A deadly combination: obsession and/or infatuation
A deadly combination: obsession and/or infatuation

Summary/Abstract: Mary Tudor’s way to the throne was fraught with pitfalls and ever-present dangers. If she ever believed in becoming queen, she could perhaps have anticipated that her reign would be beset by perplexing and complex issues. Long before she ascended the throne, her succession had been questioned on a number of occasions and had even been repealed by Henry VIII. During the rule of both her father and later her half-brother, the future Queen had been made to feel of little consequence. By the time she was crowned in 1553, Mary was able to conceal her fears; it was her coronation that opened up "Pandora’s box" with her old obsessions, which were then complemented with some new ones. The principal aim of this paper is to present Mary’s reign not so much as a set of chronological events but as a period during which the maelstrom of her seething thoughts led to her self-destruction. Ever since Mary became the English queen, her thoughts were focused on three crucial issues: Elizabeth whom the Queen was always suspecting of plotting against her with a view to her dethronement, her infatuation with Philip of Spain and last but not least an important part of the Queen’s life was her mission of converting her subjects back to Catholicism. This would effect revenge on the Protestants by burning them at the stake.

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