"I have read that Mary's illnesses did not begin until her teenage years. She wars born healthy and that gave hope to both Henry and Katharine that if they could have a healthy daughter they could have a healthy son. What was ailing Mary later in life? I do think the stress of the Anne Boleyn situation had some effect on her health but perhaps there was also something physically wrong with her. Nonetheless, Elizabeth and Mary were healthy enough to live into adulthood unllike the men in their family which leads me to believe that their good health (Elizabeth) and semi-good health (Mary) had to come from their mothers and not from Henry. "

"90% of the time, the media portrays Mary with brown to black hair. However, a lot of sources tell me that Mary had red hair like her father and sister. For me, the childhood miniature of her is the only portrait to support this argument. All her adult pictures have her hair as dark brown. There is also a portrait of her as a young adult, the one with the orange dress. There it looks golden brown, which kind of makes me think that it was reddish blonde or auburn at some point but muddied with age. I've heard of hair going from blonde to brown with age, but not red to brown.

Any explanations for how it shows up in the pictures? Because I have a lot of idiot friends that insist on thinking that Mary was a black-haired, black hearted tyrant of Mexican descent that was jealous of her fair sister, Elizabeth. I'm sure the portraits they've seen play a part in this."

"Oh, if only it had worked out! A happy Mary, with a loving husband and some babes! Think of all the suffering that could have been avoided. The combining of Churches, too - it would have made Mary more tolerant, and continued the Tudor dynasty. One of history 's great 'what might have beens.'"

"How do you think Katherine and Marys relationship will be portrayed in season 4 as in real life at first they didn't get on and Katherine had two of her maids sacked. I'm wondering what road they're going to take seeing as they've portrayed Mary as not not liking Anne of Cleve's when really they had a great relationship?"

"Once she was declared a bastard there was less suitors."

"Yeah i feel sorry for Mary too. First she was her daddy's little girl and then she was cast away because of Anne. She is made to live in misery and her mother dies, which is completely devestating because she couldn't visit her on her deathbed. Then things start looking up for her when Anne is disposed off and she finds another mother figure in Jane, only for Jane to die! She loved her siblings but it seems it was only one way and they ended up hurting her. Things just never went right for Mary! Even in death. I still think it was awful of Elizabeth not letting her be buried with her mother. Does anyone think this could have been a bit of a mean streak because she could never be buried with hers?"