English Monarchs History
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I want to begin with Shakespeare (even though he was not royal).
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| associated with John Taylor oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1600-1610 On display in Room 4 at the National Portrait Gallery NPG 1 |
William Shakespeare (1564-1616): He is known as a playwright, actor, and poet.
**I will continue to update this page to add more information**
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| King Henry VII by Unknown Netherlandish artist oil on panel, 1505 On display in Room 1 at the National Portrait Gallery NPG 416 |
Henry VII (1457-1509): Henry VII, aka Henry Tudor, took the throne in 1485 and reigned until his death
in 1509. He took the throne after the War of the Roses. In 1486 he married
Elizabeth of York effectively merging the red rose symbol of Lancaster and the
white rose symbol of York and created the red and white rose to symbolize the
Tudors. A few people challenged Henry VII’s right to the throne by pretending
to be the rightful heir, the most notable of which was Perkin Warbeck. Warbeck
said he was the younger prince from the story about the Princes in the Tower.
Warbeck was able to get people abroad to believe his story, including James IV
of Scotland which led Scotland to invade England in 1497. Warbeck was
eventually captured as a fugitive and hanged at Tyburn in 1499. The Scottish
invasion made Henry VII call for a truce with Scotland. In an effort to make
foreign alliances, Henry VII arranged for his daughter, Margaret, to marry
James IV of Scotland and the two countries had a Treaty of Perpetual Peace in
1502. He also arranged for his son, Arthur, to marry Catherine of Aragon of
Spain. While he was king he knew he needed the country to generate revenue from
domestic enterprises, not foreign. Henry succeeded in this goal by raising
taxes on those who were wealthier and by requiring people to pay a fine as a
punishment instead of being put in prison. His wife died in 1503. He died in
1509.
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| after Hans Holbein the Younger oil on copper, probably 17th century, based on a work of 1536 NPG 157 |
Henry VIII (1491-1547).
Henry was the second son of Henry VII, so he was not first in line to
become the next monarch. His older brother, Arthur, had married Catherine of
Aragon to ensure England had an alliance with Spain, but he died making Henry
the next in line. He began his reign at just 12 years old in 1509 after his
father died. Shortly after his coronation Henry VIII ordered the execution of
two of his father’s advisers which made it clear Henry VIII was going to be a
strict ruler. In 1513 Thomas Wolsey, Henry’s adviser, told him he should invade
France, so he did, and he successfully defeated France which was good for his
image. Henry VIII then negotiated for a political marriage between Louis XII of
France and Henry VIII’s sister, Mary, but Louis XII died shortly after the
marriage. Now a widow, Mary married someone in secret which meant there could
not be another political marriage for France and Francis I became king of
France. He never really got the chance to try to claim France. In 1516 Mary
Tudor was born. As a Catholic king, Henry was challenged in 1517 when Martin
Luther revved the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses to a Church
door.
Shortly after, in 1525, Henry still didn’t have an heir to
the throne, and now Catherine was too old to have children. Henry wanted to
divorce Catherine, but in order for that to happen he needed permission from
the Pope. Henry really wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. But Catherine didn’t want a
divorce and her nephew, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, was holding Pop
Clemens III captive after successfully invading Rome. Since Charles V wanted to
help his aunt, and since the Pope didn’t want to agitate Charles V, he refused
to grant the divorce. After waiting for a few years and not getting a divorce,
Anne Boleyn accused Wolsey of treason, so he was stripped of his titles and put
on trial. In 1531 Henry spoke in favor of divorce and claimed the king was in
control of the Church of England and that the king should hold as much power as
Christ allowed, and he divorced Catherine. This upset the clergy, but when they
tried to pull away Henry accused them of treason.
By establishing himself as the head of the Church of England
he effectively broke away from Catholicism. He then aligned himself, and
England, with Protestantism.
Henry was with Anne Boleyn for a while and she gives birth
to Elizabeth (later Elizabeth 1) in 1533, but she was beheaded in 1536 for
treason (an unfounded claim). Anne failed to produce a male heir. In 1536
Parliament declared both Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate. 1536 was also when
Henry began the Dissolution of the Monasteries meaning he disbanded (stopped
them from operating as a group) Catholic Monasteries and other religious
institutions such as convents and friar groups. This took place in England, Wales,
and Ireland. Many monasteries had money and now that he had elected himself the
head of the Church of England he was able to take money/assets from them. Aside
from taking their money, Henry also demolished some of the monasteries and took
the materials which were worth money. Monks and other members were removed from
their housing which led to a rebellion against Henry VIII the Pilgrimage of
Grace. While they eventually disbanded Henry still arrested and executed some
of the rebels, even the monks and priests.
Jane Seymour was his 3rd wife and they had a son,
Edward, in 1537, but she died from complications from childbirth. Edward was
considered a legitimate heir.
