A Brief History of the Tudor Dynasty

Made famous by the Showtime series The Tudors, the Tudor Dynasty of England has become one of England's most famous royal families. Founded by Henry VII in the middle of the 15^th Century, the dynasty lasted until 1603, when Elizabeth I's death ended its reign and ushered in the era known as the Stuart Period. This article will briefly explain the reigns of the five monarchs that reigned as kings or queens of England.

Henry VII

Henry VII was, in fact, never intended to be king of England, due to the fact that his claim to royalty was incredibly diluted (his mother was descended from King Edward III through his son John of Gaunt'st third marriage. Theoretically, any descendents from that marriage were supposed to have been barred from the succession.) However, due to the manipulations of his mother Margaret Beaufort and his own ambition, he eventually defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and claimed the throne for himself.

After defeating Richard, he married Richard's niece Elizabeth of York, thus uniting the Lancaster (his side) and York (her side) claims to the throne. In doing so, he also ended the Wars of the Roses. Although he was a good monarch, his reign was marred by the fact that he was notoriously miserly, and he was therefore not loved by his subjects. He was also noted for his unscrupulous behavior toward any potential rivals to the throne, many of whom he executed. Thus, he was not particularly mourned when he died and his second son, also named Henry, ascended the throne as Henry VIII.

Henry VIII

Henry VIII ascended the throne to almost unanimous adulation, since he was seen to be much less miserly than his father. Furthermore, his marriage with Catherine of Aragon would cement his popularity for a time, even though the royal pair only produced one girl child instead of a hoped-for male heir. Unfortunately for Catherine, Henry eventually began his infamous affair with Anne Boleyn, as a result of which he broke with the Catholic Church and founded the Church of England. He would later go on to marry five women after Catherine: Anne Boleyn (whom he had executed for treason and witchcraft, but not before she gave him a daughter, Elizabeth,) Jane Seymour (who gave him a son Edward, then promptly died,) Anne of Cleves (their marriage was annulled for lack of consummation,) Catherine Howard (who was also executed for treason;) and Katherine Parr (to whom he was married when he died.)

Although he remained mostly popular throughout his reign, Henry was not known for his patience. He was ruthless when it came to rebellion, although he could also be merciful. He was also quite learned and artistically talented, and is known to have composed his own music. His marital troubles, however, marred his reign (and his image.) However, he was mourned when he died, especially since his heir, Prince Edward, was still in his minority.

Edward VI

Upon Henry's death, his young son ascended the throne as Edward VI. However, since he was in his minority, he largely ruled through his guardians, which in the beginning included his uncles Edward and Thomas Seymour. However, due to squabbles between them they were both executed, and Edward fell under the influence of another noble, who remained his guardian until Edward died, at a tender age.

Throughout his reign, Edward was manipulated by his guardians. However, he did have some feelings of his own, especially in terms of religion. He was devoutly Protestant, and thus brought England firmly into that religious camp. He also removed both of his sisters from the line of succession, choosing instead to pass the crown to his cousin Lady Jane Grey.

Mary I

Although technically removed from the succession by Edward's law, Mary was very astute, and through a series of military and political moves managed to seize the crown for herself. She summarily had several of her brother's counselors executed, as well as her unfortunate cousin Jane (who has come down to history as the Nine Days Queen, due to the short length of her theoretical reign.)

Despite the fact that she was at first loved by her subjects, it soon became clear that Mary was determined to restore England to Catholicism. To that end, she had several "heretics" burned at the stake, an act which earned her the dark nickname of "Bloody Mary." She further alienated her subjects by marrying her cousin, Philip II of Spain. They were not a terribly happy couple--despite her devotion--and the unfortunate Mary died childless, probably as a result of cancer.

Elizabeth I

After the death of her sister, Elizabeth ascended the throne and became, without a doubt, one of the most well-loved monarchs in all of English history. She soon settled the religious question with a number of compromises and, although not everyone was happy, she nevertheless managed to establish some sort of peace among her subjects. Although she did not marry (despite the fact that many of her most trusted advisors repeatedly urged her to do so,) she nevertheless managed to keep England largely safe from external forces, due to the fact that she used the possibility of marriage to keep the other monarchs of Europe at bay. Although Philip II (her former brother-in-law) attempted to invade as a result of Elizabeth's execution of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, his armada was defeated, and England remained safe.

However, Elizabeth is probably best known for her patronage of the arts. Shakespeare flourished during the latter part of her reign, and such was her influence that her entire reign came to be known as "the Elizabethan Era," one of the richest and most prosperous times in English history. She was also, sadly, well-known for her rather sad personal life. Due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, she was never able to marry the man she loved, one Robert Dudley, and she was latter forced to execute his stepson Essex (another royal favorite,) for treason.

Despite all of this, Elizabeth was well-loved by her subjects, although she had lost some of her prestige toward the end of her reign. However, the unfortunate traits of her successors the Stuarts would lead many in England to remember fondly the days when "Good Queen Bess" ruled over the kingdom.

Clearly, the Tudors were a powerful and influential family, as evidenced by the numerous films that have been devoted to their reigns. However, it is also important to remember that behind every film there is, in the end, a history as well.