The ghostly pregnancies of Queen Mary I: A medical and historical mystery

Born on February 18, 1516, Mary Tudor was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

She was initially raised as a Catholic and was well-educated, excelling in languages and music.

Her early life was marked by privilege and promise, as she was the heir presumptive to the English throne.

However, her fortunes took a dramatic turn when her father sought to annul his marriage to Catherine, primarily because the union had failed to produce a male heir.

The annulment led to England's break from the Roman Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England, with Henry VIII as its head.

This event, known as the English Reformation, had profound implications for Mary's life.

Stripped of her title and declared illegitimate, Mary was separated from her mother and faced a series of humiliations, including being forced to serve as a lady-in-waiting to her half-sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Despite these setbacks, Mary remained steadfast in her Catholic faith, a conviction that would define her later life and reign.

After the death of her half-brother, Edward VI, in 1553, Mary successfully contested the claim of Lady Jane Grey to the throne and was crowned Queen Mary I.

Her reign was marked by a fervent desire to restore Catholicism to England, a mission that led to the persecution of Protestants and earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary."

In 1554, Mary married Philip II of Spain, a union that was politically motivated but deeply unpopular among the English populace.

The marriage was orchestrated by advisers like Stephen Gardiner and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and Philip's father, who saw it as a way to strengthen Catholicism in England and counterbalance the rising tide of Protestantism in Europe.

However, the marriage was fraught with difficulties, not least of which was Mary's failure to produce an heir.

This personal tragedy became a public crisis, given the political and religious stakes involved.

In 1554, just months after her marriage to Philip II of Spain, Queen Mary I announced that she was pregnant.

The news was met with jubilation, not just in the royal court but across England and Europe.

A successful pregnancy would mean the birth of a Catholic heir, thereby solidifying the religious and political landscape that Mary had been so keen to establish.

The signs seemed promising: Mary exhibited the typical symptoms of pregnancy, including morning sickness and a swelling abdomen.

Physicians and midwives confirmed the condition, and preparations for the birth were made with great enthusiasm.

Tapestries were hung in the birthing chamber, prayers and masses were said, and a formal announcement was even sent to the imperial ambassador.

As the months passed, however, it became increasingly clear that something was amiss.

Mary's expected delivery date came and went, but there was no child. The public, initially elated, grew anxious and then skeptical.

Rumors began to circulate, questioning the legitimacy of the pregnancy and, by extension, the queen's ability to rule.

The situation was further complicated by the political climate. Mary's marriage to Philip was already unpopular, and her failure to produce an heir was seen by many as a sign of divine disfavor.

The phantom pregnancy also had diplomatic repercussions; the alliance with Catholic Spain hinged, in part, on the promise of a Catholic heir, and the absence of one strained relations between the two nations.

Finally, it was quietly acknowledged that Mary was not going to give birth. The court physicians were baffled, having no medical explanation for what had occurred.

In an era when the understanding of reproductive health was rudimentary at best, the phantom pregnancy was variously attributed to a range of causes, from divine intervention to witchcraft.

For Mary, the emotional and psychological toll was immense. She felt not only the personal pain of a woman who believes she has lost a child but also the public humiliation of a queen whose body had become a subject of political discourse.

In 1557, three years after the devastating experience of her first phantom pregnancy, Queen Mary I once again announced that she was expecting a child.

The news was met with a mixture of hope and skepticism, both within England and across Europe.

The stakes were even higher this time; Mary was older, and the window for producing an heir was rapidly closing.

Moreover, England was embroiled in a costly war with France, a conflict that had been unpopular from the start and had led to the loss of Calais, England's last possession on the European mainland.

A successful pregnancy could bolster Mary's flagging popularity and provide a much-needed sense of unity and purpose.

As with the first phantom pregnancy, the initial signs were promising. Mary displayed the physical symptoms associated with pregnancy, and her physicians, perhaps wary given the previous episode, confirmed that she was indeed expecting.

Preparations were made for the birth, albeit with a sense of caution that had been absent the first time around.

Yet, as the months passed, it became increasingly evident that history was repeating itself.

The expected due date came and went, and there was no child. The sense of public embarrassment was even more acute this time, and the political ramifications were severe.

Mary's rule, already weakened by religious strife and military setbacks, was further undermined.

Her marriage to Philip, who had been spending more and more time away from England, was also strained, as the absence of an heir made the union seem increasingly futile.

The second phantom pregnancy ended quietly, much like the first. By this point, Mary was in declining health, both physically and emotionally.

The toll of two phantom pregnancies, along with the stress of ruling a divided nation, had left her frail and despondent.

