The Tudor dynasty was a series of kings and queens of England. This line of rulers started in 1485 and lasted until 1603.
History[change | change source]
The dynasty started with Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.This battle was called the Battle of Bosworth. 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 Argon. She was the daughter of Ferdinand II of Argon and Isabella I of Castle). 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, who would later become king himself at the age of 9. 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.
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.
Religion in England[change | change source]
During the Tudor period, there were many changes in religion. Henry VIII was a Catholic. When the Pope said he could not divorce Catherine, Henry left Catholicism and named himself as head of the Church. The Church was now Protestant. Edward VI was raised a Protestant. He closed all Catholic churches. Mary I was a strong Catholic. She had been raised in Spain because of her Spanish mother, Catherine of Argon. She shut down the Protestant churches and burnt about 300 people for being Protestant. Those people were later called martyrs. Elizabeth was Protestant. When she became queen, the Anglican Church was started. Since then, religion in England has been much calmer.
Rulers of the Tudor dynasty[change | change source]
This is a list of the rulers of the Tudor dynasty: