Tudor Monarch Links

Thanks to the help of students in ENG206: English Literature, Fall 2008, I am pleased to present a list of sites related to The Tudor monarchs. The sites are listed under their monarch in no particular order--though I have been chronological about the monarchs. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. This site may change, so check back.

http://tudorhistory.org/monarchs/

It was a miracle that King Henry VII even became king. He restored the faith and strength in the monarchy. He also strengthened the government as well as his power. King Henry VII was a very successful king. After he died King Henry VIII became king and inherited 1.5 million pounds from his father. It was a peaceful transition from on king to the next. When he died Henry VIII not been very successful. He died in 1547 with no male heir. So Edward VI became king at the age of 9. The protestants in England liked him but were afraid he might get killed. To keep him from this horrible fate the protestants brought in a women to take over the throne, Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane took the throne on July 6, 1553 and became the Queen of England. After 9 days of being queen the rightful heir to the throne, Mary, came in and took over and imprisoned Lady Jane. Lady Jane was held in the Tower of London until she was executed. Mary then became the Queen of England and turned England back in to being Catholic. This might help us understand this period because some of the Queens and Kings were good and some were bad. It was a crazy time for England. It explains why some of the stories are tragedies because the people of England were seeing horrible tragedies like Lady Jane.

--Caitlin Booth

Tudor History.org

The Tudor Monarch, basically started around 1485 with Henry VII and lasted through until around 1603 with Queen Elizabeth. England's dynasty came under rule by Henry VII not because his father Edmund Tudor( a Royal Welshman), but because he was a descendant from his mother Margaret Beaufort ( a descendant from Edward III). After almost 30 years of bankruptcy and lost lives in England after the Wars of Roses, King Henry VII found a way for him and his country to become wealthy again. He used his Nobles and a monetary strategy to make England rich again. By the time he died, he left a considerable amount of money to his son Henry VIII who succeeded him. Basically, its still debated whether he was a good king or not. But, he did in fact restore England substantially and from there on reigned his descendants who all for the most part had good reputations. This was known as a good period of time in Europe for England.

--Andrew Martucci

English History.Net

King Henry VII was the first monarch of the Tudor history. He won the war of the roses and the throne of England in 1485. He then married Elizabeth of York, the oldest daughter of the dead Yorkist king Edward IV. Their union was significant because their houses were warring and it allowed them to make it more peaceful between the two. The legitimacy of his wife also helped him become a proper candidate for king.

-Kim Adams

Wikipedia

From what I have read I learned that King Henry VIII was King of England and King of Ireland. He was a big supporter of Catholicism until he was not aloud an annulment. He then broke the Anglican Church off from the Catholic Church. Edward VI, Elizabeth I, and Mary I were all descendants of King Henry VIII and all of them were at one point the King or Queen of England.
-Dave Moser

Henry VIII, the son of Henry VII, became king at the young age of 17 by chance; when his older brother died. He married his widowed sister-in-law, making him king and inheriting all. This marriage was only the first of many. At times this is what Henry VIII is most well known for. The early years of the king's reign included an invasion of France, and the Battle of Flodden Field. Also Henry VIII wrote a Treatise denouncing Martin Luther's Reformist ideals. The Pope of this time must have been very impressed for Henry was awarded the title of "Defender of the Faith". Knowing about the life of Henry VIII may help us understand the time period. He divorced his first wife for the face that she could not produce a male heir. I wonder if he knew that the sex of a baby is determined by the father? Two of his wives were put to death for adultery. In this time period there really were no slaps on the hand.

-Emilia Andrews

Henry VIII was seen as a very successful king that helped moved his country into new ways of thinking. His big push was for England to move into the new age by changing the way the monarch was seen and in the way in which they participated in matters of the state. His new image portrayed the monarchs role to become one of an "ideological icon." This was shown through his great involvement in matters of the government. This involvement is primarily depicted in his breaking from the Catholic Church through legal means. This was done through his influence in the bring together of the Reformation Parliament. Most people associate Henry VIII with the scandal of his 7 wives and his being consumed by the importance of cementing a male heir, but his reign was much more than that. His involvement with the matters of his country brought the most change for the better and forever changed the way that the monarchy was seen by its people. The country was never the same. By studying this monarch it can be assumed that this time period was one of great change. The biggest break in the religious world was happening. The people were one of acceptance of all of the new things that were coming about, as result of Henry VIII.

