Ten things you never knew about... Mary I

Today is the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mary I, later known as “Bloody Mary”. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

She was the first Queen to rule England in her own right ( excluding the disputed short reign of Lady Jane Grey).

She was called Bloody Mary after having more than 280 Protestant dissenters burnt at the stake.

By the age of nine, Mary could read and write Latin. By the age of four- and- a- half, she could play the virginals ( similar to a harpsichord).

When she married Prince Philip of Spain, he spoke Spanish while Mary replied in French.

Before becoming queen, she liked spending her money on clothes and gambling at card games.

In 1540, she made a bet on a game of bowls. Having no money on her, she wagered the next day’s breakfast. She lost the game and the bet.

During Jane Seymour’s pregnancy with the future Edward VI, Mary sent her cucumbers from her garden to satisfy Jane’s pregnancy cravings.

Her personal motto was veritas temporis filia ( Truth, the daughter of time).

One charge leading to Thomas Cromwell’s beheading was that he had planned to marry Mary.

Vodka and tomato juice was first called a Bloody Mary in 1939.