Kotroman
Nobility
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
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- 468
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- Bosnia and Herzegovina
No, it doesn't happen often; it was the only time in British history that there was a joint monarchy.
Actually, Mary I reigned together with her husband Philip (king of Spain as Philip II). The marriage contract stipulated that Philip will reign together with his wife for as long as they remain married, but that he won't admit any strangers into English offices and that Mary will be de facto superior to him. Both Philip and Mary I appeared on coins, on the Great Seal of the Realm, and on charters; they both signed documents, as was required by the Privy Council, etc. In fact, denying Philip's royal authority was made high treason in Ireland. When Mary II demanded her husband to be recognized as co-sovereign, the example set by Philip and Mary I was cited.
Anyway, it's strange that nobody writes about Mary I of England, who was truly an amazing person.
Her father repudiated her mother when she was 19 and declared Mary a bastard. To do this, her father broke off with Rome, which was terrfying to a Mary as a religious Roman Catholic. She was never allowed to see her mother again and she wasn't allowed to attend her funeral. Her father married her mother's lady-in-waiting and Mary was forced to acknowledge her new stepmother as her queen. The First Succession Act declared Mary a bastard. Mary, who was once heir presumptive to the throne of England, became a lady-in-awiting to her half-sister Elizabeth, the new heir presumptive.
I've read that she had two false pregnancies. She married aged 37, hoping to bear children who would keep her kingdom in Catholic faith which she believed was right. It was highly unlikely for her to get pregnant at that age, and her husband wasn't crazy about her either. She believed to be pregnant twice. During the last false pregnancy, her belly grew and she started lactating. She spent a month laying to preserve the delicate pregnancy, but she wasn't pregnant. Both her mental and physical health declined after she found out that she was never pregant. Her husband didn't support her; he left her and sailed back to Spain right away. What caused these false pregnancies was an ovarian tumour, which killed Mary at the age of 42. She never succeeded in converting her kingdom to the faith she believed was right.