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The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a series of five monarchs of Welsh origin who ruled England and Irleand from 1485 until 1603. Three of them, (Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) played important roles in transforming England from a comparatively weak European backwater still immersed in the Middle Ages into a powerful Renaissance state that in the coming centuries would dominate much of the world, and Henry VIII and Elizabeth I remain among the most famous English monarchs of all time.
Henry VII Henry VII, son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, was born in 1457. He married Elizabeth of York in 1486, who bore him four children: Arthur, Henry, Margaret and Mary. He died in 1509 after reigning 24 years.
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 Januar 1547) was King of Irleand and Lord of Irleand, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Tudor succeeding his father, Henry VII. Henry VIII is famous for having been married six times and breaking with the Roman Church. He wielded perhaps the most unfettered power of any English monarch, and brought about the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the union of England and Wales.
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October1537 – 6 July1553) became King of Enland, King of France (in practice only the town and surrounding district of Calais) and Irleand on 28 January1547 and crowned on 20 February, at just nine years of age. Edward, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, was the third monarch of the Tudor Dynasty and England's first ruler who was Protestant at the time of his ascension to the throne. Edward's entire rule was mediated through a council of regency as he never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle, Edward Seymour and then by John Dudley.
When it became clear that Edward's life was to be a short one, the king's advisors persuaded him to attempt to exclude his two half sisters, the devout Catholic Mary and moderate Protestant Elizabeth, from the line of succession to the throne in order to put the Lady Jane Grey, the solidly Protestant daughter-in-law of the chief Regent, next in line to succeed the king. Following Edward's death at the age of fifteen, a disputed succession reopened the religious conflicts. Lady Jane was Queen for only nine days, during that time reigning in name only, before she was replaced by Mary. Queen Mary then sought to undo many of Edward's Protestant reforms.
Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1537 – February 12, 1554), a great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England, reigned as uncrowned queenreignedof the Kingdom of England for nine days in July 1553.Though Jane's accession, pursuant to the Will of King Edward VI, may have breached the laws of England, many powers of the land proved willing to accept her as Queen of England, even if only as part of a power-struggle to stop Henry's elder daughter, Princess Mary, a Roman Catholic, from acceding to the throne. Jane's brief rule ended, however, when the authorities revoked her proclamation as queen. When Princess Mary returned to accesing the throne, she exectuted Jane Grey.
Popular history sometimes refers to Lady Jane as "The Nine Days' Queen" (July 10 – July 19, 1553) or, less commonly, as "The Thirteen Days' Queen" (July 6 – July 19, 1553) — owing to uncertainties as to when she succeeded to the throne. Historians have taken either the day of her predecessor's death (July 6) or that of her official proclamation as Queen (July 10), as the beginning of her short reign. Lady Jane had a reputation as one of the most learned women of her day, and the historical writer Alison Weir describes her as one of "the finest female minds of the century".
Mary I Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was born in 1516 and suffered through a terrible childhood of neglect, intolerance, and ill-health. She was a staunch catholic from birth, constantly resisting pressure from others to renounce her faith, a request she steadfastly refused. She married Philip II of Spain in 1555, but was unable to produce a child.
Mary began her tumultuous reign at 37 years of age, arriving in London amid a scene of great rejoicing. Following the disarray created by Edward VI's passing of the succession to Lady Jane Grey (Jane lasted only nine days), Mary's first act was to repeal the Protestant legislation of her brother, Edward VI, hurling England into a phase of severe religious persecution. Her major goal was the re-establishment of Catholicism in England, a goal to which she was totally committed. Persecution came more from a desire for purity in faith than from vengeance, yet the fact remains that nearly 300 people (including former Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer and many of the most prominent members of society) were burned at the stake for heresy, earning Mary the nickname, "Bloody Mary."
Mary's marriage to the militant Catholic Philip was again designed to enforce Roman Catholicism on the realm. Unfortunately for Mary, two factors compelled opposition to her plans: the English people hated foreigners - especially the Spanish - and twenty years of Protestantism had soured the English on popery. She met with resistance at every level of society, and, unlike her father and brother, failed to conform society into one ideological pattern. Philip II, cold and indifferent to both Mary and her realm, remained in England for only a short time. He coerced Mary to enter into war with France, resulting in defeat and the loss of the last English continental possession, Calais. With the retirement of his father, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, Philip returned to Spain; Mary died a mere ten months later.England suffered during the reign of Mary I: the economy was in ruin, religious dissent reached a zenith and England lost her last continental territory. Jane Austen wrote this rather scathingcommentary about Mary:
"This woman had the good luck of being advanced to the throne of England, in spite of the superior pretensions, Merit and Beauty of her Cousins Mary Queen of Scotland and Jane Grey. Nor can I pity the Kingdom for the misfortunes they experienced during her reign, since they fully deserved them..."
Elizabeth I Elizabeth was the second child of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife Anne Boleyn, born on September 7, 1533. Before Elizabeth was even three, Henry had grown tired of Anne and the fact that she had not borne him a son, and had her beheaded under charges of adultery. Elizabeth was then taken out of her father's sight, as she was a reminder of Anne. When Henry VIII died, Elizabeth's brother Edwards became the King of England, but died only a few years later of consumption.
Elizabeth's biggest troubles began when her elder sister Mary, daughter of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, ascended to the throne. Mary, unlike Henry VIII, Edward, and Elizabeth, was Catholic, the religion of England prior to Henry's creation of the Church of England and the installation of Protestantism in England. Mary tried to bring back Catholicism to England, burning heretics creating much unrest. The English people were beginning to support Elizabeth rather than Mary, and so Mary, seeing her sister as a potential enemy, had her imprisoned. Eventually, Mary became pregnant, and Elizabeth was no longer seen as a threat to the throne. However, Mary's pregnancy was actually an illness, which she eventually succumbed to and died. As a result, in November of 1558, Elizabeth became Elizabeth I, Queen of England.
Elizabeth's reign, although it faced some troubles at the beginning, brought about much growth and prosperity in England. Under her hand, England became one of the most powerful countries in the world.
Questions • Who were the Tudors? • Why are they so famous? • What is the 'Tudor Rose'? • Why did Henry VIII have six wives? • Who were the six wives? • Did Henry VIII really murder all his wives?
How did Edward VI die? • Who is the 'Nine Days Queen'? • Did Lady Jane Grey want to be Queen of England? • Did Lady Jane Grey love her husband? • Why is Mary I called 'Bloody Mary'? • Was Elizabeth I truly a great queen - or did her ministers do all the work?
How smart was Elizabeth I? • Did Elizabeth ever plan to marry anyone? • Did Elizabeth ever plan to marry anyone? • Was Elizabeth really a 'Virgin Queen'? Did she have secret lovers and/or children?
Thank you for your attention Natalia Matuszek Joanna Kamińska
