SCHOOL 1276 WITH PROFOUND
THOROUGH OF THE ENGLISH LANGUGE
OF THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT
OF MOSCOW
THE ESSAY
«THE HOUSE OF TUDOR»
SERGEY SANOVICH
10 B
2002
CONTENTS:
1.Contents………………………………………………………………….….….……….1
2.Introduction……………………………………………………………….….…………2
3.King Henry VII……………………………………………………………...….……2-3
4.King Henry VIII…………………………………………………………….….……3-4
5.King Edward VI……………………………………………………………..………4-5
6.Lady Jane Grey……………………………………………………………...………5-8
7.Queen Mary I……………………………………………………………...…..……8-11
8.Queen Elizabeth I………………………………………………………..….....…11-15
9.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….……15
10.The list of literature………………………………………………….…..…………16
INTRODUCTION
I decided to write this essay, because, I am really interested in English
history. The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-
known figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in
ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to
found the highly successful Tudor house. He was succeeded by Henry VIII,
who is famous for his six wives. This dynasty ruled in Britain for 118
eventful years.
Henry VIII was followed to the throne by his children Edward VI, Mary I,
and Elizabeth I. (Another Tudor descendant, Jane Grey, was put on the
throne after Edward VI's death but was overthrown after only nine days.)
They increased the influence of the monarchy, established the Church of
England, and made England a world power.
When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the Tudor dynasty ended. But the Stuarts,
who succeeded the Tudors, were descended from Owen Tudor. Even the modern
royal Windsor family can trace its ancestry back to the handsome Welsh
squire who married Queen Catherine of Valois.
KING HENRY VII
The founding of dynasty
The founder of the royal Tudor dynasty was Henry VII's grandfather Owen
Tudor, a well-born Welsh man who served as a squire of the body to
England's King Henry V. The king died in 1422 and some years later his
widow, Catherine of Valois, is said to have married the handsome Tudor,
although it is possible they were never legally married.
Henry V was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI. The new king (who became
insane as an adult) was little more than a pawn in the so-called Wars of
the Roses, a series of power struggles between the ruling House of
Lancaster and the rival House of York. Owen Tudor was a staunch supporter
of the king. In 1461 Tudor led an army into battle against Yorkists forces
at Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire. The Yorkist side won; Tudor was
killed; Henry VI lost his throne and the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV,
became king.
Henry Tudor
Owen's son Edmund had married Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from
King Edward III's son John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. Edmund died
while Margaret was pregnant with their first child, Henry, who was born on
January 28, 1457 at Pembroke Castle in Wales. At first Henry was kept
hidden in Wales by his uncle, Jasper Tudor. In 1471 Henry VI died - he may
have been murdered - in the Tower of London, and Henry Tudor became the
Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Fearing for his nephew's safety, Jasper
Tudor smuggled him to Brittany (in France).
In 1483 Edward IV died suddenly and his young sons, Edward V and Richard,
"disappeared" in the Tower of London. Their uncle, who had imprisoned the
boys, swiftly crowned himself Richard III. Not surprisingly, he was an
unpopular king. In 1485 Henry Tudor returned to Wales, raised an army,
invaded England, and defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field.
Richard died in the battle, and Henry Tudor became Henry VII, the first
Tudor king.
In 1486 Henry married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York, uniting the
houses of Lancaster and York and ending the Wars of the Roses (although
Henry did have to deal with Yorkist uprisings early in his reign).
An Elizabethan writer, Sir Francis Bacon, said that Henry VII was not an
indulgent husband because "his aversion to the House of York was so
predominant in him as it found place not only in his wars and councils but
in his chamber and bed." Despite this supposed aversion, Henry and
Elizabeth managed to have eight children. The first child, Arthur, died in
his teens. Less than a year later Elizabeth died giving birth to her last
child, who also died. Two other children had died young, so Henry VII was
left with just three offspring: Margaret, who was already the queen of
Scotland; Henry, the future king of England; and Mary, a future queen of
France.
In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis. He had brought law and order to
England after years of chaos, and made the country important in the eyes of
the world. He is not, however, the Tudor king best remembered today. That
honour belongs to his infamous successor, the much-married Henry VIII.
KING HENRY VIII
Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491. His father and mother, Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York, were loving parents, although they saw little of their
children. Henry, their second son, was styled the Duke of York. He had his
own servants and minstrels, and a fool named John Goose. He even had a
whipping boy who was punished when Henry did something wrong.
Henry VII loved entertainers, and the court attracted acrobats, jesters,
magicians and musicians. Prince Henry enjoyed music and grew up to be an
accomplished musician (although he did not write "Greensleeves," as legend
suggests). At the age of 10 he could play many instruments, including the
fife, harp, viola and drums.
Henry's older brother Arthur married a Spanish princess, Catherine of
Aragon, when he was fifteen. Prince Arthur danced at his wedding and seemed
to be in good health, but within a few months he was dead. Some historians
think Arthur had tuberculosis.
Young Henry was now heir to the throne. He was guarded at all times and
allowed to see few people. Henry was a very tall, athletic, handsome
teenager. He kept his exuberant personality under control on public
occasions because he feared his father's temper. He received little
training for his future role as king, and would rely heavily on his
counsellors in the early years of his reign.
In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis and his son became King Henry VIII.
He was 17.
Although most people today think of Henry VIII as a fat tyrant, in his
youth he was admired for his intelligence, good looks, good nature and
athletic ability. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was "one of the
best men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable,
courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons."
But of course, Henry is remembered today for just one thing - well, six
things. Six wives, to be exact. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, Anne
Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr.
EDWARD VI
The King’s son
Edward VI was born on October 12, 1537. His parents were England's King
Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife. For more than a quarter
century Henry had desperately wanted a son, and Edward's birth caused great
rejoicing. But Queen Jane soon fell ill with childbed fever, and on October
24 she died.
