Mary Tudor

My name is Mary Rose Tudor I was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. I was the youngest to survive infancy I was born in Sheen Palace on March 18th 1496. At age 6 I was getting my own household, complete with a staff of gentle women assigned to wait upon me, and a schoolmaster and a physician. I was given instructions and French, Latin, music, dancing and embroidery. My governess was Joan Vaux whom I called Mother Guilford. We shared a close relationship and I was upset when John was sent back to England upon my arrival in France. As children, my brother the future King Henry VIII and myself share a close relationship. He named his first surviving child the future Queen Mary the first in my honor. We lost our mother when I was just seven and it seems that my own health with fragile. I was known in my youth and it's one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. It was said that " nature never formed anything more beautiful". In 1506 during a visit from Philip the first of Castile I was called to entertain the guests with dancing and playing the lute and clavichord. In September of 1506 Phillip died and on December 21st 1507 I was betrothed to his son Charles who later became Holy Roman Emperor but the in betrothal was called off in 1514.
Cardinal Wolsey negotiated a peace treaty with France, and on October 9th 1591 and at the age of 18 I married the 52-year-old King Louis the XII at Abbeville, who called me nymph from heaven and I was a paradise. I was accompanied to France with several English Maids of Honor one of who was Anne Bolyen under the supervision of my old governance Mother Guilford, who acted as my principal lady and waiting
Despite two previous marriages Louis had no living son and he said to produce one. But he died on January 1st 1515 less than 3 months after marrying me. It was believe that he was worn out by his exertions in the bed chamber, but more likely from the effects of gout. Our Union produced no children. Following Louie's death the new king Francis the first May unsuccessful attempts to arrange a second marriage for me.
I have been unhappy in my marriage of state to King Louie the 12th as I was almost certainly already in love with Charles Brandon a first Duke of Suffolk. King Henry VIII was aware of my feelings for Charles Brandon letters from Me in 1515 indicated that I had agreed to read Louis on one condition that" if I survive him I should marry whom I like". But Henry wanted any further marriages to be to his advantage. The Kings council, not wishing to see Charles Brandon for the power and Court was also opposed to the match.
King Henry set Brandon to bring me back to England in late January 1515 he made Charles promise that he would not propose to me. Once in France I persuaded Charles to abandon that pledge, Charles little wrote to The King stating him " never saw a woman so weep". We went in secret on March 3 1515 in the presence of just 10 people among them was King Francis the first technically this was treason as Charles Brandon had married a royal princess without King Henry's consent. That's Henry was outraged and the privy council first that Charles be in prison or executed. And as I was royalty and the King's favorite sister I was safe from execution.
Because of the intervention of Thomas Wolsey and Henry's affection for myself and Charles we were given only a heavy fine of £24,000 to be paid to Henry and nearly installments. Officially we married on May 13th 1515 at Greenwich Palace in the presence of King Henry the 8th and his courtiers. Our marriage was legitimized by the Pope Clement VII. I was Charles Brandon's third wife and he had two daughters Anne and Mary found his second wife Anne Browne who died in 1510 or 1512. I raised the girls with my own children. Even after my second marriage I was normally referred to at the English Court as the Queen of France and I was not known as The Duchess of Suffolk in my lifetime despite being legally allowed to be. I spent most of my life at Charles country seat of Westhorpe Hall in Suffolk. In the late 1520s relations between Henry and I were strained when I opposed the king's attempt to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon home I had known for many years. I strongly disliked Anne Bolyen who wants to be Henry's intended wife. I first encountered her in France. Anne and her sister Mary Belen had been among the Maids of Honor and the Entourage that had accompanied me to France for my wedding to King Louis the XII
I had multiple bouts of illnesses, requiring treatments over my lifetime. I had died at the age of 37 at Westhorpe Hall in Suffolk on June 25th 1533. Having never fully recovered from the sweating sickness that I caught in 1528 The cause of my death have been speculated to have been angina, to tuberculosis, appendicitis or cancer. As an English princess, daughter of a king and sister to the current King and a dowager queen of France. My funeral and interment was conducted with much heraldic ceremony. A Requiem Mass was held it Westminster Abbey and my body was embalmed and held in state at Westhorpe Hall for 3 weeks.
On July 21st 1533 a delegation from France during the English delegation for the lavish funeral ceremony. My daughter Francis was chief mourner accompanied by Charles siblings. As was tradition neither Charles nor my brother Henry attended. The funeral procession included 100 torch bears, clergy carrying the cross, six horses pulling the horse, other nobility, and 100 of the Dukes yeoman. A Requiem Mass and burial at Bury St Edmonds Abby followed the next day. At the funeral my stepdaughter's Anne push themselves to the head of the courtege just before the coffin was lowered into the Crypt of the Abbey much to the consternation of their half siblings. 5 years later when the monastery was dissolved my body was removed to nearby Saint Mary's Church, Bury St Edmonds. And 1784 my remains was disinterred and my coffin was open and locks of my hair was taken by several people.