Tudor Dynasty: Origins & Owen Tudor

The Beginning of the Tudor Dynasty

• Owen Tudor was an ambitious and handsome Welshman and the founder of the Tudor dynasty.
• Owen Tudor became a servant in King Henry VI's household, serving Henry's mother, Queen Catherine de Valois.
• Catherine de Valois, Henry VI's mother, was drawn to Owen Tudor.
• It's uncertain if Owen Tudor and Catherine de Valois were married.
• Owen Tudor and Catherine de Valois had five children.
• Following Catherine's death in 1437, Owen was imprisoned by barons ruling in the name of Henry VI.
• Upon reaching adulthood, Henry VI released Owen Tudor, favored his stepfather, and brought him back to court.
• Henry VI granted earldoms to Edmund and Jasper Tudor, his stepbrothers and Owen's sons.
• Owen Tudor arranged for Edmund to marry Margaret Beaufort to fortify ties with Henry's family.
• Edmund Tudor died shortly after marrying Margaret Beaufort, who was pregnant at 13 years old at the time.
• Margaret Beaufort gave birth to Henry Tudor at Pembroke Castle.
• Owen Tudor's grandson, Henry Tudor, had a blood connection to the House of Lancaster.
• The Lancaster dynasty's claim to the throne was considered unstable because Henry of Lancaster (Henry Bollingbrook) deposed Richard II in 1399 to become Henry IV.
• The Wars of the Roses led to the crumbling legitimacy of Lancaster reign, as the House of York fought for the throne.
• Owen Tudor supported the Lancastrians.
• In 1461, Owen Tudor was beheaded by Yorkists in Hereford Marketplace for serving the Lancastrians.

Edward IV and the Throne

• Edward of York seized the throne and became Edward IV, and Henry Tudor lived as a refugee for decades.
• Approximately three years later, Edward IV fell in love.
• Around the age of 20, Edward IV was charmed by Elena Butler, an attractive widow of about 25, who wanted to recover her late husband's property.
• Edward secretly contracted to marry Elena Butler.
• In 1464, Elizabeth Woodville, another attractive widow aged 26, used the same tactics on Edward and married him.
• Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner, shocked Europe, where Royal marriages were about alliances of power and property.
• The English nobility was outraged by Edward's bestowal of honors, wealth, and titles on Elizabeth's relatives, the Rivers family.
• Edward lost support and was driven out of England in 1470, and Henry VI regained the throne.
• Edward returned to London, regained the crown with the support of London merchants who were romantically interested in him.
• Following the battles, Henry VI's son was killed, and Henry disappeared into prison and was never seen again.
• Margaret Beaufort and her 15-year-old son, Henry Tudor, were the only remaining members of the House of Lancaster's male line.
• Margaret Beaufort's grandfather was illegitimate, which barred her and her descendants from succession.
• After Edward's death, his secret contract to marry Eleanor Butler emerged.
• Edward IV died at 41, and his 12-year-old son, Edward, was never crowned and was referred to as Edward V.
• Prince Edward was placed in the care of his uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester, later known as the evil King Richard III.
• Queen Elizabeth sent her brother to retrieve Prince Edward from Ludlow and install him before Richard knew.
• Richard discovered the plan, took the Rivers prisoner, and found arms and armor in their baggage.
• The prince was found at Elizabeth's family home in Stoney Stratford, and Richard escorted him to London and installed him in the Tower of London.
• Robert Stillington revealed that Edward's precontract to marry Eleanor Butler made his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville bigamous, which rendered their son illegitimate.
• Parliament believed Stillington because Edward had promoted and trusted him, but he became close to Edward's brother Clarence, who also could not be trusted.
• Edward had Clarence sentenced to death for private execution, and it was reported he had drowned in a barrel of sweet wine.
• After his release, Stillington spent a year locked in the tower before revealing the prior marriage contract after Edward's death.
• With Edward's children considered illegitimate and Clarence disinherited, Richard was the proper successor, which he reluctantly accepted.
• The Tower of London changed from Prince Edward's Palace into his prison, and he was never seen again with his brother.
• Richard was blamed via propaganda for deaths including Clarence, the Princes in the Tower, Henry VI and his son (whose widow he married).
• Richard was a popular figure in the north of England, and was charged with healing the divisions of the Wars of the Roses.
• Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven in Wales on August 1, 1485; Richard was the rightful King with 3,000 men.
• The crown of England was found under a bush at the end of the Battle of Bosworth and placed on Henry Tudor's head.

