Tudor Kings & Queens

 Tudor Kings & Queens

HENRY VII

Henry VII became king of England in 1485 when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. This ended a civil war known as the War of the Roses and established the Tudor dynasty. He married Elizabeth of York and made a new family badge from the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. He liked money and by the time he died he had made a great fortune.

HENRY VIII 1509-1547

Henry VIII was the son of Henry VII. He came to the throne in 1509 when his father died. He had six wives. When the pope refused to let him divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Henry did anyway and made himself Head of a new Protestant religion known as the Church of England and took the power for himself. He later married Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. tedward.jpg (2526 bytes)

Edward VI (1547-1553)

Edward was king for only a short time and died when he was just 15. Both he and his advisers were devoted protestants. They made many changes to church services and introduced a new English prayer book.

MARY I (1553-1558)

Mary married Philip II of Spain. She was keen to make England a catholic country once again. Many people were killed for being protestant. Mary wanted children but was unable to have them. When she died of cancer in 1558 her 25 year old half sister Elizabeth became queen.

ELIZABETH I (1558-1603)

Elizabeth was a strong and formidable queen. Unlike Mary I, she was a protestant and became the supreme Governor of the Church of England. Elizabeth dealt very firmly with anyone who disagreed with her beliefs. Elizabeth's religion and her relationships with other countries led to war with Spain. Elizabeth died without having any children.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Catherine Of Aragon Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and at first was married to Henry's brother Arthur. Henry married Catherine to keep the peace with Spain after Arthur died. This marriage was organized by Henry VII a short time before he died, but took place after his death in 1509, when Henry was almost 18 and Catherine was 23.
Catherine gave birth to Mary, later to become known as Bloody Mary. Henry VIII needed a son to provide a male heir to the throne and so he tried to persuade her to become a Nun. Catherine refused, and after two years of arguments with the Pope, Henry created a new Archbishop who was prepared to declare the marriage annulled in 1532. Catherine was then banished from the Court and separated from her daughter. It is said that she died of a broken heart, four years later.

Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was English and was Maid-in-Waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Henry maiired her in 1533. She gave birth to Elizabeth who became Elizabeth I. Henry still wanted a son so he charged Anne with treason, after making up false evidence against her. She was finally executed at the Tower of London, where she was beheaded with a sword, in 1536

Jane Seymour
Jane was lady in waiting to Anne and married Henry eleven days after Anne's execution. She gave birth to Edward VI and died soon after that.

Anne of Cleves
Henry was persuaded to marry Anne of Cleves to keep peace with Germany. Henry sent the painter Holbein to Germany to paint a picture of Anne so that he could see what she looked like and decided to marry her as this made her look pretty. However when she arrived in England he found her ugly and called her a horse. Henry arranged a divorce and the marriage only lasted six months.

Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard was English and born of a noble family. Her badge shows the Tudor Rose. She was a cousin of Anne Boleyn. When she married Henry in 1540 she was 19 and he was almost 50. She was also a Lady-in-Waiting at his Court. She was beheaded in 1542.

Catherine Parr
Henry married Catherine in 1543 because he needed somebody to look after him in his old age. She became a companion and nurse for Henry. She also re-united Henry with his three children who all came back to the Court.
After Henry's death (in 1547) she married Jane Seymour's brother, and died in 1548, being the only one of Henry's wives to outlive him.

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