Posters for 'Bloody Mary' attraction in London have been banned

This month I have been posting a day to day account of Mary’s accession to the throne and later on today I will be adding my latest post on this subject. But I wanted to mention briefly something that I have raised on this blog previously. Around six or so months back I mentioned that The London Dungeons is holding an attraction entitled, ‘Bloody Mary: Killer Queen’, in which visitors will be able to:


“Enter Bloody Mary’s private chapel and witness the fanatically Catholic Queen pass judgment on petrified heretics.”

“Experience the horrifying sights, screams, smells of the most painful method of execution known to man – being slowly burnt alive.”



Living in London, I have come across several posters for this including one video advert I spotted on the underground. Historian Leanda de Lisle, who I had the pleasure of hearing speak at the National Portrait Gallery a few months back, has labelled the posters as “an example of England’s knee-jerk anti-Catholicism and how our history of the Tudor period has been distorted by post-Reformation propaganda.”


Apparently now the posters have been banned. The video advert depicted Mary turning to the viewer and her face distorting to something beastly which lead to several children being terrified and their parents contacting the Advertising Standards Authority.


For more information on the story, see this article from The Guardian :


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/14/london-dungeon-ad-asa


I will say though that for all my distaste for this tacky exhibit – which basically seeks to profit from and trivialise such tragic events – I did have a little chuckle when I saw this comment:

• Lonelysven
14 Jul 2010, 11:04AM

‘It was good of Amy Winehouse to give up her time to boost London tourism'