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English Renaissance History. The Tudor (and Stuart) Monarchs. Edward VI.
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English Renaissance History The Tudor (and Stuart) Monarchs
Edward VI He was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. He was a Protestant and became king at the age of 9. He was sickly (probably consumption) and died at the young age of 16. and during his childhood England was under the rule of the regents Somerset and Northumberland, the second of whom conspired to have Edward say Lady Jane Grey should be the next queen, as opposed to Edward’s sister Mary, who was Catholic. (Northumberland’s son had married Jane Grey.)
Jane Grey Jane Grey was the granddaughter of HenryVIII’s sister Mary (the Tudor Rose). Northumberland wanted control of the throne so he married his luckless son Gilbert to the even more luckless Jane, and then he attempted a coup– trying to steal the throne from Mary, Henry VIII’s daughter.
Lady Jane Grey was born in October of 1537. Henry VIII was King of England at the time. By coincidence, Lady Jane was born in the same month and year as Edward I, Henry VIII's long-awaited son and heir. Henry VIII was Jane's great-uncle, and Henry 's children Edward, Mary and Elizabeth were her cousins.
Lady Jane Grey was born into the Tudor line of succession to the English throne. Lady Jane's mother Frances was the daughter of Henry VIII's younger sister Mary. Mary was a legendary beauty who had once been married to the King of France.
Like many of the Tudors, Frances loved luxury, and kept a lavish household. Frances cultivated the friendship of her cousin Mary Tudor, and was frequently at Court. Mary Tudor was Henry VIII's eldest daughter, and the presumed heir to the throne after Henry's son Edward.
The outdoorsy, boisterous, socially-ambitious Henry and Francis saw Jane as a major disappointment. Unlike her parents, Lady Jane was quiet, intellectual, gentle and studious.\ • Because the two shared royal Tudor blood, and were compatible in so many other ways, it was speculated that Lady Jane Grey and Edward might marry when they reached maturity.
King Edward, who had never been strong, fell seriously ill, and was not expected to survive. Edward suffered from a severe lung ailment, probably tuberculosis. At this point, a crisis occurred among the leaders of England concerning who should succeed the throne after Edward’s death.
In his will, King Henry VIII had named his oldest daughter, Mary, as heir to the throne after Edward. Mary was followed in the succession by Henry VIII's youngest daughter, Elizabeth. Mary was generally accepted throughout most of England as Edward’s successor, should Edward die before producing an heir of his own.
The fear of Mary Tudor and her Catholic beliefs gave rise to a plot to place someone other than Mary Tudor on the English throne. The leader of the plot was John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland and Lord Protector of England.
The plotters’ attentions soon turned to the Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane was royal, a direct descendent of the first Tudor King Henry VII, and of suitable character to be a reigning Queen. Best of all, Jane was a staunch supporter of the reformed Protestant religion. Lady Jane's parents were all in favor of the plan to make their daughter Queen.
Lady Jane herself had no part in the plot to displace Mary. Jane had no wish to be Queen, or to deprive her cousin Mary of her throne. However, Jane was under the strict control of her parents, who were among the instigators of the plan. Jane’s mother and father had no qualms about sacrificing their daughter’s happiness for their own personal gain.
On July 10, Lady Jane was informed that she was now Queen of England. Lady Jane protested that she had no right to be Queen, and insisted that she had no wish to deprive Mary Tudor of her crown. Lady Jane's supporters ignored her pleas, and made arrangements to present her to the citizens of London as their new sovereign. A day or so later, Jane Grey made her ceremonial journey by barge to the Tower of London, where she was proclaimed Queen of England.
Within a few days, supporters of Mary Tudor rallied to Mary’s side, and a fighting force was created to help her regain her throne. Mary was successful in her quest for the crown, and was proclaimed the rightful Queen of England. Lady Jane was removed from the throne, and arrested for treason.
She was imprisoned in the Tower of London along with her young husband, Guildford Dudley. Guildford's father John Dudley was condemned to death and executed for leading the plot to take Mary Tudor's throne.
Lady Jane was tried and found guilty of her role in the insurrection, but Queen Mary was inclined to be lenient. Mary had no immediate plans to punish Lady Jane or Guildford Dudley beyond a fairly comfortable form of house arrest in the Tower of London. The new Queen still had some fondness for her cousin, and felt that Jane had been the innocent instrument of ambitious nobles.
The situation changed, however, when a second plot to dethrone Mary Tudor was discovered. The goal of this new rebellion, lead by Sir Thomas Wyatt, was to prevent the marriage of Mary Tudor to Philip of Spain. Unfortunately, Lady Jane Grey's father was an active participant in the new scheme.
Although Jane had no part in the Wyatt Rebellion, Queen Mary’s advisors felt that Mary’s throne would not be secure until Lady Jane Grey was removed. • Queen Mary reluctantly signed Lady Jane Grey’s death warrant, and plans were made for Jane's execution.
Mary I (Bloody Mary) Mary was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon. During her late childhood, Mary was persecuted by Henry when he wanted to annul his marriage to her mother. As Queen she attempted to reinstate Catholicism, and she married the young Philip from Spain. She also had more than 300 Protestants killed. None of these actions was popular with the now firmly entrenched Protestant England
Catherine and Henry Divorce • 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.
Her official coronation came on November 30, 1553 . Mary first began to earn her unofficial title of “Bloody Mary” when she had her cousin, Lady Jane Grey, executed to prevent any possible power struggle.
