Lucy Worsley
Season 2, episode 4 of the PBS history series Lucy Worsley Investigates goes into the details of Catholic "bloody" Queen Mary I and her reputation as a vicious Catholic murderer. History says that she wasn't much different from contemporary Protestant murderers when they were in power in England. Mary was England's first ruling female monarch. Her ruling power was cemented by a pre-nup agreement with the Catholic Spanish Prince Philip. They married in 1554. Her pre-nup barred Philip from power and law-making influence. Philip was heir to the Spanish throne and the Hapsburg Empire.
Anyway, the bottom line is this. Propagandists are nothing new. They have poisoned the public for millennia with their lies, hate, closed-minded prejudices and sanctimonious (religious or secular) lust for power. In Mary's case, since the 1550s or thereabouts.
What was going in in the 1500s is not much different from what is going on in 2025. Same stuff, different century.
Why post this? Maybe some historical perspective would help save us from Trump and MAGA. But maybe not. Regardless, Worsley spins a pretty good yarn. Her historical research seems to be solid. As usual, interpretation is probably bitterly disputed.