Who are the Tudors?
People that enjoy studying history may be driven for various reasons. It could be for discovering facts about their heritage to feel closer to their roots or using past references to catapult modern day innovation. Kind of like learning from past mistakes to get to a better future. But what I love the most about history is learning about not only the accomplishments of what people did, but of the people themselves. I am fascinated with how they lived, what they wore, what they ate, and what their everyday lives were like. And with enough of the documented facts, we can speculate to what their motivations were, what feelings they may have had, and maybe even what their hopes and dreams were. And when I say, the “Tudors”, I am not referring to just the Tudors as a single family. Yes, duh, the Tudors were a family. But the Tudor Period regarding British history lasted for over a hundred years, (1485 to 1603) and let me tell you, it is filled with some CHARACTERS. While it can be argued that all the historical royal dynasties have affected modern times, The Tudors literally created or at least instigated social, religious, and economic change that is still seen and practiced today. I believe I can tell their ultimate story by shedding light on the heavy hitters of the period.
No, I am not body shaming Henry VIII.
But SPEAKING OF.
If there is anyone that is the most notorious from the Tudor period, it is arguably Henry VIII. Why? Well, for me, MANY reasons. But for the non-history nerd, it’s possible you at the very least heard of him. Maybe you only know his name from the scene in the move Ghost where Patrick Swayze is annoying Whoopi Goldberg by singing the song by Harry Champion “I am Henry the Eighth, I Am”. (Yes, I am aware that if you know what I referring to, I just got that song stuck in your head…you’re welcome.) And if you happen know who he was, the most that you probably know is that he had a bunch of wives (six) and killed them all (just two of them). Or maybe you watched the hit show The Tudors and think you know everything there is to know about him. (Oh, bless your heart.)
But the truth is, Henry VIII wasn’t the first monarch of the Tudor period; nor was he the last. He just gets the credit. His father, Henry Tudor (or Henry VII) was the guy who was exiled abroad, showed up one day and killed the reigning king, Richard III on the battlefield and started a whole new era for England.
Obviously, it wasn’t that simple. Henry VII was exiled because England was in political turmoil, and his (barely) royal lineage made him a candidate for the throne. Henry VII represented the house of Lancaster, and Richard III represented the House of York. The Yorkist regime was in power because of their own shady dealings (a topic for another post) and the understanding of the time was if you wanted to wear the crown, you just took it.
And Henry VII did.
However, he married Elizabeth of York, the oldest heir to the former king Edward IV (but she was a woman so therefore not in consideration to be in charge). So by this marriage, the Houses of York and Lancaster merged into one….and that is how we got the House of Tudor. Historians will say Henry VII only married her to gain the support of the followers of the House of York, and honestly Elizabeth was probably given little choice in the matter. But, most accounts have documented the union as favorable, and Elizabeth and Henry went on to have seven children.
One of them was (you guessed it) Henry VIII.
Henry VIII went on to change the religious landscape of England as they knew it at the time, which was so piously Roman Catholic that they all strived for sainthood as the coolest thing ever, and if you are in the U.K. right now and practice your faith in the Anglican Church of England, you can say thank you to Henry VIII. The faith you practice today was started by him.
You may be wondering now why someone would just create their own religion. It wasn’t because of principles or morals in question. In the most basic way to explain it is this: Henry VIII got mad at the Pope.
Now, as someone who was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school my entire life, and as someone who also isn’t strict when it comes to religion, it still makes me uncomfortable to think of someone going against the Pope’s ruling. He is the Vicar of Christ! There is no one closer to God’s word than the Pope and when he refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from his (first) wife on grounds that it was an unholy union since she was the widow of his older brother (right?!) and hadn’t successfully birthed a son in the many years they were married, Henry VIII dipped on Catholicism.
Henry VIII went on to have five more wives; all with drama. Two of the wives were beheaded by his command (more on that stuff later). But one of the most important facts about Henry VIII was that while yes, he did get a son off one of the wives, and that son did inherit the crown on Henry VIII’s death as Edward VI, his two DAUGHTERS became the ones that carried the Tudor Dynasty on.
Mary I, his daughter with the first wife he tried to divorce, reigned for five years after Edward VI. She was the one called Bloody Mary. (She killed a lot of people.)
But then, Elizabeth I, who I like to refer to as everyone’s second favorite Elizabeth, became the longest reigning Tudor monarch, ushered in the Elizabethan era, and became known as “The Virgin Queen”.
This is such a simple synopsis of the House of Tudor, and there is so much to unpack here. What part or person do you want to know more about?