Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty was a series of kings and queens in England. This line of rulers started in 1485, when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor was accepted as the true king.
One of his sons, Arthur (Prince of Wales and son of Elizabeth of York), married Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile). The marriage ended with Arthur's death in 1502. Arthur's brother and next of kin, Henry VIII, married Catherine and became king in 1509.
During their marriage, Catherine had six children; only one, Mary I of England survived. When Catherine became too old to have any more children, Henry divorced her and married a new wife, Anne Boleyn, and had another daughter, Elizabeth I of England.
Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536 under the plotting of Thomas Cromwell. Shortly after, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour of England. She had one son, Edward VI of England. But, Jane died in 1537 due to medical problems caused by Edward's birth.
Henry was eventually married to three other wives until his death in 1547. Edward, his only living son, succeeded him.
Edward ruled until 1553, when he fell ill. Immediately, he created the "Devise for Succession," naming his cousin Lady Jane Grey his successor. But, Lady Jane was only queen for nine days.
Mary I of England became the next ruler of the Tudor dynasty. Because of her radical Catholicism, Mary used her time as queen to rampage against hundreds of Protestants. Because of all the executions carried-out under her rule, she was given the nickname "Bloody Mary."
After Mary's death in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth I of England took over as queen, bringing Protestant faith with her
The dynasty ended when Queen Elizabeth I died. She had not named a person to be ruler after her death, so her cousin's son took over. He became James I of England, and started the Stuart dynasty.
During the Tudor period, there were many changes in religion. Henry VIII, for example, was a Catholic but behaved like a Protestant as he broke away from the Pope's power and named himself as head of the Church. Edward VI was raised a Protestant, and shut down all Catholic churches. Mary I was a strong Catholic, having been raised in Spain because of her Spanish mother, Catharine of Aragon. She shut down the Protestant churches and burnt about 300 people for being Protestant (these were later called martyrs). When Protestant Elizabeth came to the throne, things changed and the Anglican church was introduced. Since then, religion in England has much calmer.
The Tudors also conquered Ireland.
Here are the rulers of the Tudor dynasty:
- Henry VII of England (1485-1509)
- Henry VIII of England (1509-1547)
- Edward VI of England (1547-1553)
- Lady Jane Grey (uncrowned) (1553) (deposed, died 1554)
- Mary I of England (1553-1558)
- Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603)
