battle at Bosworth, Henry's forces (assisted by Lord Stanley's private army
of around 7,000 which was deliberately posted so that he could join the
winning side) defeated Richard's larger army and Richard was killed. Buried
without a monument in Leicester, Richard's bones were scattered during the
English Reformation.
THE TUDORS
The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-known
figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in ending
the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to found the
highly successful Tudor house. Henry VII, his son Henry VIII and his three
children Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I ruled for 118 eventful years.
During this period, England developed into one of the leading European
colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter Raleigh taking part in the
conquest of the New World. Nearer to home, campaigns in Ireland brought the
country under strict English control.
Culturally and socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor
court played a prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in
Europe, nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund
Spenser and Cardinal Wolsey. The Tudor period also saw the turbulence of
two changes of official religion, resulting in the martyrdom of many
innocent believers of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The fear of
Roman Catholicism induced by the Reformation was to last for several
centuries and to play an influential role in the history of the Succession.
THE TUDORS
1485 - 1603
HENRY VII = Elizabeth of York,
(1485–1509) dau. of EDWARD IV
Catherine of (1) = HENRY VIII = (2) Anne Boleyn, = (3)
Jane, dau. Margaret (1) = JAMES IV,
Aragon, dau. (1509–1547) dau. of Earl
of Sir John King of
Scotland
of FERDINAND V, of Wiltshire
Seymour
(1488–1513)
first King of Spain
ELIZABETH I
EDWARD VI JAMES V, = Mary of
MARY I (1547–1553)
(1558–1603) King of Scotland Lorraine,
(1553–1558)
(1513–1542) dau. of
Duke
of
Guise
MARY, =
Henry, Lord
Queen Darnley
of Scots
(1542–1567,
ex.1587)
THE STUARTS 1603 – 1714 Anne, dau. of =
JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND
FREDERICK II,
AND I OF ENGLAND
King of Denmark
(1567–1625)
(1603–1625)
Elizabeth = Frederick V, CHARLES I = Henrietta
Maria,
Elector Palatine (1625– dau.
of HENRY IV,
ex.1649)
King of France
Sophia = Ernest Augustus,
Elector of Hanover
CHARLES II
Mary = WILLIAM II JAMES II =
Anne Hyde,
(1649–1685)
of Orange (1685–
dau. of Earl of
GEORGE I
deposed 1688)
Clarendon
(1714–1727)
WILLIAM III = MARY II
ANNE
(1689–1702) (1689–1694)
(1702–1714)
Joint Sovereigns
HENRY VII (1485-1509 AD)
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 descended from John of Gaunt, through the latter's illicit affair
with Catherine Swynford; although he was a Lancastrian, he gained the
throne through personal battle. The Lancastrian victory at the Battle of
Bosworth in 1485 left Richard III slain in the field, York ambitions routed
and Henry proclaimed king. From the onset of his reign, Henry was
determined to bring order to England after 85 years of civil war. His
marriage to Elizabeth of York combined both the Lancaster and York factions
within the Tudor line, eliminating further discord in regards to
succession. He faced two insurrections during his reign, each centered
around "pretenders" who claimed a closer dynastic link to the Plantagenets
than Henry. Lambert Simnel posed as the Earl of Warwick, but his army was
defeated and he was eventually pardoned and forced to work in the king's
kitchen. Perkin Warbeck posed as Richard of York, Edward V's younger
brother (and co-prisoner in the Tower of London); Warbeck's support came
from the continent, and after repeated invasion attempts, Henry had him
imprisoned and executed.
Henry greatly strengthened the monarchy by employing many political
innovations to outmaneuver the nobility. The household staff rose beyond
mere servitude: Henry eschewed public appearances, therefore, staff members
were the few persons Henry saw on a regular basis. He created the Committee
of the Privy Council ,a forerunner of the modern cabinet) as an executive
advisory board; he established the Court of the Star Chamber to increase
royal involvement in civil and criminal cases; and as an alternative to a
revenue tax disbursement from Parliament, he imposed forced loans and
grants on the nobility. Henry's mistrust of the nobility derived from his
experiences in the Wars of the Roses - a majority remained dangerously
neutral until the very end. His skill at by-passing Parliament (and thus,
the will of the nobility) played a crucial role in his success at
renovating government.
Henry's political acumen was also evident in his handling of foreign
affairs. He played Spain off of France by arranging the marriage of his
eldest son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella. Arthur died within months and Henry secured a papal dispensation
for Catherine to marry Arthur's brother, the future Henry VIII; this single
event had the widest-ranging effect of all Henry's actions: Henry VIII's
annulment from Catherine was the impetus for the separation of the Church
of England from the body of Roman Catholicism. The marriage of Henry's
daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland would also have later
repercussions, as the marriage connected the royal families of both England
and Scotland, leading the Stuarts to the throne after the extinction of the
Tudor dynasty. Henry encouraged trade and commerce by subsidizing ship
building and entering into lucrative trade agreements, thereby increasing
the wealth of both crown and nation.
Henry failed to appeal to the general populace: he maintained a distance
between king and subject. He brought the nobility to heel out of necessity
to transform the medieval government that he inherited into an efficient
tool for conducting royal business. Law and trade replaced feudal
obligation as the Middle Ages began evolving into the modern world. Francis
Bacon, in his history of Henry VII, described the king as such: "He was of
a high mind, and loved his own will and his own way; as one that revered
himself, and would reign indeed. Had he been a private man he would have
been termed proud: But in a wise Prince, it was but keeping of distance;
which indeed he did towards all; not admitting any near or full approach
either to his power or to his secrets. For he was governed by none."
HENRY VIII (1509-47 AD)
Henry VIII, born in 1491, was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth
of York. The significance of Henry's reign is, at times, overshadowed by
his six marriages: dispensing with these forthwith enables a deeper search
into the major themes of the reign. He married Catherine of Aragon (widow
of his brother, Arthur) in 1509, divorcing her in 1533; the union produced
one daughter, Mary. Henry married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in 1533; she
gave him another daughter, Elizabeth, but was executed for infidelity (a
treasonous charge in the king's consort) in May 1536. He married Jane
Seymour by the end of the same month, who died giving birth to Henry's lone
male heir, Edward, in October 1536. Early in 1540, Henry arranged a
marriage with Anne of Cleves, after viewing Hans Holbein's beautiful
portrait of the German princess. In person, alas, Henry found her homely
and the marriage was never consummated. In July 1540, he married the
adulterous Catherine Howard - she was executed for infidelity in March
1542. Catherine Parr became his wife in 1543, providing for the needs of
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