Probably the most iconic period in British history, the Tudor dynasty was the beginning of what we call modern Britain! The Tudors, and their immediate successors the Stuarts, brought us ideas, literature, art and architecture, and concepts of Britishness that still pervade our culture today. It was the time of Henry VIII, his six wives, Queen Mary and Elizabeth I, and would lead to the unification of Scotland, England and Wales into one country. Shakespeare, the Mary Rose, religious wars and persecution, the birth of the British Empire; exploration, exploitation and trade, the conquest and settlement of overseas colonies in India and Africa, the discovery and settlement of America, and even the humble potato!
The Tudors – not just Henry VIII
Everyone knows the famous face of Henry VIII, but he was not the first Tudor monarch. Henry came to the throne on the death of his father, Henry VII (Or Henry Tudor), who had won the Kingdom from Richard III, last of the Plantagenets, in 1485. Henry VIII is probably most famous for his six wives, immortalised in the mnemonic “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”. His divorce from his first wife, Catharine of Aragon, was due to her not giving him a son in 20+ years of marriage which he took as sign from God. The Pope refused the divorce, so Henry proclaimed himself head of the Church in England and split entirely from the Pope in Rome. The split plunged the country into a vicious and bloody religious war of persecution that would last for almost 70 years.
Henry married Anne Boleyn even before his previous marriage was dissolved, and Henry and Catherine’s only living child, their daughter Mary, was written out of the succession when Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. However, despite many pregnancies, no male heir survived and soon Henry was looking for a way out of yet another marriage. Anne was accused of adultery and executed, which left Henry free to marry wife no. three, Jane Seymour.
Edward VI – A New Hope
Jane finally gave Henry what he wanted, and they had a son together, Edward. Their happiness would not last long though, as Jane died of an infection a few days after the birth.
Wife no. four was a political marriage to the German Ann of Cleves. In good modern fashion, Henry agreed to the marriage having never met Anne, only having seen her portrait! Upon meeting the good lady, however, Henry realised he should have swiped left. But it was too late and the pair were married, albeit briefly. The marriage was dissolved shortly after and Henry was once again on the market for a new wife.
The next lucky lady was Catherine Howard, who Henry was reputedly besotted with, but she had an affair with a courtier and in traditional fashion, was summarily executed.
Sixth and last, was Katherine Parr who although only married to Henry for the four years until his death in 1547, managed to get the king to reconcile with his two daughters and pave the way for a England’s first Queen since Mathilda in the 1200’s.
Protestant Vs Catholic, Sister Vs Sister
Upon Henry’s death his son Edward VI, at just nine years old, took the throne. However his reign was only to last 6 years and at the age of 15 he died. Naming his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor, he ignored his half sisters’ completely. This obviously would not sit too well with the sisters, and Jane only got to reign for nine days before Mary had her deposed and executed.
Mary took the throne and married Phillip of Spain. She also had her sister Elizabeth imprisoned after rumours that Elizabeth was plotting to overthrow her. However, Mary and Phillip never had any children, and when Mary died after just 5 years on the throne, Elizabeth became queen.
Unsurprisingly for someone who was just 2 years old when her father had executed her mother, Elizabeth never married. She became known as the Virgin Queen and ruled for an astonishing 45 years.
Religious Strife
Henry’s split from the Church of Rome started a period known as the Reformation. Already a movement in Europe following the teachings of Martin Luther (not the American one), this new “Protestantism” challenged the teachings and rituals of the Catholic church. Although it would seem a natural fit for Henry to proclaim himself protestant, he followed a mix of Catholicism and Protestantism until his death.
Henry destroyed hundreds of monasteries, looting and burning their ancient libraries of irreplaceable manuscripts and dismantling the buildings themselves. He was proclaimed Head of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith, and refused to bow to the Pope’s authority. His son, Edward VI, was a devout protestant, and progressed the faith during his short reign. However his daughter Mary was fully catholic, with her Spanish heritage and marriage to Phillip of Spain. She persecuted the new protestants and had many hundreds burned or hanged. Once Elizabeth became Queen, she, as a protestant, reverted again to her father’s preferences and Protestantism finally became the religious tenet of England.
Even today, some Tudor buildings contain secret passages and “priest holes”, where Catholics who practiced their religion in secret for fear of persecution, helped their clergy hide and escape from the authorities.
Tudor School Workshops
Discover the life of a monarch in Tudor times (and maybe about the poor peasants as well, but are they really that important?). Live in a huge palace like Hampton Court where you must learn courtly etiquette if you want to get ahead (or keep yours!). Find out how to dance like a Tudor noble, what you could expect to eat at a feast, and how to fill your leisurely days hunting and hawking. Best not get injured though, because a visit from a Tudor doctor could be more painful than the injury itself! Most importantly, you’re going to need to choose your religion. But choose carefully – it could be a case of life and death…
Elizabethan School Workshops
Meet one of the most famous Queens of England: Elizabeth I! Ruling for over 45 years, she never married and never wanted to, preferring to run things her own way. Discover life in Elizabethan England – the sights, the sounds, the…smells..? Use arsenic to make your skin white! Eat so much sugar your teeth fall out! Avoid the doctor at all costs – he might stick leeches on you. Go to war with the Spanish and take on their powerful Armada. Explore the whole world and start your own Empire, trading in exotic silks, spices and even animals! Send out colonists to that new country they just discovered. America? It must be good – they have potatoes! If after all that you’re still bored, you could go down to South London and see one of those new plays by that chap called Shakespeare – he’s all the rage you know.
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