Mary Loses Her Mother

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Few losses are as unsettling as the loss of one's mother. Mary was one month away from turning 20 years old when her mother died of a heart condition on January 7, 1536. After a year of struggles between her and her father, Mary did not need to start the new year with news of the loss of her mother.

Katherine had always fought on behalf of her daughter. From the minute she held Mary in her hands she knew she was looking at the first ruling Queen of England. On her deathbed, Katherine still fought for her daughter when she wrote a letter to King Henry stating, "You have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part I pardon you everything...For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired....Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things." [16] Katherine's forgiveness shows clearly the epicenter of being a faithful Catholic. Meanwhile, "Henry and Anne were reported to have danced for joy when they received the news that Katherine had died." [17]

While her father and stepmother were praising the death of her mother, Mary was crying. "The love she always felt for her mother had deepened during their mutual adversity, and the realisation that she would never see her again was enormously painful." [18] Mary was now vulnerable. Her biggest ally (next to Charles V) was gone, and now she was at the mercy of her all-powerful father.

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