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

From her earliest years, Mary Tudor experienced sweeping changes in fortune.

Born in February 1516 to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, she began her life as a royal princess and named heir.

Educated first in Latin grammar alongside music lessons before receiving advanced instruction in religious studies, she received training that reflected her father’s early plans to secure a male-style education for his only lawful child at the time.

However, Mary’s royal status collapsed when Henry canceled his marriage to Catherine in the 1530s.

Declared illegitimate by her father’s new religious laws, Mary lost her place in the line of succession and suffered long periods of isolation. 

Under the rule of her half-brother Edward VI, Mary endured growing pressure to renounce Catholicism. She refused.

Her private household maintained traditional Mass and Catholic rites, and attracted intense suspicion.

When Edward died in 1553 and attempted to pass the crown to Lady Jane Grey, Mary swiftly raised support from East Anglia and forced the Privy Council to accept her claim.

However, her religious policies as queen and her decision to marry Philip of Spain stirred widespread resistance.

Her personal life, already full of loss and political rejection, continued to be deeply unstable. 

Shortly after her marriage to Philip in July 1554, Mary believed she had conceived.

Reports from her court describe common signs of pregnancy: morning sickness, swelling of the abdomen, cessation of menstruation, and changes in her appetite.

Public declarations soon followed. The English court began preparations for a royal birth, and foreign ambassadors wrote confidently about the coming child.

Parliament passed acts in 1554 that anticipated the possibility of children from the royal marriage and provided Philip with a formal role in a future joint rule. 

By April 1555, the Queen’s confinement was announced. Officials sent word to prepare for celebrations, and palace staff readied chambers in Hampton Court.

However, as weeks passed before any labour had begun and anxiety spread. By June, rumours spread that Mary had experienced a false pregnancy or miscarriage.

No medical explanation was provided at the time, and no child was ever born.

Philip, who had already returned to Spain for military matters, departed in August 1555 and did not return until 1557.

The pregnancy had never existed, yet Mary had shown strong physical symptoms for over nine months. 

Two years later, in early 1557, Mary again believed she was with child. Despite worsening health and widespread scepticism, she insisted that she had conceived.

Reports from court again describe the physical signs she displayed. As before, her abdomen appeared swollen, and her menstrual cycle had stopped.

Mary interpreted the symptoms as a divine sign. However, doctors and ministers remained unconvinced. 

Unlike the previous occasion, the political and religious context had shifted.

England had entered war alongside Spain against France, and Mary’s popularity had declined after the loss of Calais in early 1558.

Rumours of illness, possibly cancer or dropsy, grew more frequent. By the spring of 1558, it became clear that she was not pregnant.

Her body, increasingly weakened, failed to recover. Mary died on 17 November 1558, still childless and with her husband absent abroad.

Philip expressed condolences and maintained formal diplomatic ties, but he remained focused on his priorities in Spain. 

Modern historians and physicians have proposed several explanations for Mary’s phantom pregnancies.

The most widely accepted diagnosis is pseudocyesis, a psychological condition in which the body mimics pregnancy due to intense emotional or hormonal factors.

Under extreme pressure to produce an heir and secure the Catholic succession, Mary may have convinced herself that she was pregnant.

The brain can alter hormonal activity in response to belief, especially in patients with irregular menstrual cycles or reproductive disorders. 

Another theory proposes that Mary suffered from ovarian cysts or uterine tumours, which may have caused abdominal swelling and disrupted her menstrual pattern.

Hormonal disorders, including hypothyroidism, have also been suggested as possible explanations for her fatigue and weight gain.

A third possibility involves depression or anxiety, which often followed long-term stress.

Her religious intensity, combined with her years of political anxiety, could have aggravated mind-body symptoms.

However, no single explanation has accounted for all her symptoms across both episodes. 

Mary’s mental and emotional state deteriorated following the collapse of both pregnancies.

She had built her hopes and political vision around the birth of a Catholic heir.

When the pregnancies proved false, she experienced deep humiliation. Court observers recorded her growing withdrawal from public life after 1555.

Letters from her closest advisors show concern for her mood and health. She became increasingly isolated and focused obsessively on her religious obligations. 

Her relationship with Philip became strained. He showed little interest in returning to England after the first failed pregnancy and prioritised his position in Spain.

Mary, who had married out of a mixture of affection and dynastic necessity, received only disappointment.

Without an heir, her Catholic policies faced greater resistance. Her legitimacy as queen, which she had tied to religious reform and dynastic continuity, weakened.

By the time of her death, even loyal supporters had begun to prepare for Elizabeth’s Protestant succession. 

Across England, reactions to Mary’s pregnancies ranged from celebration to suspicion.

At first, loyal subjects rejoiced at the promise of a Catholic heir. Church bells rang, feasts occurred across cities, and proclamations were issued.

However, when the first pregnancy failed to produce a child, public confidence in Mary declined.

The delay and secrecy surrounding the false birth increased public ridicule. Ballads and rumours mocked her condition, and Protestant pamphlets used the event to question her rule. 

Abroad, foreign courts received the news of her pregnancies with diplomatic interest.

Philip and his court hoped that a child would strengthen Habsburg influence in England.

France, meanwhile, prepared for a possible Catholic alliance against its own Protestant groups.

The disappointment following the second pregnancy was profound. The absence of an heir left a power vacuum that Elizabeth I would soon fill.

Foreign ambassadors quickly shifted their attention toward the Protestant future of the English crown. 

The ghostly pregnancies of Mary I are still one of the most puzzling episodes of Tudor history.

At the heart of the mystery lies a woman whose personal suffering came to be a defining feature of her monarchy, whose faith drove her decisions, and whose failure to bear a child ultimately resulting in long-term political change to England.