Mary I of England

Imagine a queen named Mary who lived a long, long time ago, born in 1516. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, who had six wives! Mary was his first child. When she grew up, she became the Queen of England. She was the first queen to rule England all by herself, not just as a queen's wife. She wanted England to be Catholic again, like it was before her dad changed things.

Mary's life wasn't easy. Her parents' marriage was broken up, and she was told she wasn't a princess anymore! But later, she was put back in line to be queen. When her younger brother, Edward, became king, he didn't want Mary to be queen because she was Catholic and he liked the new Protestant way. When he died, people tried to make someone else queen, but Mary was strong and took the throne.

As queen, Mary really wanted England to go back to being Catholic. Her dad had taken lots of church land, and she tried to give it back. But the people in charge, called Parliament, said no!

She also wanted everyone to practice the Catholic religion. This led to a very sad time where many people who disagreed with her were punished, and some were even burned at the stake. This is why some people called her 'Bloody Mary'.

Mary got married when she was older, to a very powerful man named Philip II, who was the King of Spain! This made her queen of Spain too. She really wanted to have a baby, but sadly, she never did. After ruling for about five years, Mary died in 1558. Her sister, Elizabeth, became queen next and changed England back to Protestant.