Until the age of six Edward was raised by his nurse, Mother Jack, and other
servants. During that time Henry took two wives in quick succession, but
both marriages ended badly; Anne of Cleves was discarded because the king
found her ugly, and Katherine Howard was executed for adultery. In 1543
Henry married Katherine Parr, who became a loving stepmother to Edward and
his older half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. She was a highly learned woman
who personally oversaw Prince Edward's education.
Edward's tutors taught him geography, government, history, French, German,
Greek, and Latin. He was also given lessons in etiquette, fencing,
horseback riding, music and other gentlemanly pursuits. Perhaps most
important to Edward was his study of the Scriptures. He became a devout
Protestant even though his father, who had severed England's connection to
the Roman Catholic Church, remained conservative and mostly Catholic in his
beliefs.
Although Edward was serious and studious, at times he displayed a savage
temper. According to one account, he once tore a living falcon into four
pieces.
The Boy King
Somerset's brother, Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, was jealous of
Somerset and schemed to put himself in power. The admiral was arrested and
charged with treason. Somerset hesitated to sign his brother's death
warrant, so Edward gave the council permission to have his uncle beheaded.
Somerset himself later fell from the king's favour and lost his role as
Protector. The duke of Northumberland took control of the king and council,
and eventually Somerset, like his brother, was arrested and charged with
treason. Under pressure from Northumberland, fourteen-year-old Edward
signed Somerset's death warrant. Somerset was executed in 1552.
By this time Edward had completed his education and was participating in
council meetings. It was decided that the king would take charge of the
country at age sixteen. This was bad news for his sister Mary an ardent
Catholic who refused to cooperate with Edward's religious reforms. However,
Edward got along well with his other sister, Elizabeth, a moderate
Protestant.
Edward suffered bouts of measles and smallpox in April 1552, and from that
time his health declined. By the next spring it was obvious that the king
was dying of consumption (tuberculosis). His father's will had specified
that Mary should become queen if Edward died without children, but
Northumberland had different ideas. He persuaded Edward to name the
Protestant Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Lady Jane was the granddaughter
of Henry VIII's sister Mary; she was also Northumberland's daughter-in-law,
and through her Northumberland hoped to rule England.
On July 6, 1553 Edward whispered his last prayer and died. He was fifteen
years old. He would be succeeded -- briefly -- by the unfortunate Lady
Jane.
JANE GREY
The unhappy childhood
Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537, just two days before King Edward VI, and
may have been his friend in childhood. Her father was Henry Grey, the
marquis of Dorset (later the duke of Suffolk). Her mother was Frances
Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII. At that time, Frances Brandon was third in
the line of succession to the throne. Jane had two younger sisters,
Katherine and Mary.
Jane's parents were, in her words, "sharp and severe" to her. She once told
a visitor to her family home, Bradgate Manor, that her mother and father
expected to do everything "as perfectly as God made the world, or else I am
sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened . . . that I think myself in hell."
She said that her parents pinched her and abused her in other ways she
would not name out of respect for them.
She found refuge in her studies, which she enjoyed so much that she cried
when her lessons were over for the day. "Whatsoever I do else, but
learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking," she said.
Jane's parents had big dreams for their intellectual eldest daughter. They
hoped she would marry her cousin Edward and thus become queen of England.
When Jane was nine, her parents sent her to live with Henry VIII's widow,
Katherine Parr, and Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Jane was happy
with the Seymours, but Katherine soon died and Thomas Seymour was arrested,
forcing Jane to return to her parents.
Once, on a visit to Henry VIII's daughter Mary, Jane openly disparaged
Mary's Catholic beliefs. Although Mary was hurt, she later sent Jane a
pretty velvet dress to wear to court. Jane, who thought fine clothes were
sinful, tried to refuse the gift, saying it would be "a shame to follow my
Lady Mary against God's word," but her parents insisted she wear it in the
hope that it would impress the king. Many people expected Edward to marry
Jane, but he wanted to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, or some other foreign
princess.
By the time Jane was 15, her parents had abandoned their dream of marrying
her to King Edward. Jane now believed that she was betrothed to the duke of
Somerset's son, Lord Hertford. She was stunned when her parents informed
her that she was instead to marry Guildford Dudley, the youngest son of the
duke of Northumberland. Guildford was a handsome young man, one year Jane's
senior, but it seems Jane didn't like him very much. She refused to marry
him, and went on refusing until her mother literally beat her into
submission.
The unwanted Crown
Jane married Guildford Dudley in May of 1553. The marriage was consummated
the following month at Northumberland's command, but the couple continued
to live apart. Jane's new mother-in-law visited her on July 3 and told her,
"His Majesty hath made you heir to his realm." Jane said later that this
unexpected news "greatly disturbed" her.
Three days later the king died. Northumberland kept the death secret for
several days to prevent Edward's sister Mary from claiming the crown. But
on July 9 Mary, who was in Norfolk, heard the news and proclaimed herself
queen. On the same day Jane was taken to Northumberland's house and led to
a throne. Everyone bowed or curtsied to her. Realizing what was happening,
Jane began to shake. Northumberland made a speech announcing that Jane was
the new queen, at which Jane fell on the floor in a brief faint. No one
came to her assistance and she remained on the floor, sobbing.
Finally she got to her feet and announced, "The crown is not my right, and
pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir."
When her parents, husband, and father-in-law remonstrated with her, Jane
dropped to her knees and prayed for guidance. She asked God to give her
"such spirit and grace that I may govern to Thy glory and service, and to
the advantage of the realm." Then she took her seat on the throne and
allowed those present to kiss her hand and swear their allegiance to her.
The next day Jane made her state entry into London. Most people felt that
Mary was the rightful heir to the throne, and very few cheers greeted Jane.
