THE

THE TUDOR
TUDOR
DYNASTY
DYNASTY

THE BEGINNING OF THE DYNASTY

The dynasty started with Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor then
became the king of England. Arthur, Prince of Wales, was the oldest son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He
married Catherine of Aragon. She was the daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile). Arthur
died in 1502 and did not become King. When Henry VII died in 1509, Arthur's brother, Henry VIII married
Catherine and became king.

During her marriage to Henry VIII, Catherine had six children. Only one of these children, Mary, survived.
When Catherine became too old to have any more children, Henry divorced her. He then married a new wife, Anne
Boleyn. Henry and Boleyn also had a daughter, Elizabeth. Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536. Shortly after, Henry
VIII married Jane Seymour of England. She had one son, Edward VI of England. Jane died in 1537. Her death
was caused by medical problems caused by Edward's birth

Henry married three other wives before his death in 1547. Edward, his only living son, became King after
Henry died.

In 1553, Edward became ill. He created the "Devise for Succession.". He said that his cousin, Lady Jane Grey,
would be Queen after he died. Lady Jane was queen for only nine days.
Henry's daughter, Mary I of England, was the next ruler of the Tudor dynasty. Mary was a strong believer in
Catholicism. As Queen, Mary did many things against hundreds of Protestants. Because of all the executions while
she was Queen, she was given the nickname "Bloody Mary."
After Mary's death in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth I of England became queen. Unlike Mary, Elizabeth was a
Protestant. Elizabeth never married or had children. Because she never married, Elizabeth is often called the
"Virgin Queen". She was well liked by most of the people of England.
The dynasty ended when Elizabeth died. She had not named a person to be ruler after her death. When she died,
James I became King of England. He was the son of Elizabeth's cousin,Mary Stuart. This started the Stuart
dynasty

 TheTudor dynastyorHouse of Tudorwas

aroyal houseofWelshorigin,descended
fromRhys ap Tewdwr, the last "king of the
Britons," which ruled theKingdom of
Englandand its realms, including their
ancestralWalesand theLordship of Ireland,
later theKingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until
1603. Its first monarch wasHenry VII, a
descendant through his mother of a legitimised
branch of the English royalHouse of Lancaster.
TheTudor familyrose to power in the wake of
theWars of the Roses, which left the House of
Lancaster, to which the Tudors were aligned,
extinct.

Family tree of the principal members of the houses of Tudor

 Now King, Henry's first concern was to secure

his hold on the throne. On 18 January 1486
atWestminster, he honoured a pledge made
three years earlier and married Elizabeth of
York.
The marriage unified the warring houses of
Lancaster and York and gave his children a
strong claim to the throne. The unification of
the two houses through this marriage is
symbolized by the heraldic emblem of
theTudor rose, a combination of the white rose
of York and the red rose of Lancaster.

 Henry VIIandQueen Elizabethhad several children, four of whom

survived infancy:Arthur, Prince of Wales;Henry, Duke of
Richmond;Margaret, who married James IV of Scotland;
andMary, who marriedLouis XII of France.
One of the objectives of Henry VII's foreign policy was dynastic
security, which is portrayed through the alliance forged with the
marriage of his daughter Margaret to James IV of Scotland and
through the marriage of his eldest son.
Henry VII married his son Arthur toCatherine of Aragon,
cementing an alliance with the Spanish monarchs,Ferdinand II of
AragonandIsabella I of Castile.
One of the main concerns of Henry VII during his reign was the reaccumulation of the funds in the royal treasury.
Through his strict monetary strategy, he was able to leave a
considerable amount of money in the Treasury for his son and
successor,Henry VIII.

HENRY VIII
o After his death, the successor to the throne was his son
Henry VIII.
o The new KingHenry VIIImarriedCatherine of Aragonon 11
June 1509; they were crowned atWestminster Abbeyon 24
June the same year. Catherine was Henry's older brother's
wife. A papal dispensation had to be granted for Henry to
be able to marry Catherine, and the negotiations took
some time. Despite the fact that Henry's father died before
he was married to Catherine, he was determined to marry
her anyway and make sure that everyone knew he
intended on being his own master.
o Unfortunately, Catherine did not bear Henry the sons he
was desperate for. The first daughter was Mary born in
1516. When it became clear to Henry that the Tudor
dynasty was at risk, he wanted to cancel the marriage with
Catherine.
o As a result of his failure to procure the annulment Henry
appointedThomas Cromwellin his place.
o In the end he married Anne Boleyn