnant, but her husband Philip I left in July, and there are no records of preparations for the birth, so it was likely another phantom pregnancy. In August she got a fever, and seemed to recover, but then by the end of September was unwell again. She confirmed her father’s plan for succession, and though she didn’t name Elizabeth by name, she said the throne would go to the next lawful heir.
As she lay dying, she spoke of visions of angels, and said that when she died they would find Calais written on her heart – a nod towards having lost the final piece of land England had owned in France. She passed away so peacefully that it wasn’t noticed at first. On her death, her sister Elizabeth would become Elizabeth I.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Album: Queen Mary’s Big Belly from the Gallicantus Choir
Tudor Summit: Melita Thomas on Mary Tudor
Episode 23 Mary Tudor (Mary I)
From my shop:
Tudorholic Collection
Featuring: I like the Tudors and three people mug
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