She was taken to the Tower of London, as was traditional. She protested
when the Lord High Treasurer brought her the crown, but after a while she
agreed to wear it. When the treasurer said that another crown would be made
for her husband, Jane was displeased. Despite Guildford's rage and tears,
she insisted that she would not permit him to be king.
For a few days Northumberland stayed close to Jane, bringing her documents
to sign and generally telling her what to do. Despite Jane's objection to
making Guildford king, Northumberland announced that both she and her
husband would be crowned in two weeks. Then Northumberland left with an
army to capture Mary, who was marching toward London with an army of her
own. While he was gone the nervous royal council decided to proclaim Mary
the rightful queen. The proclamation was made on July 19. The people of
London were jubilant. Determined to save himself, Jane's father signed the
proclamation making Mary queen, then went to his daughter's apartments and
tore down her canopy of estate, telling her she was no longer queen.
"Out of obedience to you and my mother I have grievously sinned," Jane said
quietly. "Now I willingly relinquish the crown. May I not go home? "Her
father left without answering her.
The bitterness of death
Jane remained in the Tower, where she and Guildford soon became prisoners.
Her father and Northumberland were also arrested and brought back to the
tower. Henry Grey was released after a few days. He and Frances did not
write to Jane or try to save her life. Although Northumberland hastily
converted to Catholicism and spoke of his desire to live and kiss Mary's
feet, he was executed in August.
On November 13 Jane and Guildford were tried and sentenced to death. Jane
wasn't worried, however, because she had been told that the queen would
pardon her. Then, in February of 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt raised a revolt
against Mary. He was quickly arrested, but his rebellion hardened Mary's
heart against her enemies. She signed Jane and Guildford's death warrants.
When Jane heard the news she said, "I am ready and glad to end my woeful
days." The queen offered to reprieve Jane if she would convert to the
Catholic faith, but Jane refused.
Jane's father had supported the rebels, and he too was sentenced to death.
Now he wrote to Jane and asked for her forgiveness. She wrote back,
"Although it hath pleased God to hasten my death by you, by whom my life
should rather have been lengthened, yet can I patiently take it, that I
yield God more hearty thanks for shortening my woeful days."
Queen Mary granted Guildford permission to meet with Jane one last time,
but Jane refused to see her husband, saying that they would meet in a
better place, where friendships were happy.
On February 11 Jane watched from a window as her husband walked to Tower
Hill to be executed; later she saw his headless body being brought back to
the Tower, at which she cried, "Oh Guildford! Guildford! Oh, the bitterness
of death!"
About an hour later, Jane too made the walk to Tower Hill. On the scaffold
she knelt and recited the 51st Psalm, then blindfolded herself and asked
the executioner to kill her quickly. Unable to find the block, she
exclaimed, "What shall I do? Where is it?" A bystander helped her to the
block. She put her head on it and said, "Lord, into Thy hands I commend my
spirit." The executioner killer her with one blow and held up her head,
saying, "So perish all the queen's enemies! Behold the head of a traitor!"
MARY I
From Princess to bastard
"Bloody Mary" Tudor was born on February 18, 1516. She was the only
surviving child of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry
doted on Princess Mary when she was little, calling her "the greatest pearl
in the kingdom." The princess received an excellent education, and was
carefully sheltered.
In 1522 Henry arranged Mary's betrothal to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Charles was an adult, and Mary was just six years old; the marriage would
take place when she was twelve. Mary had met Charles and liked the idea of
marrying him. But in 1525 Charles broke off the engagement so that he could
marry Princess Isabella of Portugal. That same year Henry sent Princess
Mary to live in Wales, as was traditional for the king's heir.
The year 1527 started off well for Princess Mary. She returned to live at
her father's court and celebrated her engagement to a son of the king of
France. But Henry VIII's attitude toward Mary and her mother had started to
change. He had decided that God disapproved of his marriage to Catherine;
why else had the queen failed to produce healthy male children? And he was
in love with the woman who was to become his second wife: Anne Boleyn.
Soon Mary learned that Henry wanted to annul his marriage to her mother.
For this, the king needed the pope's permission. While he waited, he
continued to treat Catherine as his queen and Mary as his heir. But Mary's
legitimacy was now in doubt, making her less valuable on the marriage
market. The French engagement was broken off and no other match was
arranged for her, although her father's advisors considered marrying her to
King Henry's illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. (Fitzroy married someone
else. He died young and without heirs.)
Henry grew increasingly angry with Catherine for resisting his attempt to
end their marriage. Finally, in 1531, he sent Catherine away from court.
After being shuffled between various castles and palaces, the queen ended
up a prisoner at Kimbolton Castle, near Huntingdon. Realizing that the pope
would never grant his divorce, Henry split from the Catholic church,
established the Church of England, had his marriage declared invalid, and
married Anne Boleyn. Anne gave birth to a daughter, Princess Elizabeth, in
1533.
Mary was now officially a bastard, called "the lady Mary," but, like her
mother, she refused to accept her change in status. Henry was infuriated by
his daughter's defiance and threatened to have her executed if she did not
stop referring to herself as a princess. When Mary was eighteen, her
household was disbanded and she was sent to live in Princess Elizabeth's
household, where she was treated badly. Henry refused to see her, but he
was not completely indifferent to Mary. Once, glimpsing her at a window, he
nodded and touched his hat politely.
Catherine and Mary were not permitted to visit each other, and Catherine
died in 1536 without seeing her daughter again. Now Mary was alone. Four
months after Catherine's death, however, Mary's greatest enemy toppled from
power when Anne Boleyn was arrested on false charges of adultery and
executed. Anne had hated Mary and stated that she wanted her dead. With
Anne gone, Henry treated his eldest daughter somewhat more kindly. His
third, fourth, and sixth wives were all well-disposed toward Mary. (She got
along less well with his teenaged fifth wife, Katherine Howard.) Although
she never regained her former status or her father's affection, she was
once again part of the royal family.
