So who were  the Tudor Kings and Queens ? The House of Tudor's most significant rulers were undoubtedly Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth 1.

Henry VII
1485-1509



King of England Reign 22 August 1485 – 21 April 1509 Coronation 30 October 1485 Predecessor Richard III Successor Henry VIII Founder of the Tudor dynasty, Henry ensured stability. By marrying elizabeth of York he unified the houses of York and Lancaster.

Henry VIII
1509-1547


Henry was not expected to be king on his birth but the death of his elder brother Arthur aged 16,  left Henry King and  married his brother's widow,Catherine of Aragon.  The couples first child, a boy survived only a month, the pursuit of a male heir dogged Henry's reign.  In contrast to his enduring image of a rather stout gentleman, the young king was handsome , policlitically and militarily ambitious and a keen sportsman.  Henry VIII infamously had six wives (Catherine, marraige anulled; Anne Boleyn, executed; Jane Seymour, died; Anne of Cleves, marriage anulled; Catherine Howard, executred;Catherine Parr, survived).

However for all his marital strains his lasting contribution was his Reformation of the Church, creating the  divsion between English Catholicism and Protestantism.

Before the Reformation , henry was awarded thwe title "defender of the Faith" by the Pope for wruting a pamphlet condemning MartinLuther.




Edward VI 1547-1553



Henry VIII's male heir by Jane Seymor

Henry suffered from ill health throughout his reign and died at age 15, most likey from tuberculosis. His introduction of the Book of Common Prayer provoked an uprising in Cornwall, where little English was spoken at the time.


Mary



Mary (Mary Tudor) 
Reign 19 July 1553 – 17 November 1558 Coronation 1 October 1553 Predecessor Jane (disputed) or Edward VI Co-monarch Philip Successor Elizabeth I Mary, Henry V III's daughter by Catherine of Aragon, was a conscientious Catholic, who died childless and little mourned. Under her reign the last possession in France was lost as Calais fell.


Elizabeth I


Elizabeth I
Reign 17 November 1558 – 24 March 1603 Coronation 15 January 1559; Predecessor Mary I Successor James I Henry VIII King of England


The Virgin Queen

survived the horror of seeing her mother, Anne Boleyn, executed on her father Henry VIII's orders, as well as the uncertainties of her Catholic sister Mary's reign.

An extraordinary woman in an essentially male World she exercised formidable intelligence - she was particularly well educated.  Englands military successes helped her preside over a cultural flowering.  She embodied national strength in the face of such foreign thereats ans the Spanish Armada.

* Early English slave -trading voyages to the Americas bagan during her reign.






Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554) was a claimant to the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland. She was de facto monarch of England for just over a week in 1553. Executed on 12 February 1554, Lady Jane Grey's claimed rule of less than two weeks in July 1553 is the shortest rule of England in the history of the country. Popular history sometimes refers to Lady Jane as "The Nine Days' Queen" Reign 6/10 – 19 July 1553 Predecessor Edward VI Successor Mary I 

Mary Tudor 1553-1558


Edward VI of England Reign 28 January 1547 – 6 July 1553 Coronation 20 February 1547 Predecessor Henry VIII Regent Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1547–1549) John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1549–1553) Successor Lady Jane Grey (disputed) or Mary I