Henry VIII was strongly influenced by the Renaissance period. Living during the 15^th and 16^th century, he was educated and grew under the influence of the Renaissance. Besides governing, Henry VIII was highly involved in other activities, becoming an accomplished author, musician, and athlete. Henry VIII and his court was a center of scholarly and artistic innovation, much representative of the Renaissance period. His curiosity and desire to always learn, along with his great intelligence, made him a very popular man and a true Renaissance Man.

Henry VIII also had great interest in politics and got involved in religious issues. However, he was not a church reformer, being for most of his life opposed to the Protestant movement and taking stands on the Catholic doctrine.

I found King Henry VIII of the Tudor Monarchy to be extremely interesting because of his six wives. Henry VIII was the third child and second son of Henry VII. He was crowned King of England when his older brother Arthur died. Henry VIII also married his deceased brother’s widow. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon had Henry's first daughter Mary. Henry wanted a divorce from his wife but the pope would not grant it so he broke away from the church in Rome. Henry's 2nd wife was Anne Boleyn who gave birth to his second daughter Elizabeth. Anne was accused of adultery and beheaded. His third was was Jane Seymour who had succeeded to give Henry his son Prince Edward. Jane died shortly after childbirth. Henry's next wife was Anne of Cleves but he was not attracted to her leading to a quick divorce. Then he married a young woman named Catherine Howard who was caught cheating on him with younger males which lead that she was beheaded. Henry's last wife was Katherine Parr, she was well educated and King Henry's children loved her. King Henry VIII ruled from 1509-1547.When he died his son Edward succeeded him as King.

King Henry VIII was a major king in England who got crowned at a very young age due to his brother’s death which resulted in a young, non experienced ruler. He was famously known for his great number of affairs and many wives. King Henry VIII is notorious for beheading four of his wives and rejecting women in the most crude and outrageous ways. Besides living in the palace, King Henry was known for his lavish parties and extreme social life. He enjoyed banquets and all kinds of sports which enabled the king to lead a pleasant life. Amongst his favorite, was tennis, jousting and also hunting. What helps us understand this era is that it is clearly evident that the wealthy monarchy lived lavish and expensive lives while the hard working middle class did not have such an enjoyable life. This shows us that the first 2 non taxpaying estates were very well off. The third working class was greatly burdened by taxes.
Also, besides living in the palace, King Henry VIII was notorious for the suppression of Roman Catholicism in England, which was rapidly growing in Europe. Therefore England resulted in becoming a protestant nation. This may help us understand the period of these “middle ages” as a religiously conflicted era. This included great wars of religion and deaths. Due to all of this conflict, one may understand the middle ages as a deeply brain washing time period where people were forced to live according to, and only the monarchy demands.
By analyzing the lavish life of King Henry VIII, one comes to the understanding that the period of the middle ages was an important era where monarchy dominance was of utmost importance.
-Veronika Kovacikova

King Henry VIII was married and had six wives through out his lifetime. The duty of theses wives was to bear Henry with children, preferably a son to take over the throne because Henry was the only boy left in his family to rule the throne. Henry VIII’s first wife was Katharine of Aragon. Katharine was born the same year that Henry established the Tutor Dynasty. Katharine was pregnant six times with only one surviving child, a daughter princess Mary. Henry’s second wife was Anne Boleyn. Henry wanted Anne because he knew he couldn’t have her. Anne was known as one of the best queens in England but she also was not able to give Henry a son. His third wife was Jane Seymour. Jane was the wife who gave Henry a son, but she died only a few days after giving birth. The fourth wife of King Henry VIII was Anne of Cleves. Anne and Henry did not get along and there marriage was quickly annulled. Catherine Howard was Henry’s fifth wife. She was beheaded for committing adultery against the king. Henry’s sixth and final wife was Katharine Parr. Katharine was the smartest wife of Henry and outlived his death.

The order of the wives was divorced, executed, died, divorced, executed, and widowed.

Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess, the youngest daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. When she was sixteen she traveled to England so that she could be married to Arthur, the first born son of King Henry VII. They were married in London in the year of 1501. Shortly after the marriage Arthur became very sick and died, leaving Catherine a widow.  A few years later, following the death of Henry VII, Catherine was married to Arthur's younger brother, Henry VIII.  She and Henry then became King and Queen of England.
   During her marriage to Henry VIII Catherine gave birth to only one surviving child, a daughter named Mary. Henry wanted a male heir to the throne, and he had begun to favor another woman who he thought would be able to give him this heir. Because of this he soon began to conspire to have his marriage to Catherine annulled.
When Catherine found out about Henry's plans she actively fought against them. She appeared at court hearings to argue her own case, and even appealed to the Pope in Rome. While she was not able to stop her marriage from being annulled, her involvement of the church in her situation had lasting effects. In order to have his request for an annulment granted Henry was forced to renounce the Pope and become excommunicated from the catholic church. Henry set up a new protestant church of England over which he could keep close control.
   Catherine was made to separate from her daughter Mary, and spent the rest of her life living in remote areas of the country with very little comforts allowed her. She died in January of 1536.
--Carolyn Wood

King Edward VI was born on October 12, 1537 as the only male heir of King Henry VIII after three marriages. Edward's mother, Jane Seymour, died shortly after giving birth. Henry VIII was very protective of his only son, and as a result Edward's early years were lived in seclusion. After Henry married Katherine Parr, his fourth wife, Edward's education was supervised by his loving step-mother. He also became a devout Protestant, despite the fact that his father was loyal to the Roman Catholic Church.

Upon Henry's death, Edward VI became king of England at the age of nine. Because he was too young to rule himself, a small council, led by the Duke of Somerset, ruled in his stead, making Edward VI a puppet king. the young ruler died on July 6, 1553 after suffering from a combination of smallpox and measles. His stepsister, Lady Jane Grey, took over the throne after his death.

Luminarium.org

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland at the young age of nine. He was the only child of Henry VIII and Jane. He was highly educated early on in his life. Due to the fact that he took the throne when he was nine years old many of the decisions were left to John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland. Dudley tried to hold onto power as much as he could, leaving Edward VI as a figurehead of Dudley's wishes. This led to the furthered royal supremacy over the church, the war on Scotland, and the alliance with France. Edward VI died at a young age and left no real influence in England by himself. Most of the things he took credit for were the ideas of the Duke. This shows that many of the decisions of the Tudor Monarchy were not necessarily made by the king. Just as there are a lot of political games played in government today, the monarchs faced the same people who wanted to further their own agendas. Edward VI strikes me as the kind of guy who would let anyone tell him what to do as long as he had the illusion of power and felt as though he was still in charge.

--Jenna Winzenburg

The Tudors were an old English royal dynasty in 1485 to 1603. They descended patrilineally from a Welsh courtier by the name of Owen Tudor. The Tudors emerged from the Wars of the Roses as England's rulers. Edward VI is Henry VIII son. Prince Edward VI was the only male Tudor of his generation; he had two sisters and many girl cousins. It was very important for Edward to stay alive and healthy so that the throne would not be passed on to a woman and there for the Tudor dynasty would then be ended. At the young age of ten, Prince Edward became the king of England. While serving as a king he showed little intelligence and piety, but his full and complete potential of being a king would never be completely realized by the people. He was never much more than a puppet king who had to beg his uncle for pocket money and was also beaten by his tutors. During his time as king, there were many pro-Protestant laws, with his approval, and the product of a new religion, of which even his father could not understand. Only holding the position of king for a mere five years, King Edward sadly died at the age fifteen. They never came to a conclusion of the reasoning for his death but assumed that it was a combination of measles and tuberculosis. When Edward died he left the throne to his cousin Lady Jane Grey, making this one of the most catastrophic tales of Tudor England. I believe that this background information about King Edward the VI just goes to show us how poorly things were run back then. Why would you have a king that is so young and does not have either the knowledge or maturity to be leader? It seem to me that the Monarchs were all about having control and not what was really good for the people of England.

I choose to look up Jane 1st. She was the 2nd to rule after Henry the 8th.She is regarded as one of England's most famous Queens. She is looked at as a martyr for the Protestant faith. In technical terms she only ruled the throne for only 9 days before she was overthrown by Mary 1st. She was used as a political pawn for one man's thirst for political power. That man was John Dudley. He was appointed Lord High Admiral after the title was relinquished to him. He devised a plan to get Edward to denounce his two half sisters right to the throne in his death. Leaving the throne to Jane Grey, his cousin, instead. Edward died after only ruling for 6 years, Jane succeed to the throne. Motions were put into place to secure the throne by John Dudley. In days Mary overthrew the claim and had all involved including the Queen Jane put in the tower to await trial. All involved were executed with Jane the last of those to die. What I find interesting about this story is was all because of her birth line that she ever became involved. She was used I believe against her knowledge and then trapped with nowhere to go. She was however the first woman to ever rule England. She was only 16 years old at the time of her death. I believe the stories of the Tudor Monarch paints a picture of how turbulent the times were. Both political and religious difference set the time as being very unpredictable and dangerous.