At first she got along well with the king's other children. As Elizabeth
and Edward grew up, however, up their Protestant views put them at odds
with Mary, who never swayed from her devout Catholicism. After Henry's
death in 1547, Mary's nine-year-old half-brother became King Edward VI. As
king, Edward scolded and bullied Mary about her beliefs. On his deathbed he
disinherited her in favor of their teenaged cousin Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey did not want to be queen, but that didn't stop her father
and his supporters from trying to seize the throne for her after King
Edward's death in 1553. Few people supported "Queen Jane," however. In the
end even Jane's ambitious father abandoned her, and Mary was proclaimed
queen. After a lifetime of sorrow and danger, the 37-year-old Mary Tudor
was now the most powerful person in England.
The unhappy Queen
Soon after her accession, Mary began considering the possibility of
marrying Prince Philip of Spain, the son of her former fiancé, Emperor
Charles V. It worried her that Philip was 11 years her junior because he
was "likely to be disposed to be amorous, and such is not my desire, not at
my time of life, and never having harbored thoughts of love." With
difficulty the emperor's envoy convinced her that Philip was a stable,
mature adult who would help protect her kingdom.
Mary's subjects were alarmed to learn of her engagement to the Spanish
prince, fearing that England would become part of Spain. The queen,
however, had no intention of turning the country over to Philip. He arrived
in England on July 20, 1554, and met Mary for the first time on July 23.
Mary liked Philip from the start, and he treated her kindly, although he
probably found her unattractive. (The men who had accompanied him to
England later described Mary as old, badly dressed, and almost toothless.)
The wedding took place two days later. Two months later, Mary's doctors
told her that she was pregnant.
In December a law was passed that allowed bishops of the Church of England
to convict heretics and sentence them to death by burning. Almost 300
people were burned alive during Mary's reign with Mary's full approval,
earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary."
By the summer of 1555 it became obvious that Mary was no longer pregnant,
if she had ever been. Mary was bitterly disappointed. Philip left England
that August, promising Mary that he would soon return. Mary missed him
desperately. Philip didn't return to England until March of 1557. During
his absence he had become the king of Spain. After a few months in England
he left to go to war; Mary never saw him again. She became depressed and
paranoid. Tortured by loneliness and unhappiness, Queen Mary fell ill. She
died on November 17, 1558 and was succeeded by her half-sister, Queen
Elizabeth I.
ELISABETH I
The unwanted Princess
Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533 at Greenwich Palace near London.
Her father was England's King Henry VIII; her mother was the king's second
wife, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth had an older half-sister, Mary, who was the
daughter of the king's first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
King Henry had moved heaven and earth to marry Anne Boleyn. He had parted
from the Catholic Church, established the Church of England, and annulled
his twenty-four year marriage to Queen Catherine - partly because he loved
Anne, and partly because he wanted the male heir Catherine could not give
him. Henry and Anne were convinced that their first child would be a boy.
The new queen even had a document drawn up ahead of time that announced the
birth of a prince. When the prince turned out to be a princess, her parents
were dismayed.
Over the next few years Anne had three miscarriages, and Henry - who had
become disenchanted with her even before Elizabeth's birth - decided to be
rid of her. In 1536 he had Anne arrested on false charges of adultery. The
Archbishop of Canterbury bowed to the king's will by declaring that Henry's
marriage to Anne had never been valid. Like her half-sister Mary, two-year-
old Elizabeth was now considered illegitimate. Anne was executed, and two
weeks later the king married Jane Seymour.
In 1537 Queen Jane died after giving birth to a son, Edward. Elizabeth and
Mary participated in his christening ceremony. As Edward grew older, he and
Elizabeth became close; although they lived in separate households, they
wrote to each other often.
When Elizabeth was four, Katherine Champernowne became her governess. The
well-educated Champernowne - known as Kat Ashley after her marriage in 1545
- began teaching Elizabeth astronomy, geography, history, math, French,
Flemish, Italian, Spanish, and other subjects. Elizabeth was an excellent
student. Her tutor Roger Ascham later wrote, "She talks French and Italian
as well as she does English. When she writes Greek and Latin, nothing is
more beautiful than her handwriting."
In 1540 Elizabeth's father married Anne of Cleves. Repelled by what he
perceived as his bride's ugliness, Henry quickly had the marriage annulled
and instead married Anne Boleyn's first cousin Katherine Howard. Katherine
was very young - about fifteen - and something of a featherbrain, but she
was kind to Elizabeth, who was surely appalled when, in a repetition of the
past, the queen was arrested and charged with adultery. This time the
charges were true. Queen Katherine was beheaded in 1542, when Elizabeth was
seven years old.
Katherine Howard's violent death seems to have had a lasting impact on
Elizabeth. At the age of eight she met one of Prince Edward's classmates,
Robert Dudley, and told him of an important decision she had made. "I will
never marry," she said. It was a decision that would shape her life.
Thomas Seymour
In 1543 Elizabeth gained yet another stepmother when Henry married his
sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr. Four years later Henry VIII died,
leaving his crown to Edward. According to Henry's will, if Edward died
without heirs he would be succeeded by Mary. If Mary died without heirs,
Elizabeth would become queen.
Soon after Henry's death, Elizabeth received a marriage proposal from
handsome Thomas Seymour, who was England's Lord Admiral and the brother of
the late Queen Jane. Knowing that Seymour was simply seeking the power that
marriage to the king's sister could bring him, Elizabeth turned him down.
So Seymour proposed to the widowed Queen Katherine, who had been in love
with him before her marriage to Henry VIII. Unaware of Seymour's previous
proposal to her stepdaughter, Katherine happily accepted. They were quickly
married, and the following year Elizabeth went to live with them at the
royal Old Manor House in Chelsea.
