The Tudor Monarchs 1485 - 1603
The War of the Roses Civil War in England 1455-1485 The House of Lancaster vs. the House of York Ultimately, the House of Lancaster won
Henry Tudor VII Married a lady of the House of York to unite the families Defeated King Richard III (House of York) at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485
Henry VIII Wanted a son to secure the Tudor line He married six times Three children: Mary Elizabeth Edward
Catherine of Aragon Married 1509 Daughter to the king of Spain She bore Mary Henry decided to divorce Catherine
Henry’s Break with the Church At this time, England was a Catholic nation and a monarch could only gain a divorce with the permission of the pope However, the pope refused to grant permission. (partly because of Catherine’s powerful allies) Furious, Henry decided to break with the Catholic Church and established a Protestant Church of England with himself at the head This created many troubles down the road…
Anne Boleyn Married 1533 She bore Elizabeth Protestant Henry accused her of infidelity and had her beheaded in 1536
Jane Seymour Married 1536 (11 days after execution of Anne) Bore Edward but died soon after Henry probably loved her best of all his wives
Anne of Cleves Married 1540 An arranged marriage Henry thought she was ugly Divorced 1540 – the same year!
Catherine Howard Married 1540 She was 20, Henry was 49 The Duke of Norfolk vouched for her character and convinced the king to marry her
Catherine’s Howard’s Downfall It was discovered that Catherine was having an affair with the king’s courtier, Thomas Culpeper, and that she had been with other men before her marriage The king was very fond of Catherine and took the news very hard; however, he still had her executed for treason in 1542 The king blamed the Duke of Norfolk for what happened
Catherine Parr Married 1543 Looked after Henry’s children Outlived Henry
Edward VI Main characters in The Prince and the Pauper Became king at the age of nine Protestant Illness caused him to die after only six years
Lady Jane Grey Edward named his cousin Jane Grey as his successor She was queen for only nine days – Mary took the throne and had her beheaded
Mary I Determined to return England to the one true faith…Roman Catholic. Referred to as “Bloody Mary” Reigned for only 5 years before her death
Elizabeth I A strong ruler Never married Ruled during the time of Shakespeare Ruled for 45 years
The end of the Tudor line Since Elizabeth had no children, the crown passed on to the Stewart family In 1603 James I became king
The End