Henry Tudor's Reign

• Henry understood how to rule England by winning over public opinion.
• Henry Tudor dated his reign from the day before the battle, to avoid being accused of killing a king.
• Henry married Edward IV's daughter to address the question of his legitimacy as a ruler.
• All documents relating to Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville being invalid were destroyed, including the Act of Parliament that made Richard king.
• Richard III became the Saddam Hussein of Tudor propaganda, and destroying him was presented as doing the world a favor.
• Clarence's young son, the Earl of Warwick, went to the Tower of London, barred from succession.
• In Ireland, a priest produced a 10-year-old boy named Lambert Simnel who looked like the Earl of Warwick, and he was crowned in Dublin Cathedral as Edward VI, but the rebels were defeated when the real child earl was put on display.
• Henry forgave Simnel and gave him a job in the Royal Kitchen.
• Perkin Warbeck appeared in 1492, claiming to be Richard Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower.
• Perkin was a constant irritant, raising a rebellion in Cornwall in 1497, crushed by Henry, then Perkin surrendered.
• Henry persuaded Parliament to set up the Court of the Star Chamber, a special Court to try members of the nobility who threatened the crown
• Perkin was imprisoned in the tower along with Clarence's son, the Earl of Warwick, and evidence surfaced that they were plotting a joint escape, which led to their end.
• Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret, had a better claim than Henry, but no woman had ever ruled England in her own right.
• Henry needed a son to inherit the throne, and his eldest was named Arthur, but Arthur died in 1502, leaving his younger brother Henry as the Tudor heir.
• In 1509, the 52-year-old King Henry VII died, and Henry VIII, aged 17, succeeded to the throne.
• Henry VIII was well-educated, good-looking, and had an unchallengeable claim to the crown, so he married Catherine of Aragon, his dead brother's widow.
• The Pope granted a dispensation for the marriage to Catherine of Aragon, but the marriage only produced one child, a girl named Mary.
• Henry was effectively all-powerful because the great Barons of England were gone, and his father had left a large supply of money.
• Parliament consisted of men who depended on royal favor, and the countryside was controlled by justices of the peace who served the government.
• Under the Tudors, The power of the Nevilles was broken, and Middleton Castle was in the hands of the king.
• Henry VII's Chancellor Wolsey built himself a palace with glass windows and chimneys, because no one needed a fortified house under a great king.
• By the end of the 1520s, Catherine stopped getting pregnant at nearly 50 years old, and there was no male heir, just a daughter.
• Henry VIII wanted a male Heir and needed to get rid of his wife and take a younger bride to make a baby boy.
• Anne Boleyn was well installed in Henry's life as his mistress, and Henry married her in 1533.

Henry VIII's Marriages and Religious Reformation

• Londoners were not impressed by Henry VIII's coronation with Anne Boleyn.
• Banners displaying their initials were met with mockery.
• Anne Boleyn's pregnancy was evident, resulting in the birth of Elizabeth.
• Mary was declared illegitimate.
• The legality of Henry's marriage to Catherine needed resolution before his subsequent marriage.
• Cardinal Wolsey was tasked with getting the Pope to annul Henry's first marriage.
• Henry considered himself a theologian, even writing an attack on Luther, for which he was named "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope.
• This title was proudly displayed on English coinage.
• Henry pressured Wolsey to sway the Pope in his favor.
• Wolsey's failure led to his dismissal.
• Henry declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church in England to sidestep the Pope's authority.

Establishing Royal Supremacy

• Achieving total Royal Supremacy required a shift in power dynamics.
• Parliament voiced the nation's will, aligning it with Henry's desires.
• Dissatisfaction existed regarding the Church's vast wealth and power.
• Many favored ending Church taxes paid to Rome.
• Some belived in the Pope's divine authority, while merchants feared papal excommunication affecting trade.
• Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer aided Henry VIII in passing necessary acts.
• By the end of 1534, Henry VIII legally became the supreme ruler of England.
• Monasteries and nunneries were closed down, impacting less than 10,000 individuals, though many more were dependent on them
• Armed rebellions in areas such as Lincolnshire and Northumberland were crushed.
• Monastic lands were sold to generate revenue, increase Henry's popularity, and create loyal gentry.
• The historic power struggle between the papacy and monarchy was decisively settled by Henry VIII.
• Thomas Becket, a defender of church power, was declared no saint, tried for treason, and his remains were destroyed.

Anne Boleyn's Downfall and Further Marriages

• Catherine of Aragon's death in 1536 eliminated a problem for Henry VIII.
• Henry and Anne Boleyn celebrated, but Anne was accused of adultery four months later.
• Courtiers formed factions, endangering Anne, leading to organized campaigns against her.
• Henry's fury led to a biased trial for Anne and her alleged lovers.
• Anne's inability to produce a male heir led to her imprisonment in the Tower of London.
• After 18 days, Anne Boleyn was beheaded.
• Henry married Jane Seymour, who bore him a son, Edward, but died in childbirth.
• Henry ruled England as head of both the church and state, judging heresy and crime, and controlling both spiritual and earthly matters.
• Doubting the king's position as head of the church was considered treason, as seen with Thomas More's imprisonment and execution.
• Henry's reign was seen as terrifying, magnificent, generous, and dangerous, and many regarded him as England's best ruler.