Anne of Cleves, daughter to Duke of Cleves, was his 4th
wife married in early 1540, but he got an annulment a few months later. They
had no children together.
Not long after the annulment, Henry married Catherine Howard
in 1540. It was discovered she was having an affair and she was executed for
treason in 1542. They had no children.
His 6th and final wife Catherine Parr, married in
1543, actually outlived Henry VIII. They had no children together, but she is
deemed responsible for Henry making amends with Mary and Elizabeth thereby
making them considered legitimate again and able to take the throne (which
eventually they both do). He died in 1547 with little money in the royal
treasury.
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| King Edward VI by Workshop associated with 'Master John' oil on panel, circa 1547 NPG 5511 |
Edward VI (1537-1553).
Edward was only 9 years old when he gained control over the throne in 1547. Even
though Mary and Elizabeth were older, the throne went to a male heir before a
female heir if the male was able to rule. Like his father, Henry VIII, he was a
Protestant ruler. Since he was so young when he ascended the throne he had a
group of advisers to guide him in his decisions. Among these men was his uncle
on his mother’s side, Edward Seymour, who became the Duke of Somerset. The Duke
of Somerset was also a believer of Protestantism and enforced the practice
among the people of England by ordering the destruction of sacred images in
Churches and making the Book of Common Prayer, by Thomas Cranmer, become the
people’s Bible. These actions also caused a backlash from the people of
England, just as the Dissolution of the Monasteries had under Henry VIII, and
in 1549 John Dudley, later known as the Duke of Northumberland, removed
Edward’s uncle, Duke of Somerset, from a position of power. Eventually the Duke
of Somerset was executed. The Duke of Northumberland advised Edward from 1550
until his death in 1553.
In 1552 Edward was sick many times and, probably because he
knew he was going to die, he created a Devise for Succession which was his
version of a Will and Testament as we know it by today. This document declared
he wished his distant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, to take the throne instead of
either of his half-sisters. Mary was Catholic and he wanted to keep England
Protestant. The Duke of Northumberland was the father-in-law to Lady Jane Grey,
so it is safe to assume he probably nudged Edward VI to choose her. Edward VI’s
rule can be remembered because he was a strict Protestant ruler. He died in
1553.
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| Lady Jane Grey by Unknown artist oil on oak panel, circa 1590-1600 NPG 6804 |
Lady Jane Grey
(1537-1554). The throne went to Lady Jane Grey as Edward VI’s Devise for
Succession stipulated, but there were still people in England who felt the
throne rightfully belonged to Mary because she was the older of the two female
children of Henry VIII and their ability to inherit the throne was reinstated
in 1544. As it turned out, Edward VI, or any monarch, did not have the
unequivocal power to instate the next ruler without Parliament’s approval. Even
though Jane Grey was instated as Queen, ultimately she only ruled for 9 days in
1553. Mary also believed she was the rightful heir to the throne and quickly
gathered an army to challenge Lady Jane Grey. When the Duke of Northumberland
left England to capture Mary, the Privy Council voiced their support for Mary
to be Queen. The Duke of Northumberland was beheaded for treason. Jane Grey and
her husband were locked in the Tower of London until they were each beheaded
for treason in 1554.
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| Queen Mary I by Hans Eworth oil on panel, 1554 NPG 4861 |
Mary I (1516-1558). Mary
I successfully took the throne from Jane Grey in 1553; it helped that the
commons and the nobility disagreed with Edward’s decision. She was already 37
years old and she never had any children. Mary I was Catholic, like her mother,
Catherine of Aragon, which presented a stark contrast from Edward VI. Remember
Henry VIII separated from Roman Catholicism, which allowed him to divorce her
mother, so it is understandable why Mary I would want to remain Catholic. After
the divorce, Mary I lost her status as heir to the throne of England until 1544
when Catherine of Parr convinced Henry to reinstate both her and Elizabeth as
legitimate.
After Edward’s extreme Protestantism, with his destruction
of churches and more, the people of England saw Mary as a representation of the
old churches Edward VI destroyed. Even though eventually she was given the
nickname of “Bloody Mary,” her enforcement of Catholicism in England did not
begin as strict and violent; it was calm. She began by restoring the churches
and encouraging people to transition back to Catholicism.
It was her marriage to Philip II of Spain that both
Catholics and Protestants disliked; Philip II was a strict Catholic, which made
Protestants uneasy. The Catholics feared Philip’s presence would lessen England
by making them fight for the House of Habsburg.*
*Long story short, the House of Habsburg, aka the House of
Austria, refers to Austria & German land, respectively, that Philip II
eventually inherited from his father, Charles V. Spain got ahold of the land
through intermarriage. It is a long and messy history. According to
encyclopedia Britannica, it dates back to about 950.
Among the people who spoke out against the marriage was Sir
Thomas Wyatt; Mary suspected her half-sister, Elizabeth, was part of the
rebellion as well but could not prove it. She still married Philip in 1544 and
later that same year Catholicism was once again deemed the proper religion of
the country. Then Mary I got strict; she deemed practicing Protestants were
heretics and burned them at the stake. She got her nickname from burning
hundreds of Protestants. Some Protestants were viewed as martyrs when they were
killed. A memorable death was that of Thomas Cranmer in 1556 because he has
helped Edward VI enforce strict Protestantism.
Philip II returned to Spain for a while and Mary I fell out
of favor with Parliament. During her reign, the famine worsened which gave the
people more of a reason to dislike her and Philip. In 1558, she got sick; since
she did not have any children she needed to name and heir, and she believed
Elizabeth should rule.
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| by Unknown continental artist oil on panel, circa 1575 On display in Room 2 at the National Portrait Gallery NPG 2082 |
When Mary took the English throne, she wanted a Catholic
rule and she knew Elizabeth was Protestant and worried Elizabeth might cause
problems for her. Indeed Mary had a right to worry since Elizabeth was an
advocate for Protestants while Mary ruled. In fact, in 1554, just one year
after Mary had been crowned queen, Sir Thomas Wyatt led a revolt against her
after the announcement that she would marry Philip II of Spain (another
Catholic), and Elizabeth aided him. As a result, Mary I made sure Elizabeth was
questioned, but it could not be proved she was involved so she was spared.
Elizabeth took the throne in 1558 after Mary I died, and she
was already popular with many people due to her favoring Protestantism. This
was especially promising after Mary’s bloody reign. Elizabeth I hired William
Cecil, Lord Burghley, as one of her counselors while she was on the throne and
the two of them often discussed political happenings. While Parliament, among
others, pressured her to marry as soon as she took the throne, she became known
as the Virgin Queen and never married while she ruled. Eventually, Catholics
would come to see her as a sort of Virgin Mary symbol.
Elizabeth tried and failed to instate a Reformation Bill to
promote a stricter Protestantism shortly after she began her reign. However,
this setback did not stop her. She took the principles of the one bill and
split it into two bills. This way, Elizabeth pursued Protestant values, and she
did not condone the murdering of Catholics. The first of the two bills that
succeeded was The Act of Supremacy, which had similar values to the one drafted
by Henry VIII (but had been repealed while Mary I was on the throne), but
Elizabeth was deemed the Governor of Church of England rather than the Head of
Church of England as Henry had been. The second was The Act of Uniformity
(1558), which required the people of England to attend church on Sunday at the
Church of England, required that those said services use the Protestant version
of the Book of Common Prayer, and dismissed harsh punishments against those who
practiced Catholicism. Later, she allowed practices from the Old Catholic
church.
Meanwhile, over in Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots, ruled Scotland,
but she also wanted England. Mary, Queen of Scots, was Elizabeth’s cousin.
Additionally, her grandmother was Margaret Tutor, Henry VIII’s older sister.
Furthermore, there were people in England in favor of Mary taking over England
(my guess is probably those who favored Mary I to Elizabeth). Elizabeth already
had experience dealing with a strong Catholic presence not only from her sister
Mary I, but also from Mary, Queen of Scots’ mother, Mary of Guise. After
Elizabeth took the throne, she aided the Protestants in France (near Edinburgh)
who Mary of Guise was attempting to suppress and even sent military support to
France to help. Elizabeth’s involvement and the death of Mary of Guise both led
to the Treaty of Edinburgh (1560), which stated, among other stipulations, that
England and France would withdraw from Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, was an
avid supporter of Catholicism and behind many of the Catholics conspiracies to
remove Elizabeth from the throne over the years. In 1566, with Elizabeth I
still not married and Mary, Queen of Scots, attempting to gain the English
throne, Parliament wanted her to name a successor, but Elizabeth I refused for
two main reasons. One, because of the pressure she had felt being second in
line to the throne, and two, because many members of Parliament had been
involved in plots against her in the past. Eventually, Mary, Queen of Scots,
had to flee Scotland in 1568 because she was at the center of several scandals.
Funny enough, she sought shelter from Elizabeth I who provided it through
imprisonment. Mary’s being in England only increased Catholic uprisings.
Any semblance of peace between Protestants and Catholics did
not last; in 1569, in north England, Catholics rose against Protestants once
again. Elizabeth successfully squashed the uprising, but ordered the execution
of hundreds of people as well. In 1570, Pope Pius VI deemed Elizabeth a heretic
and claimed she should not be on the throne, and, therefore, declared her
subjects need not be loyal or obedient towards her. Elizabeth I had a strong
ring of supporters who vouched that if she was forcefully removed they would
not allow the people who had contributed to the incident to benefit in any way.
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