The medical community of the time was no closer to understanding the phenomenon of phantom pregnancies than they had been three years earlier, and various theories were posited, ranging from divine punishment to a bodily imbalance of humors.

For Mary, however, the experience was another deeply personal tragedy, one that compounded the sense of failure and inadequacy she felt as both a woman and a queen.

The phenomenon of phantom pregnancies, known medically as pseudocyesis, has puzzled physicians and psychologists for centuries.

In the 16th century, medical understanding was heavily influenced by the theories of ancient Greek physicians like Hippocrates and Galen, who posited that the body was governed by a balance of four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.

Illnesses, including reproductive issues, were often attributed to an imbalance of these humors.

Treatments frequently involved attempts to restore this balance, such as through bloodletting or the administration of herbal remedies.

In the case of Queen Mary I, her physicians would have been guided by these rudimentary and often flawed medical theories, lacking the diagnostic tools and scientific knowledge that modern medicine provides.

In today's terms, pseudocyesis is understood to be a complex condition involving both physiological and psychological factors.

Women experiencing a phantom pregnancy may show many of the signs of a real pregnancy, including a swollen abdomen, morning sickness, and even the sensation of fetal movement.

These symptoms are thought to be triggered by a combination of hormonal changes and psychological factors, such as extreme stress or a deep desire to be pregnant.

Given the immense pressure Mary was under to produce an heir, along with the political and religious turmoil of her reign, it's plausible that psychological stress could have played a significant role in triggering her phantom pregnancies.

Modern diagnostic tools like ultrasounds and hormone tests make it relatively straightforward to diagnose a phantom pregnancy today, but in the 16th century, the condition was shrouded in mystery and misinformation.

Various theories were posited to explain Mary's condition, ranging from divine intervention to witchcraft.

The lack of a clear medical explanation only fueled public speculation and contributed to the sense of crisis that surrounded both of Mary's phantom pregnancies.

It's worth noting that pseudocyesis is extremely rare in the modern era, thanks in part to advances in medical diagnostics and psychological understanding. 

In the modern understanding of pseudocyesis, or phantom pregnancy, psychological factors often play a significant role.

The condition can be triggered by extreme stress, anxiety, or a deep-seated desire to become pregnant.

For Mary, the psychological pressures were manifold. As the first woman to rule England in her own right, she faced enormous scrutiny and skepticism, both at home and abroad.

The expectation to produce an heir was not just a personal desire but a political imperative, intricately tied to her legitimacy as a ruler and the stability of her realm.

This was compounded by her marriage to Philip II of Spain, which was fraught with its own set of expectations and pressures, including the need to solidify a Catholic alliance against the rising tide of Protestantism in Europe.

The emotional toll of her first phantom pregnancy likely had a lasting impact on Mary's psychological state, making her even more susceptible to a second episode.

The public humiliation and private heartbreak of believing she was pregnant, only to find that she was not, would have been devastating.

In a society where a woman's worth was often measured by her ability to bear children, Mary's failure to produce an heir would have been seen as a profound personal and public failing.

The psychological stress of this, combined with the already immense pressures of ruling a divided nation, could very well have contributed to the onset of her second phantom pregnancy.

It's also worth considering the role of cognitive dissonance in Mary's experience.

Having committed so fully to the belief that she was pregnant, acknowledging the reality would have been psychologically distressing.

This dissonance between belief and reality could have perpetuated the physical symptoms of pregnancy, creating a feedback loop that made it increasingly difficult to accept the truth.

The phantom pregnancies also had a significant impact on public opinion, which was already divided over Mary's rule.

Her marriage to Philip II of Spain was deeply unpopular, seen by many as subjugating England to foreign influence.

The failure to produce an heir was interpreted by some as divine judgment, further eroding Mary's already fragile standing.

In a society where the personal was often indistinguishable from the political, Mary's reproductive struggles became a matter of public debate, affecting her ability to govern and shaping her legacy in the annals of history.

Moreover, the phantom pregnancies had diplomatic ramifications. Mary's alliance with Spain, orchestrated by her marriage to Philip, was predicated on the mutual benefits that would accrue from a Catholic heir.

The absence of such an heir strained relations between the two nations and weakened their united front against the spread of Protestantism in Europe.

Philip, who had been an absent husband for much of their marriage, had even less incentive to remain in England, further isolating Mary and diminishing her influence on the continental stage.

Mary had been a fervent Catholic in a country that was deeply divided along religious lines.

Her failure to produce an heir opened the door for her half-sister Elizabeth, a Protestant, to succeed her, leading to the re-establishment of Protestantism as the state religion and the undoing of much of Mary's efforts to return England to Catholicism.