Thomas Seymour still had designs on pretty red-haired Elizabeth. He took to
visiting her bedroom in the morning before she was dressed. During these
visits he sometimes tickled her or slapped her bottom; once he tried to
kiss her. Elizabeth giggled and seemed to enjoy his attention, but Kat
Ashley was disturbed by the Lord Admiral's behaviour, and the servants
began to gossip. Queen Katherine was aware of what was going on, but saw it
all as innocent romping. Once she even joined in the "joke," holding
Elizabeth in the garden while her husband cut off Elizabeth's dress.
Hoping to further deceive his wife, Seymour told her that he had seen
Elizabeth with her arms around a man's neck. Concerned, the queen
questioned Elizabeth, who cried and insisted it wasn't true. Now Katherine
began to suspect that her husband, not some mystery man, had been making
advances to her stepdaughter. She started watching the Lord Admiral more
carefully. One day Katherine went looking for him and Elizabeth and,
according to one account, "came suddenly upon them, where they were all
alone, he having her in his arms." Understandably upset, Katherine banished
Elizabeth from the Old Manor House.
A few months later Katherine died after childbirth and Seymour resumed
plotting to marry Elizabeth. Elizabeth knew that she could not legally
marry without the permission of the king's council, and she refused to be
drawn into the Lord Admiral's schemes. In 1549 Seymour was arrested on
charges of conspiring to marry Elizabeth and take over the government. Kat
Ashley was also arrested, along with another of Elizabeth's employees, and
Elizabeth herself was closely interrogated. She kept her wits about her and
denied any involvement in Seymour's treasonous activities. In the end she
convinced the Council of her innocence, and her servants were released from
prison.
When Elizabeth heard that Seymour had been beheaded for his crimes she
supposedly said only, "This day died a man of much wit and very little
judgement." She had learned that she must keep her feelings to herself if
she hoped to survive.
Perilous years
Elizabeth continued to get along well with her brother, King Edward, but in
1553 Edward died. On his deathbed he was persuaded by the duke of
Northumberland to name Lady Jane Grey to succeed him. Lady Jane tried to
refuse the crown, but Northumberland (who was her father-in-law) proclaimed
her to be the new queen. Meanwhile, Henry VIII's daughter Mary was
proclaimed queen by her supporters. Northumberland surrendered to Mary's
forces. He and Jane Grey were imprisoned and later executed.
Queen Mary was determined to restore Catholicism as the country's official
religion. She pressured Elizabeth to convert. Elizabeth obediently attended
one Mass, but complained the whole time of feeling ill. Because this and
Elizabeth's popularity with the English people, Mary grew wary of her half
sister.
When Sir Thomas Wyatt led an uprising against Mary, the queen suspected
that Elizabeth was involved. Elizabeth was taken to London and confined at
Whitehall Palace. Eventually, although no evidence against her could be
found, she was sent to the Tower, where Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Jane
Grey and so many others had awaited execution. When Elizabeth saw that she
was being brought into the Tower via the Traitor's Gate, she panicked and
begged to be brought through some other gate.
Told that she must enter this way, she cried, "Oh Lord, I never throught to
come in here as a prisoner . . . I come in as no traitor but as true a
woman to the Queen's Majesty as any as is now living; and thereon will I
take my death." She sat down on the stairs and refused to move. When told
that it wasn't healthy to sit in the rain, she replied tearfully, "It is
better sitting here than in a worse place!"
One of her servants started to sob and Elizabeth told him angrily that he
shouldn't cry, saying, "I thank God that I know my truth to be such that no
man can have cause to weep for me!" With that she continued into the Tower.
Despite her very reasonable fears, she was released from the Tower two
months later, on the eighteenth anniversary of her mother's death. She
remained a prisoner, however. In 1555 she was moved under heavy guard to
Hampton Court, where the queen was staying. Mary refused to see her, but
Mary's new husband Philip of Spain met with Elizabeth and fell under her
spell. At his encouragement Mary finally reconciled with Elizabeth.
Over 250 Protestants were burned at the stake during the reign of "Bloody
Mary," and Elizabeth's failure to truly convert to the Catholic faith put
her in constant danger, as did other people's conspiracies to overthrow
Mary and place Elizabeth on the throne.
Finally, on November 17, 1558, Mary died and Elizabeth's years of peril
came to an end. She was now the queen of England.
Gloriana
Elizabeth's advisors urged the twenty-five-year old queen to quickly marry
some foreign prince and produce heirs so that the throne would not pass to
Henry VIII's great-niece, Mary Stuart, the queen of Scotland. Elizabeth
stood by her early decision never to marry. (One of the many proposals she
rejected was from Mary's widower, Philip of Spain.)
Elizabeth had a romantic nature, and may already have been in love her
childhood friend, Robert Dudley, whom she later made the Earl of Leicester.
Although Elizabeth was a hard-working monarch, like her father she had a
great appetite for entertainment. She enjoyed archery, dancing, hunting,
riding, and tennis. Whatever she did, Leicester was usually nearby. He was
given a bedroom near hers, and rumours about the nature of their
relationship were rampant.
Leicester had a wife named Amy. In 1559, while Leicester was at court, Amy
fell down the staircase of her country home, broke her neck, and died. She
had been alone in the house at the time of her accident, and it was
whispered that she had been murdered so that Elizabeth and Leicester could
marry. But Elizabeth did not marry Leicester. Twenty years later he
infuriated the queen by secretly marrying her cousin Lettice Knollys, but
Elizabeth forgave him, and he remained her favourite until his death.
Elizabeth was glorified by poets and artists as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen.
