House of Tudor Quiz

The House of Tudor

• The House of Tudor was a dynasty of Welsh and English origin that ruled England from 1485 to 1603.
• The Tudors descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of Valois.

The Tudor Monarchs

• There were five Tudor monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
• They ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including Wales and the Lordship of Ireland (later the Kingdom of Ireland) for 118 years.

The Rise of the Tudors

• The Tudors rose to power after the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487), which left the main House of Lancaster extinct in the male line.
• Henry VII, a descendant of Edward III, succeeded in presenting himself as a candidate for traditional Lancastrian supporters and discontented supporters of the House of York.

Henry VII and the Union of Lancaster and York

• Henry VII reinforced his position by fulfilling his vow to marry Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV and heiress of the Yorkist claim to the throne.
• This symbolically united the former warring factions of Lancaster and York under the new dynasty, represented by the Tudor rose.

The Expansion of Tudor Power

• The Tudors extended their power beyond modern England, achieving the full union of England and the Principality of Wales in 1542.
• They successfully asserted English authority over the Kingdom of Ireland, proclaimed by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542.
• They also maintained the nominal English claim to the Kingdom of France.

Henry VIII and the English Reformation

• Henry VIII was the only son of Henry VII to live to the age of maturity and proved a dominant ruler.
• Issues around royal succession, including marriage and the succession rights of women, became major political themes during the Tudor era.
• The English Reformation in religion also had a significant impact on the future of the Crown.

Elizabeth I and the Succession Crisis

• Elizabeth I was the longest-serving Tudor monarch, ruling for 44 years.
• Her reign, known as the Elizabethan Era, provided a period of stability after the short, troubled reigns of her siblings.
• When Elizabeth I died childless, her cousin of the Scottish House of Stuart succeeded her, in the Union of the Crowns of 24 March 1603.

The Ascent to the Throne

• The Tudors descended from King Edward III on Henry VII's mother's side through John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset.
• The Beauforts were initially illegitimate but were later retroactively declared legitimate by a papal bull and an Act of Parliament.
• The Beauforts remained closely allied with the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses.

Family Connections and the Wars of the Roses

• Henry Tudor's wife, Elizabeth of York, had the strongest claim to the crown as de facto heiress of the House of York.
• Henry Tudor's army defeated the last Yorkist king, Richard III, in the field of battle, and he took the crown by right of conquest.
• Henry VII and his son, Henry VIII, eliminated other claimants to the throne, including Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, and her son Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu.