Although England had queens before Queen Mary I, they weren't "reigning" queens solely due to their relationship with the king, the recognized reigning ruler. In 1553, however, that changed when Mary inherited the crown after the death of Edward VI. Her succession was complicated, however, by the fact that Mary was Catholic even though England had recently renounced Catholicism as its national religion. Some tried to stop Mary from ascending by putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne, but Mary and her supporters promptly marched into London and had Jane executed at age 17. Mary then set about trying to convert England back to Catholicism, and her religious violence earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary." The term may or may not have been fair: though not exactly civilized by modern standards, Mary's actions weren't all that different from those of her Protestant rivals — including Elizabeth I, who followed Mary's example by having Mary herself executed and large numbers of English Catholics rounded up. And while Elizabeth's reign has historically been considered a golden age within England, many citizens of Scotland and Ireland have long celebrated Mary with a more positive title than "Bloody Mary" - "Mary, Queen of Scots."
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