With the help of fine clothes, jewels and cosmetics, the vain queen
maintained a glamorous image despite her advancing age. In her mid-fifties
she fell in love with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, son of Lettice
Knollys. Essex was in his early twenties, good-looking, and extremely
arrogant. Although he reigned as the queen's favourite for many years, he
did not always show Elizabeth the deference she demanded. Once, when
Elizabeth slapped him during an argument, Essex threatened to draw his
sword on her. Elizabeth sent him to Ireland to quell a rebellion; while
there, Essex ignored the queen's orders and pursued his own agenda. When he
defied her by returning to England without permission, Elizabeth placed him
under house arrest. After his release Essex attempted to lead an uprising
against the queen, and the heartbroken Elizabeth had no choice but to
sentence him to death. Essex was executed in 1601.
Two years later Elizabeth became very ill. Perhaps she did not want to live
without Essex; when her doctors offered her medicine, she refused to take
it. She died on March 24, 1603 at the age of 69.
CONCLUSION
During this period from 1485 to 1603, England developed into one of the
leading European colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter Raleigh
taking part in the conquest of the New World. Nearer to home, campaigns in
Ireland brought the country under strict English control. Culturally and
socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor court played a
prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in Europe,
nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser
and Cardinal Wolsey. The Tudor period also saw the turbulence of two
changes of official religion, resulting in the martyrdom of many innocent
believers of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The fear of Roman
Catholicism induced by the Reformation was to last for several centuries
and to play an influential role in the history of the Succession.
THE LIST OF LITERATURE:
1. I. I. Burova. The Monarchs of England. «Íîðèíò». Ìîñêâà. 1997.
2. Äæîðäæ Ìàêîëåé Òðåâåëüÿí. Èñòîðèÿ Àíãëèè: îò ×îñåðà äî êðîðëåâû
Âèêòîðèè. «Ðóñè÷». Ñìîëåíñê. 2001.
3. Îôèöèàëüíûé ñàéò Áóêèíãåìñêîãî äâîðöà: www.royal.gov.uk.
4. Ñàéò, ïîñâÿùåííûé èñòðèè êîðîëåâñêèõ äèíàñòèé ìèðà: www.royalty.nu.
EXTRACT
«The house of Tudor»
INTRODUCTION. I decided to write this essay, because, I am really
interested in English history. The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are
among the most well-known figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry
VII succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of
Lancaster and York to found the highly successful Tudor house. He was
succeeded by Henry VIII, who is famous for his six wives. This dynasty
ruled in Britain for 118 eventful years. Henry VIII was followed to the
throne by his children Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. (Another Tudor
descendant, Jane Grey, was put on the throne after Edward VI's death but
was overthrown after only nine days.) They increased the influence of the
monarchy, established the Church of England, and made England a world
power. When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the Tudor dynasty ended. But the
Stuarts, who succeeded the Tudors, were descended from Owen Tudor. Even the
modern royal Windsor family can trace its ancestry back to the handsome
Welsh squire who married Queen Catherine of Valois.
KING HENRY VII. 1). The house of Tudor was founded by Owen Tudor, a well-
born Welsh man who served as a squire of the body to England's King Henry
V. The king died in 1422 and some years later his widow, Catherine of
Valois, is said to have married the handsome Tudor. The middle of the XV
century- the time of so-called Wars of the Roses, a series of power
struggles between the ruling House of Lancaster and the rival House of
York. Owen Tudor was a staunch supporter of the king. In 1461 Tudor led an
army into battle against Yorkists forces at Mortimer's Cross in
Herefordshire. The Yorkist side won; Tudor was killed; Henry VI lost his
throne and the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV, became king. Owen's son Edmund
had married Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from King Edward III's son
John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. Edmund died while Margaret was
pregnant with their first child, Henry, who was born on January 28, 1457 in
Wales. At first Henry was kept hidden in Wales by his uncle, Jasper Tudor.
In 1471 Henry VI died - he may have been murdered - in the Tower of London,
and Henry Tudor became the Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Fearing for
his nephew's safety, Jasper Tudor smuggled him to Brittany (in France).In
1483 Edward IV died suddenly and his young sons, Edward V and Richard,
"disappeared" in the Tower of London. Their uncle, who had imprisoned the
boys, swiftly crowned himself Richard III. Not surprisingly, he was an
unpopular king. In 1485 Henry Tudor returned to Wales, raised an army,
invaded England, and defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field.
Richard died in the battle, and Henry Tudor became Henry VII, the first
Tudor king. 2). In 1486 Henry married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York,
uniting the houses of Lancaster and York and ending the Wars of the Roses
(although Henry did have to deal with Yorkist uprisings early in his
reign). Henry VII was left with just three offspring: Margaret, who was
already the queen of Scotland; Henry, the future king of England; and Mary,
a future queen of France. In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis. He had
brought law and order to England after years of chaos, and made the country
important in the eyes of the world.
KING HENRY VIII. 1). Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491. His father and
mother, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, were loving parents, although they
saw little of their children. Henry, their second son, was styled the Duke
of York. He had his own servants and minstrels, and a fool named John
Goose. He even had a whipping boy who was punished when Henry did something
wrong. Henry VII loved entertainers, and the court attracted acrobats,
jesters, magicians and musicians. Prince Henry enjoyed music and grew up to
be an accomplished musician. 2). He became a king, when he was 17 years
old. Although most people today think of Henry VIII as a fat tyrant, in his
youth he was admired for his intelligence, good looks, good nature and
athletic ability. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was "one of the
best men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable,
courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons. "But of course, Henry is
remembered today for just one thing - well, six things. Six wives, to be
exact. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour,
Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr.