When Mary Tudor was born to King Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon, King Henry was proud to show off his new daughter; which was rare for the time period. At this time, King Henry would have been seeking to have a son. King Henry VIII took the crown after his father King Henry VII and vowed that the crown would remain in Tudor hands. So since King Henry VIII and Katharine hadn’t bore a son, King Henry decided to make Mary the first princess of Wales and first woman to hold Royal court at Ludlow.

King Henry met Anne Boleyn and desired to get his marriage with Katharine annulled. Though unsuccessful, the marriage was eventually ended and Katharine of Aragon was stripped of all Queen luxuries and responsibilities. Because of this, Mary developed a strong hatred for Anne Boleyn. King Henry started the Church of England and appoint himself head of the church. He also went on to have many more wives such as Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard (Anne Boleyn’s cousin), and Katharine Parr. With these women, he had two more children including Mary’s half sister Elizabeth (Boleyn) and Prince Edward (Seymour).

After Jane Seymour died, King Henry determined that the line of succession to the throne would be that Prince Edward would be first, then Mary, then Elizabeth. After King Henry’s death, Prince Edward ascended to the throne which he only kept it for seven years. Edward was plagued by multiple illnesses and the Protestant councilors tried all they could to prolong his life with no success. John Dudley, who was the real control of Edward’s short reign as King, tried all he could to stop Mary from ascending to the throne but Mary Tudor took the crown at the late age of thirty-seven. Though her father King Henry’s wives were protestant, Mary stayed a devout Catholic like her mother. Queen Mary refused to accept her father’s title as the head of the church. Queen Mary reigned for five years.

Mary I reined as Queen of England from 1553 to 1558. She was the only child born to the previous king, Henry VIII. This helps to explain that the power of birthright and status based on birth, since it was uncommon for a woman to rule England.

Mary’s father was married many times. Mary’s mother was Catherine of Aragon. When Catherine passed, Henry VIII remarried to Anne Boleyn. As soon as this happened, Mary lost her title as princess since her relation to Anne Boleyn was illegitimate. When her father wed Jane Seymour, she wrote letters to Charles V, her cousin, which stated that the marriage was invalid.

Once Anne Boleyn passed, Henry married Jane Seymour and they birthed a son, Edward. Jane died two weeks later, so Henry had to marry again. Mary’s next stepmother was Anne of Cleaves. She and Mary became great friends, but the marriage between Henry and Anne only lasted for less than a year. Henry’s fifth wife was Kathryn Howard, who was only about eighteen years old. At this time, Mary was about six years older than this stepmother. Kathryn was later executed for adultery.

Mary’s last stepmother, who survived Henry at his death, was Katherine Parr. When Henry died, he left the kingdom to his son Edward. Mary was next in line to take over the throne if Edward would not bare children. If Mary were to die without an heir, Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, would take over the kingdom.

The fact that Henry had so many wives throughout his lifetime illustrates that it was important during this time period for a king to always have a queen and a successor to the throne. If a king did not have a successor to the throne, the kingdom may have fallen to a completely different family. I could see this as one of the biggest fears of a king at this time.

When Edward became king, he supported the Protestant faith. Mary disobeyed his new laws since she was Catholic and quarreled with him. This helps illustrate that Mary was a determined individual with strong beliefs. Edward died after a short reign on the throne.

Many protestant individuals tried to keep Mary from gaining the throne after Edward’s death and Jane Grey took the throne. Later, the Privy council in London realized that they had made a mistake. They declared Mary as the true Queen of England.

One of Mary’s chief priorities was to find a suitable husband. Once again, this demonstrates the importance of restoring the kingdom. Mary married Prince Philip of Spain, who was her cousin’s son. This tells me that intermarriage may not have been that big of a deal during this time period.

During her reign, Mary had Jane Grey and her husband killed for trying to stir up a rebellion. Mary also imprisoned Elizabeth in a tower, in fear that she had something to do with the mischief against the queen. Queen Mary I burnt Protestant believers at the stake. From this, she gained the nickname of Bloody Mary.

Throughout her lifetime, Mary tried to have children but only had two false pregnancies. She gave the crown to her sister, Elizabeth I.

