Mary Tudor Princess Bastard Queen by Anna Whitelock

The provided text is an extensive collection of excerpts from a historical biography focusing on the life and reign of Mary Tudor, often known as Mary I. It comprehensively covers her early life, including her status as a royal princess who was later declared a royal bastard following the divorce of her parents, Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The passages detail her firm Catholic faith, the personal tragedies she endured, such as her phantom pregnancies, and the political struggles of her accession to the throne, which involved overcoming the attempted coup by Lady Jane Grey and securing the crown as a legitimate Tudor heir. Finally, the source documents the complexities of her reign, highlighting her controversial marriage to Philip of Spain, the Catholic restoration led by figures like Cardinal Pole, and the subsequent religious persecutions that characterized her rule until her death.