KING EDWARD VI. 1). Henry VIII died in 1547 and his nine-year-old son
became King Edward VI. A council was appointed to rule during Edward's
minority, with Edward's uncle, the duke of Somerset (Jane Seymour's
brother), as Protector of the country and the king. Somerset's brother,
Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, was jealous of Somerset and schemed to
put himself in power. Somerset himself later fell from the king's favour
and lost his role as Protector. The duke of Northumberland took control of
the king and council, and eventually Somerset, like his brother, was
arrested and charged with treason. Under pressure from Northumberland,
fourteen-year-old Edward signed Somerset's death warrant. Somerset was
executed in 1552. 2). By this time Edward had completed his education and
was participating in council meetings. It was decided that the king would
take charge of the country at age sixteen. This was bad news for his sister
Mary an ardent Catholic who refused to cooperate with Edward's religious
reforms. However, Edward got along well with his other sister, Elizabeth, a
moderate Protestant. Edward suffered bouts of measles and smallpox in April
1552, and from that time his health declined. His father's will had
specified that Mary should become queen if Edward died without children,
but Northumberland had different ideas. He persuaded Edward to name the
Protestant Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Lady Jane was the granddaughter
of Henry VIII's sister Mary; she was also Northumberland's daughter-in-law,
and through her Northumberland hoped to rule England. On July 6, 1553
Edward died. He was fifteen years old. He would be succeeded -- briefly --
by the unfortunate Lady Jane.
LADY JANE GREY. 1). Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537, just two days before
King Edward VI, and may have been his friend in childhood. Her father was
Henry Grey, the marquis of Dorset (later the duke of Suffolk). Her mother
was Frances Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII. At that time, Frances Brandon
was third in the line of succession to the throne. Jane had two younger
sisters, Katherine and Mary. Jane's parents were, in her words, "sharp and
severe" to her. She found refuge in her studies. Jane's parents had big
dreams for their intellectual eldest daughter. They hoped she would marry
her cousin Edward and thus become queen of England. When Jane was nine, her
parents sent her to live with Henry VIII's widow, Katherine Parr, and
Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Jane was happy with the Seymours,
but Katherine soon died and Thomas Seymour was arrested, forcing Jane to
return to her parents. By the time Jane was 15, her parents had abandoned
their dream of marrying her to King Edward, but he wanted to marry Mary,
Queen of Scots, or some other foreign princess. Jane wanted to marry to the
duke of Somerset's son, Lord Hertford. She was stunned when her parents
informed her that she was instead to marry Guildford Dudley, the youngest
son of the duke of Northumberland. Guildford was a handsome young man, one
year Jane's senior, but it seems Jane didn't like him very much. 2). Jane
married Guildford Dudley in May of 1553. Three days later the king died.
Northumberland kept the death secret for several days to prevent Edward's
sister Mary from claiming the crown. But on July 9 Mary, who was in
Norfolk, heard the news and proclaimed herself queen. On the same day Jane
was taken to Northumberland's house and led to a throne. Everyone bowed or
curtsied to her. Realizing what was happening, Jane began to shake.
Northumberland made a speech announcing that Jane was the new queen, at
which Jane fell on the floor in a brief faint. The next day Jane made her
state entry into London. Most people felt that Mary was the rightful heir
to the throne, and very few cheers greeted Jane. She was taken to the Tower
of London, as was traditional. For a few days Northumberland stayed close
to Jane, bringing her documents to sign and generally telling her what to
do. Despite Jane's objection to making Guildford king, Northumberland
announced that both she and her husband would be crowned in two weeks. Then
Northumberland left with an army to capture Mary, who was marching toward
London with an army of her own. While he was gone the nervous royal council
decided to proclaim Mary the rightful queen. The proclamation was made on
July 19. The people of London were jubilant. Determined to save himself,
Jane's father signed the proclamation making Mary queen, then went to his
daughter's apartments and tore down her canopy of estate, telling her she
was no longer queen. 3). Jane remained in the Tower, where she and
Guildford soon became prisoners. Her father and Northumberland were also
arrested and brought back to the tower. Henry Grey was released after a few
days. He and Frances did not write to Jane or try to save her life.
Although Northumberland hastily converted to Catholicism and spoke of his
desire to live and kiss Mary's feet, he was executed in August. On November
13 Jane and Guildford were tried and sentenced to death. Jane wasn't
worried, however, because she had been told that the queen would pardon
her. Then, in February of 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt raised a revolt against
Mary. He was quickly arrested, but his rebellion hardened Mary's heart
against her enemies. She signed Jane and Guildford's death warrants. When
Jane heard the news she said, "I am ready and glad to end my woeful days."
The queen offered to reprieve Jane if she would convert to the Catholic
faith, but Jane refused. Jane's father had supported the rebels, and he too
was sentenced to death. They were executed on February, 11.
QUEEN MARY I. 1). Bloody Mary" Tudor was born on February 18, 1516. She was
the only surviving child of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of
Aragon. Henry doted on Princess Mary when she was little, she received an
excellent education. The year 1527 started off well for Princess Mary. But
Henry VIII's attitude toward Mary and her mother had started to change. He
had decided that God disapproved of his marriage to Catherine; why else had
the queen failed to produce healthy male children? And he was in love with
the woman who was to become his second wife: Anne Boleyn. Soon Mary learned
that Henry wanted to annul his marriage to her mother. For this, the king
needed the pope's permission. Henry grew increasingly angry with Catherine
for resisting his attempt to end their marriage. Finally, in 1531, he sent
Catherine away from court. After being shuffled between various castles and
palaces, the queen ended up a prisoner at Kimbolton Castle, near
Huntingdon. Mary was now officially a bastard, called "the lady Mary," but,
like her mother, she refused to accept her change in status. Henry was
infuriated by his daughter's defiance and threatened to have her executed
if she did not stop referring to herself as a princess. Catherine and Mary
were not permitted to visit each other, and Catherine died in 1536 without
seeing her daughter again. Now Mary was alone. . With Anne gone, Henry
treated his eldest daughter somewhat more kindly. At first she got along
well with the king's other children. After Henry's death in 1547, Mary's
nine-year-old half-brother became King Edward VI, then for 9 days(Lady Jane
Grey. After a lifetime of sorrow and danger, the 37-year-old Mary Tudor was
now the most powerful person in England. 2). Soon after her accession, Mary
began considering the possibility of marrying Prince Philip of Spain, the
son of her former fiancé, Emperor Charles V. It worried her that Philip was
11 years her junior. With difficulty the emperor's envoy convinced her that
Philip was a stable, mature adult who would help protect her kingdom.
