Henry VIII Despite the break from Rome, Henry VIII was still very conservative in his religious beliefs During his reign England remained essentially Catholic in all but name (Anglican) with Henry as the head of the Church instead of the pope in Rome Henry finally died in 1547 after almost 38 years on the throne

Edward VI Edward VI became king at the age of 9 During Edward’s reign, England was governed by a Regency Council led by his uncle Edward Seymour, 1 st Duke of Somerset Raised Protestant by his family, Edward began the transformation of the Anglican Church into a true Protestant Church Edward’s reign lasted 6 ½ years As he lay dying he was fearful his Catholic sister Mary would undo the Protestant Reformation in England – he attempted to ensure that his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, would become Queen She was Queen for 9 days and then was removed and executed Mary Tudor would then become Queen of England

Mary I Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was devotedly Catholic and set about restoring Catholic doctrine and practice Many Protestant families are persecuted – hundred are burned at the stake Mary comes to be known as Bloody Mary She marries Philip II of Spain (son of Charles V) and was Queen consort of Spain for two years before she dies During her reign her younger half-sister Elizabeth would be kept prisoner in the Tower of London for a time Mary died childless after less than five years – Elizabeth would become Queen of England

Elizabeth I Against all odds the daughter of Anne Boleyn became Queen of England Her reign would bring a period of stability that would last half a century Would come to be known as the Golden Age

Elizabeth I Elizabeth restored the Anglican Church of England but would not persecute Catholics By steering a middle course between Protestantism and Catholicism Elizabeth angered people on both sides Many Protestant Puritans left England at this time Despite this Elizabeth was able to keep England relatively untouched by the Wars of Religion that were ravaging the rest of Europe On August 24, ,000 French Protestants – known as Huguenots – were killed during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Elizabethan Culture English culture, especially literature, flourished under Elizabeth The term Elizabethan is given to the entire period and style William Shakespeare was the leading poet and dramatist of this period The Elizabethan theatre became world famous and many Englanders and foreigners went to the Globe to watch plays

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots The largest threat to Elizabeth and Protestant England was Mary Queen of Scots, cousin of Elizabeth Queen regnant (reigns in her own right) of Scotland – Queen consort (wife of a king)of France – Mary was the next in line to Elizabeth’s throne As a stanch Catholic there were many in Europe and England who saw her as the saviour of the true faith

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Scotland, however, was largely Protestant and rejected their Catholic Queen She was forced to abdicate in favour of her 1-year old son James Mary fled to England and the protection of Elizabeth Implicated in many plots – Elizabeth was forced to have her charged with treason and executed Most accounts show that Elizabeth was greatly conflicted with this decision The death of Mary Stuart was the catalyst that would launch the Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada Philip II (son of Charles V) was king of Spain and Portugal A devout Catholic – he saw it as his duty to purge Europe of all heretics Upon hearing of Mary’s death he launched the largest Armada Europe had seen intent on removing Elizabeth from power and restoring England to the Catholic faith Spain had already been plagued by English privateers raiding its ships

Significance of the Armada Philip II had spent a fortune on the Armada Its failure and destruction as a result of a storm as it tried to return to Spain would mark the beginning of Spain’s decline England would begin its ascent as the dominate naval power in Europe – the great age of the English navy began, as did serious English exploration and colonization