Mickey Mayhew is an author who has published a book on Rasputin and the Romanovs as well as several titles relating to Tudor history. This article will take a closer look at the Tudor era, a period that extended from 1485 to 1603, shaping the English monarchy and covering the reigns of both Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.
The Tudor dynasty ruled England and Wales for 118 years in total, with its five successive monarchs including some of the most illustrious royal figures in British History. The Tudors lineage contributed significantly to the shaping of England and subsequently Great Britain as we recognise it today.
Running from 1455 to 1487, the War of the Roses was a lengthy battle between two prominent households – the House of Lancaster and the House of York – who both laid claim to the throne. In an attempt to both bring peace to the country and strengthen his own claim to the throne, Lancastrian Henry VII married Elizabeth of York. Rather than being borne out of love, the union between the two cousins was intended to solidify the union between the House of Lancaster and House of York, uniting two of the most powerful families of the period and bringing peace to the country. The marriage proved successful, culminating in the creation of the Tudor motif, combining the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York to demonstrate the couple’s unity. Henry and Elizabeth went on to have eight children together, although only four survived into adulthood, namely Arthur, Henry, Margaret and Mary.
Following his marriage to Princess Catherine of Aragon, Arthur died young. His three siblings embarked on promising futures. Princess Mary was betrothed to Louis XII of France. Margaret married James IV of Scotland and became Queen Consort. As the sole surviving son of Henry VII, Henry VIII became King of England and Wales and one of the most influential figures of Tudor history.
After taking the throne in 1509, Henry VIII married the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur’s widow. In 1516 the couple had a daughter, whom they named Mary. During his reign, Henry VIII had six wives in total and two other legitimate offspring, Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
In his 36 years of rule, Henry VIII made several profound changes. Following 24 years of marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his desperation for a son to preserve his legacy drove Henry to turn away from both his wife and the Catholic Church. After Rome denied him a divorce, Henry VIII created the Church of England, which he ruled Supreme. His marriage was annulled, and he remarried.
Henry VIII went on to have a son, Edward VI, who reigned from 1547 until 1553, when he died from tuberculosis. While Edward had continued to convert the country from Catholicism to Protestantism, his rightful successor, Mary, was a devout Catholic. To avoid the country reverting to Catholicism, Edward helped pave the path for Lady Jane Grey – a fervent Protestant – to become Queen. However, Mary fought back, and Lady Jane was executed after assuming the throne for just nine days.
Mary’s first act as Queen was reverting England to Catholicism. Her reign proved to be a highly problematic period in Tudor history due to her persecution of Protestants, around 300 of whom she had burned at the stake. Despite a brief marriage to Prince Philip II of Spain in 1554, Mary died childless in 1558, succeeded by her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 to 1603, with her rule widely regarded as one of the most glorious in English history. Characterised as intelligent, determined and shrewd, she proved to be an exceptional ruler and a pivotal character in Tudor history, with her death in 1603 marking the end of the Tudor monarchy.