Mary's subjects were alarmed to learn of her engagement to the Spanish
prince, fearing that England would become part of Spain. The queen,
however, had no intention of turning the country over to Philip. He arrived
in England on July 20, 1554, and met Mary for the first time on July 23.
Mary liked Philip from the start, and he treated her kindly, although he
probably found her unattractive. The wedding took place two days later. Two
months later, Mary's doctors told her that she was pregnant.
In December a law was passed that allowed bishops of the Church of England
to convict heretics and sentence them to death by burning. Almost 300
people were burned alive during Mary's reign with Mary's full approval,
earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary."
By the summer of 1555 it became obvious that Mary was no longer pregnant,
if she had ever been. Mary was bitterly disappointed. Philip left England
that August, promising Mary that he would soon return. Mary missed him
desperately. Philip didn't return to England until March of 1557. During
his absence he had become the king of Spain. After a few months in England
he left to go to war; Mary never saw him again. She became depressed and
paranoid. Tortured by loneliness and unhappiness, Queen Mary fell ill. She
died on November 17, 1558 and was succeeded by her half-sister, Queen
Elizabeth I.
QUEEN ELISABETH I. 1). Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533 at
Greenwich Palace near London. Elizabeth had an older half-sister, Mary, who
was the daughter of the king's first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
King Henry had moved heaven and earth to marry Anne Boleyn. Anne was
executed, and two weeks later the king married Jane Seymour. In 1537 Queen
Jane died after giving birth to a son, Edward. Elizabeth and Mary
participated in his christening ceremony. When Elizabeth was four,
Katherine Champernowne became her governess. Elizabeth was an excellent
student. In 1540 Elizabeth's father married Anne of Cleves. Queen Katherine
was beheaded in 1542, when Elizabeth was seven years old. Katherine
Howard's violent death seems to have had a lasting impact on Elizabeth. 2).
In 1543 Elizabeth gained yet another stepmother when Henry married his
sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr. If Mary died without heirs, Elizabeth
would become queen. Soon after Henry's death, Elizabeth received a marriage
proposal from handsome Thomas Seymour, who was England's Lord Admiral and
the brother of the late Queen Jane. Thomas Seymour still had designs on
pretty red-haired Elizabeth. Concerned, the queen questioned Elizabeth, who
cried and insisted it wasn't true. Understandably upset, Katherine banished
Elizabeth from the Old Manor House. A few months later Katherine died after
childbirth and Seymour resumed plotting to marry Elizabeth. In 1549 Seymour
was arrested on charges of conspiring to marry Elizabeth and take over the
government. Kat Ashley was also arrested, along with another of Elizabeth's
employees, and Elizabeth herself was closely interrogated. 3). Elizabeth
continued to get along well with her brother, King Edward, but in 1553
Edward died. Meanwhile, Henry VIII's daughter Mary was proclaimed queen by
her supporters. Elizabeth obediently attended one Mass, but complained the
whole time of feeling ill. Because this and Elizabeth's popularity with the
English people, Mary grew wary of her half sister. When Sir Thomas Wyatt
led an uprising against Mary, the queen suspected that Elizabeth was
involved. Elizabeth was taken to London and confined at Whitehall Palace.
Mary refused to see her, but Mary's new husband Philip of Spain met with
Elizabeth and fell under her spell. At his encouragement Mary finally
reconciled with Elizabeth. Finally, on November 17, 1558, Mary died and
Elizabeth's years of peril came to an end. She was now the queen of
England.4). Elizabeth's advisors urged the twenty-five-year old queen to
quickly marry some foreign prince and produce heirs so that the throne
would not pass to Henry VIII's great-niece, Mary Stuart, the queen of
Scotland. Elizabeth stood by her early decision never to marry. With the
help of fine clothes, jewels and cosmetics, the vain queen maintained a
glamorous image despite her advancing age. In her mid-fifties she fell in
love with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, son of Lettice Knollys. Essex was
in his early twenties, good-looking, and extremely arrogant. Although he
reigned as the queen's favourite for many years, he did not always show
Elizabeth the deference she demanded. Once, when Elizabeth slapped him
during an argument, Essex threatened to draw his sword on her. Elizabeth
sent him to Ireland to quell a rebellion; while there, Essex ignored the
queen's orders and pursued his own agenda. When he defied her by returning
to England without permission, Elizabeth placed him under house arrest.
After his release Essex attempted to lead an uprising against the queen,
and the heartbroken Elizabeth had no choice but to sentence him to death.
Essex was executed in 1601. Two years later Elizabeth became very ill.
Perhaps she did not want to live without Essex; when her doctors offered
her medicine, she refused to take it. She died on March 24, 1603 at the age
of 69. Elizabeth was glorified by poets and artists as Gloriana, the
Virgin Queen.
CONCLUSION. During this period from 1485 to 1603, England developed into
one of the leading European colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter
Raleigh taking part in the conquest of the New World. Nearer to home,
campaigns in Ireland brought the country under strict English control.
Culturally and socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor court
played a prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in Europe,
nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser
and Cardinal Wolsey. The Tudor period also saw the turbulence of two
changes of official religion, resulting in the martyrdom of many innocent
believers of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The fear of Roman
Catholicism induced by the Reformation was to last for several centuries
and to play an influential role in the history of the Succession.