Mary’s reign on the throne helped me to understand the importance of a successor to the throne. I also realized that although most women during this time period were observed as weak, Mary’s power on the throne was strong. She made decisions on her own and had deep, lasting beliefs. She stuck to her beliefs and thrived as a queen.

Queen Mary 1 was later known as Bloody Mary. She was a Catholic and in the process of reforming her country she executed hundreds of people to prove a point. At the start of her reign she was reluctant to kill people and was more inclined to imprison them or let them go. She also had two pregnancies that seemed to be "phantom" pregnancies. She became queen after Edward VI who was her younger brother. She and her sister Elizabeth had disagreements on religious views. After her second false pregnancy she grew ill and died after passing the crown to her half sister.

Mary 1 brought Catholicism back to England for her reign, though she was hated for it. She was a very influential monarch and married Phillip, king of Spain. Also, this shows us a bit of the time period, where religion was a major factor and if you didn't believe in the monarch's religion you were executed. This could brew contempt and a great amount of subtle defiance.

Mary I was the first born child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. When Henry VIII divorced Mary's Mother, she was declared a bastard and was to be called The Lady Mary. upon Henry's death, his only son, Edward, was to be king. Mary hoped that he would return England to Catholicism. He did not. The duke of Northumberland convinced Edward to name Jane Grey the Queen of England upon his death, forcing Mary to run for her life, although she eventually became Queen. Mary got married to Prince Phillip of Spain and had two false pregnancies. She placed her sister, the well-known Elizabeth I, in the Tower, a prison in London. afterwards she sent her to Woodstock. eventually, she was welcomed back to the court and, later, proclaimed heir to the English throne upon Mary's death bed.
--Krystal Caldwell

This website covers the events of Mary's childhood with her father Henry VIII, as well as her transformation into Queen. It includes a gallery, and chronicles, all showing an explanation of where Mary came from and an understanding of her life. The website also goes back to the whole history of the Tudor Monarchs.

Mary I restored the Roman Catholic religion to England and gained her name as Bloody Mary after killing Protestants that would not change faiths. She had multiple phantom pregnancies, meanwhile her husband led England into a war with France. All of this helps us understand how important and closed religion was, as well as how familiar fatality was to them.

Mary Tudor was born to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She was the stepsister of Elizabeth I and Edward I. She was crowned Queen of England in 1553 after the death of Edward I. As a monarch she attempted to bring England back to the Catholic Church, and persecuted many Protestants during this attempt. Because of the persecution she placed on the Protestants she was given the name “Bloody Mary”. She was married to Prince Philip of Spain, but was never able to have children. She died on November 16, 1558. On her deathbed she left the throne to her stepsister, Elizabeth I, and requested that her stepsister maintain the Roman Catholic faith in England. After her death she was buried in Westminster Abby and when her stepsister Elizabeth I died she was buried beside Mary I.

Looking at the life of Mary Tudor one can see what a major issue religion was during this time period. Before Mary I was given the crown there were many plots against her to prevent her from receiving the throne out of fear that she would attempt to bring England back to the Church of Rome. We can also see Mary’s passion for her own religion with her request that Elizabeth I maintain the Catholic faith in England.
--Morgan Brown

Mary I had quite the negative impact during her reign of England. After her brother passed away there was a great struggle for the throne between Mary and Lady Jane Grey. Mary finally ascended the throne on July 19, 1553. During her five year reign Mary returned the nation's religion back to Catholicism much to the citizens' dismay and protest. During the Marian Persecutions she had many Protestant Christians executed and exiled. Her reign is not one of England's finest and she is viewed as one of the worst leaders in British history.
--Ben Martucci

from Elizabethi.org

Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533 to King Henry VIII and his second wife, the infamous Anne Boleyn. After her mother's execution Elizabeth was officially considered to be an illegitimate heir to the throne. During the first eight years of her life Elizabeth was well educated, as was a custom for noble girls of the time. She studied under some of the greatest scholars of the time; including William Grindal and Roger Ascham. The years following her father and younger brother's death were spent under the close eyes of her older sister, Queen Mary I, aka Bloody Mary. During her older sister's reign Elizabeth was sent to the tower of London on suspicions of treason against Queen Mary and then Elizabeth moved around from manor to manor until she finally was able to make residence in her childhood home of Hatfield in Hertfordshire. After Mary's death, Elizabeth finally succeeded the throne on November 17, 2008. During her nearly fifty year reign Elizabeth managed to make England one of the most successful countries during the time.