Foreign Affairs and Anne of Cleves

• By 1539, the Pope considered action against Henry.
• Aligning with Protestant princes in Germany, he married Anne of Cleves for political reasons.
• The marriage was short-lived due to mutual disinterest and Henry's dissatisfaction with Anne.
• Anne's pre-contract of marriage was used as grounds for annulment.
• Thomas Cromwell was executed for arranging the marriage.
• Catherine Howard became Henry's next wife as a lady-in-waiting, but was later beheaded for adultery.
• Henry then married Catherine Parr, who worked to moderate his temper, reconcile him with his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.

Edward VI's Reign and Succession Crisis

• Henry's death in 1547 left his young son Edward as king.
• Edward VI was only nine, and was educated as a Renaissance prince and a Protestant.
• Due to Edward's age, his government was controlled by a council.
• Edward was precocious and interested in theology, but indifferent to others, and signed death warrants.
• Edward died in 1553 at 15, naming Lady Jane Grey as his successor.
• John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, influenced Edward to bypass his sisters Mary and Elizabeth for the throne.
• Jane Grey, Dudley's daughter-in-law, was chosen for being Protestant.
• Jane Grey was unaware of the plans.
• She fainted upon learning she was to be queen.

Mary I's Reign and Religious Persecution

• Mary was viewed as the rightful heir throughout Henry's disownment of her.
• She championed Catholic faith and became a symbol of resistance to tyranny.
• Mary's public appearances were met with support and celebration.
• After nine days as queen, Jane Grey was arrested.
• Jane's father's rebellion against Mary led to Jane's execution.
• Mary's reign became tyrannical, marked by religious persecution.
• She married King Philip II of Spain, which was unpopular in England.
• 277 people were burned alive for their religious beliefs.
• Mary, unable to have children, died in 1558, becoming the most detested ruler.

Elizabeth I's Accession and Challenges

• Elizabeth succeeded Mary as queen of England, France, and Ireland, and head of the Church of England and Ireland.
• England had lost its last territory in France, becoming an island nation.
• Elizabeth chose not to marry, to avoid foreign influence or courtly opportunism.
• The Tudor monarchy's focus on male heirs shifted as Elizabeth remained childless.
• Elizabeth survived Mary's reign by avoiding associations with plots or religious/political attachments.
• Upon ascending the throne, she faced vacant bishoprics, a depleted treasury, and few relatives.
• Her heir was Mary Queen of Scots, a Roman Catholic.
• Elizabeth's religious stance was unclear.
• Elizabeth insisted on recognition as head of the church.
• Only the Bishop of Carlisle crowned her, but she received popular acclamation.
• Elizabeth allowed religious diversity as long as subjects were loyal.
• Elizabeth avoided scandal and scrutiny, and even her laundresses were bribed to monitor her menstrual cycle.

Elizabeth's Reign

• Elizabeth created a splendid image and held pageants, fostering stability.
• She partnered with William Cecil and flirted with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
• Elizabeth cultivated adoration through poetry, paintings, and theater, becoming Gloriana.
• The main threat was Catholic plots to replace her with Mary Queen of Scots.
• Elizabeth manipulated Mary and Henry Stewart, Earl of Darnley, into vulnerable positions.
• She encouraged Darnley to visit Mary, leading to their marriage despite Elizabeth's disapproval.
• Darnley's weakness and jealousy led to the murder of Mary's advisor, Rizzio.
• Mary was complicit in the plot to murder Darnley, which led to her fleeing to England and seeking Elizabeth's help.
• Elizabeth debated executing Mary but feared setting a precedent for killing monarchs.
• Mary and Darnley's son, James, became Elizabeth's heir, which she confirmed in writing.

Governance, and the Spanish Armada

• Elizabeth was wary of Parliament, protecting royal authority and avoiding taxes.
• She refused to refer to England as a state.
• She viewed the Dutch Republic as an unfortunate novelty, but an ally against Spain.
• Elizabeth's greatest moment was defeating the Spanish Armada.
• Philip II assembled a fleet to invade England and restore Catholicism.
• The English and Dutch fleets outmaneuvered the Armada, preventing a landing and forcing it to sail home.
• Storms further damaged the Armada.
• Elizabeth did not pay her sailors until they came ashore.
• Elizabeth died in 1603 and was succeeded by James Stuart, already the ruler of Scotland.

Explore the origins of the Tudor dynasty with Owen Tudor, a Welshman who served in the household of King Henry VI and became connected to Queen Catherine de Valois. They had five children, and Henry VI later favored Owen's sons Edmund and Jasper Tudor, granting them earldoms.