Mary's allegiance to Roman Catholicism inspired her to institute social reforms, but these were largely unsuccessful. Her marriage to Philip II of Spain, in 1554, was unpopular even with her Catholic subjects. • Soon, she was thought to be pregnant. But…
Mary had retreated into privacy awaiting the birth of her child, as was customary. She waited for the labor pains to begin, but her due date came and went without the birth of a child. The doctors predicted the child would come on 6 Jun, then 24 Jun, and then finally 3 Jul... but none came to pass.
The Queen was sure she was pregnant again, now at the age of 42. She entered seclusion in late Feb 1558, thinking her confinement for labor would come in Mar. Those around her seemed to have doubts about the validity of this pregnancy after the earlier incident.
On Mar 30, Mary drafted her will and it is worded in such a way to portray that the Queen thought she was indeed with child. But, by Apr, no child had come and the Queen knew that she was once again mistaken. After the symptoms began to fade, Mary was left quite ill. From then on, she became progressively worse. In late Oct, she added the codicil to her will but did not expressly name Elizabeth as her heir in it.
The Queen drifted in and out of consciousness, but at one point was lucid enough to agree to pass the crown to her half sister, adding that she hoped Elizabeth would maintain the Catholic faith in England • On Nov 16, 1558, Mary's will was read aloud keeping with custom. She was lucid during the Mass held in her chamber the next morning. The priest performed the last rights, and the Queen passed.
Elizabeth I The red-haired daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she became England’s greatest leader. Wily and cunning, she kept control of England by refusing to marry anyone and playing one noble against another– each one hoping to marry the Queen. She kept religious wars down, advanced exploration, became a patron of the arts, and brought England to the position of world power with the defeat of the Spanish Armada
Queen Elizabeth had many things to deal with when she became ruler of England. Mary and previous rulers had left the state virtually bankrupt, and England was in need of some sort of religious mediation. She cut back on royal expenses, encouraging her court to purchase her expensive gifts such as elaborate dresses and jewelry to win her affections and to invite her to stay with them
Elizabeth faced another question upon her arrival to the throne: marriage and succession. She had many suitors, domestic and foreign. She was able to use her unmarried state to her advantage, for Spain could not make war on England in France was courting Elizabeth (and visa versa as well). She entertained many proposals.
If Elizabeth married a foreigner, she would have to choose which country to marry and she would hand England’s rule over to that country as well. If she married domestically, she again would be forced to choose, for she could not appease everyone. Her favorite at home appeared to be Robert Dudley, a childhood friend, and it seemed for a long that she would marry Dudley.
Elizabeth never did marry, taking on the image of a virgin and nicknames such as Gloriana, Bess, and Virgin Mary. She created her own following and religion in a way. Only a short time before her death did she name her successor, for she knew better than to do so before because no one would listen to her once her “heir” was named.
Any talk of the succession presupposed Elizabeth's death, and this was one subject the Queen could not bear to contemplate. After the execution of his mother, Mary Stuart, King James of Scotland wrote to the Queen, Nov 1587, trying to have a written promise from Elizabeth that he, James, be declared her rightful heir.
Elizabeth was well liked by her subjects. She went on several progressive trips and made many public appearances, so England could see their Queen and to also increase her popularity among her subjects. She always made each and every person who called out to her as she rode through the city on her litter that she was talking to them. She always kept gifts of flowers, letters, food, and poems in her litter until the journey ended.
By the late winter of 1602/3 Elizabeth was feeling unwell. She had caught a chill after walking out in the cold winter air, and complained of a sore throat as well as aches and pains. She lay resignedly on her cushions in her private apartments, and could not be persuaded to leave them for the comfort of her bed. “I am not well” she declared, but refused the administrations of her doctors
It was clear to all of those around that the great Queen was dying. There was still one matter that the Queen had left unresolved, the matter that had been unresolved since the first day the young Lady Elizabeth had heard that she was now Queen of all England; the succession to the throne.
However, it was generally believed that the King of Scotland was to succeed, and this question was put to the dying Queen. Elizabeth may or may not responded, but for the sake of the peaceful transition of power, it was declared that she had gestured for James VI of Scotland to succeed her. • The Queen fell into a deep sleep, and died in the early hours of the 24 Mar 1603. It was a Thursday, the death day of her father, and her sister.
As the Queen had wished, there was no post mortem. Her body was embalmed, and placed in a lead coffin. A few days later, the Queen began her last journey. She was taken by water to Whitehall, and laid in state, before being taken to Westminster Hall. There her body was to remain until the new King gave orders for her funeral.
On the 28 Apr 1603, the Queen was given a magnificent funeral. Her coffin, covered in purple velvet, was drawn by four horses draped in black. An effigy of the great Queen, dressed in the robes of state with a crown on her head and a sceptre in her hands, lay on the coffin beneath a mighty canopy held by six knights.
The streets were full of people, all come to pay their last respects to the Queen who had ruled them so wisely and for so long as she made her way to her final resting place at Westminster Abbey.
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary was the daughter of James V and destined to be the Queen of France. When Francis II died, she came back to be Queen of Scotland. The English Catholics believed that she was the only legitimate heir after Mary I’s death. She tried to capture the English throne, but she was having enough trouble keeping the Scottish throne.
She fled to England to ask for help from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Instead, she was imprisoned. After 19 years of trying to obtain her freedom, she was charged and found guilty of taking part in a plot to kill Elizabeth. Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587. She was 44 years old.
JAMES I • James I of England was James VI of Scotland. His mother was Mary Queen of Scots, and at Elizabeth I’s death, James was named her heir. A Catholic, he was known for the authorization of the King James Version of the Bible, as well as for being the “Wisest Fool in Christendom”.
