Henry Tudor

Other Events and Attributes:

• Category: English Royalty - House of Tudor

Notes:

Acceded 1509-1547.

Henry VIII
Henry VIII (reigned 1509-47) was 17 when he became king. His first wife, Catherine of Aragon, provided him with a daughter, Mary, but no male heir. In order to divorce her, he broke with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. Five subsequent marriages produced two children, Elizabeth and Edward.
The break with Rome led to the Dissolution of the Monasteries (in which monastic lands and buildings were sold or disposed of, and the monks disbanded or imprisoned) and the beginnings of the English Reformation. Henry's involvement in European politics brought him into conflict with the Scots who were defeated at Solway Moss in 1542 (the Scots had been defeated before at the Battle of Flodden in 1513). Control of Wales was strengthened by the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 which united England and Wales administratively and legally, and gave Wales representation in Parliament. Henry died in 1547, leaving his sickly 10-year-old son to inherit the throne as Edward VI.

Henry married Katherine De Aragon on 11 Jun 1509 in Grey Friars Church, Greenwich, England. Katherine (daughter of Ferdinand V Spain King Of Spain) was born on 15 Dec 1485 in Alcala DE Henares, Madrid, Spain; died between 7 Jan 1535 and 1536 in Kimbolton Castle, Hunts, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Category: English Royalty - House of Tudor

Notes:

Acceded 1485-1509.

Henry VII
Although supported by Lancastrians and Yorkists alienated by Richard III's usurpation, Henry VII's first task was to secure his position. In 1486 he married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, thus uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster. Henry's reign (1485-1509) was troubled by revolts, sometimes involving pretenders (such as Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel) who impersonated Edward V or his brother. In 1485, Henry formed a personal bodyguard from his followers known as the 'Yeomen of the Guard' (the oldest military corps in existence today).

Henry strengthened the power of the monarchy by using traditional methods of government to tighten royal administration and increase revenues (reportedly including a daily examination of accounts). Royal income rose from an annual average of £52,000 to £142,000 by the end of Henry's reign. Little co-operation between King and Parliament was required; during Henry's reign of 24 years, seven Parliaments sat for some ten and a half months.

Henry used dynastic royal marriages to establish his dynasty in England, and help maintain peace. One daughter, Margaret, was married to James IV of Scotland (from whom Mary, Queen of Scots and her son, James VI of Scotland and James I of England, were descended); the other daughter married Louis XII of France. Henry spent money shrewdly and left a full treasury on his death in 1509.

Henry married Elizabeth Plantagenet, Of York between 18 Jan 1485 and 1486 in Westminster Abbey, London, England. Elizabeth (daughter of Edward IV York King Of England and Elizabeth Wydeville) was born between 11 Feb 1465 and 1466 in Westminster Palace, London, England; died between 11 Feb 1502 and 1503 in Tower Of London, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edmund married Margaret Beaufort in 1455 in England. Margaret (daughter of John De Beaufort Duke Of Somerset and Margaret De Beauchamp) was born on 31 May 1443 in Bletsoe, Bedfordshire, England; died on 29 Jun 1509 in Westminster Abbey, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Category: English Royalty - Plantagenet, Yorkist Line

Notes:

Acceded 1461-1483.

Edward IV
Edward IV (reigned 1461-70 and 1471-83) was able to restore order, despite the temporary return to the throne of Henry VI (reigned 1470-71, during which time Edward fled to the Continent in exile) supported by the Earl of Warwick, 'the Kingmaker', who had previously supported Edward and who was killed at the Battle of Barnet in 1471. Edward also made peace with France; by a shrewd display of force to exert pressure, Edward reached a profitable agreement with Louis XI at Picquigny in 1475.

At home, Edward relied heavily on his own personal control in government, reviving the ancient custom of sitting in person 'on the bench' (i.e. in judgement) to enforce justice. He sacked Lancastrian office-holders and used his financial acumen to introduce tight management of royal revenues to reduce the Crown's debt. Building closer relations with the merchant community, he encouraged commercial treaties; he successfully traded in wool on his own account to restore his family's fortunes and enable the King to 'live of his own', paying the costs of the country's administration from the Crown Estates profits and freeing him from dependence on subsidies from Parliament.

Edward rebuilt St George's Chapel at Windsor (possibly seeing it as a mausoleum for the Yorkists, as he was buried there) and a new great hall at Eltham Palace. Edward collected illuminated manuscripts - his is the only intact medieval royal collection to survive (in the British Library) - and patronised the new invention of printing. Edward died in 1483, leaving by his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville a 12-year-old son Edward to succeed him.

Edward married Elizabeth Wydeville on 1 May 1464 in Grafton Regis. Elizabeth (daughter of Richard Wydeville and Jacquetta Luxemborg) was born about 1437 in England; died on 8 Jun 1492 in Bermondsey Abbey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]