February 20, 2019

On Feb. 20, 1547, 472 years ago today, young Edward Tudor became King Edward VI of England and Ireland. The son of King Henry III, who had died the month before, Edward was just 9 years old when he took the throne. Because of Edward’s youth, his uncle Edward Seymour, who soon became the Duke of Somerset, governed for him as Protector of England. In 1549, the Earl of Warwick, later called the Duke of Northumberland, took Somerset’s place.

King Edward VI of England and Ireland. Credit: Edward VI (1546), oil on panel attributed to William Scrots; Windsor Castle/Royal Collection Trust

Edward VI was born on Oct. 12, 1537, in what is now part of London. His mother, Jane Seymour, was the third wife of Henry III and died shortly after Edward’s birth. Henry had separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Edward, Somerset, and Northumberland all wished England to continue its new Protestant path.

Edward’s reign—troubled by economic woes, social unrest, and war with Scotland—was a brief one. Just six years after becoming king, he became fatally ill with a fever and severe lung infection (most likely tuberculosis). Before Edward died, he named his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who was also Northumberland’s daughter-in-law, as his successor. Edward’s half sister Mary had been next in line for the throne, but she was a devout Roman Catholic. Lady Jane reigned for only nine days before she was dethroned in favor of Mary. Edward died at age 15 on July 6, 1553.

January 28, 2019

Today, January 28, is a big day in the history of the House of Tudor, the family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603. On Jan. 28, 1457, 562 years ago, Henry Tudor, the earl of Richmond, was born in Pembroke, Wales. He became King Henry VII in 1485, beginning the Tudor dynasty. His son grew up to become Henry VIII, perhaps the most famous king in English history. Henry VIII died in London 472 years ago on Jan. 28, 1547.

Henry VII became king in 1485, beginning the Tudor dynasty. Credit: Henry VII (Before 1626), oil on oak panel from the British School; Dulwich Picture Gallery (London)

Henry VII won his crown at the battle of Bosworth Field, defeating Richard III (of the House of York) and ensuring a victory for his own side (the House of Lancaster) in the Wars of the Roses. Henry claimed the throne through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III. He restored order to England after 30 years of repeated outbreaks of civil war.

Henry VIII, the second Tudor king, ruled England from 1509 to 1547. Credit: Portrait of Henry VIII of England (1536), oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger; Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid)

His son Henry VIII continued Henry VII’s work of unifying the country. Henry VIII broke all ties between England and the Roman Catholic Church and made the monarch head of the Church of England. Henry VIII was succeeded first by his son Edward VI and then in turn by his daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The reigns of the Protestant Edward and the Catholic Mary were short and unhappy due to civil unrest, foreign wars, severe economic problems, and religious disturbances. But under Elizabeth, who was Protestant but pursued a moderate religious course, England became a major European power. After Elizabeth’s death in 1603, the crown passed to King James VI of Scotland, the great-grandson of Henry VII’s oldest daughter, Margaret. He took the throne as James I, England’s first Stuart king, ending the Tudor dynasty.