The sinking of the Mary Rose is only part of her story...
The only confirmed eyewitness account of the Mary Rose’s sinking says that she had fired all of her guns on one side and was turning when she was caught in a strong gust of wind.
Other accounts agree that she was turning, but there could be a number of reasons why she sank during this manoeuvre.
It is claimed that the admiral called out that he had “the sort of men” that he “could not rule”, but this claim comes from his cousin, possibly trying to protect the family name?
While it has also been suggested that many of the crew were from overseas, they may actually be from areas of the west country or Wales. Also, would one of the largest ships of the kings fleet be given an unruly crew?
With the gunports opened for battle, the ship could have flooded and quickly foundered. So why had she never foundered before? Perhaps she had simply become too heavy after a recent refit, which had added extra guns to her firepower.
Perhaps that was why the ship turned so suddenly. Was she aiming to reach the shallows at Spitbank only a few hundred metres away?
A cannonball made of granite, similar to a type found in France, was found in the hold of the Mary Rose. However, it was found in a shot locker, and the stone is also found in areas of the English west country. Were the French trying to justify their failed invasion attempt by claiming to sink one of Henry VIII's flagships?
The guns had been put aboard in London, so she’d managed to traverse the English Channel without mishap, so why did she topple in the Solent?
She'd also carried large numbers of soldier before; in 1513 she had been able to transport nearly 1,000 soldiers to Flodden Field in Northumberland, so why would 500 , or even 700 as one source claims make her more unstable?