English Reformation

Duration of Reformation

Period: Jan 1, 1509 to Dec 31, 1609

King Henry Takes the Throne

Apr 21, 1509

At age 17, King Henry took the throne after his father King Henry VII died. His older brother Arthur was expected to take the throne before both he and his mother passed. Henry lived a sheltered life, never spending much time with his father and instead spending constant time with his mother Elizabeth. In his younger years he was very athletic, but an accident on horseback crippled him, ending the athletic phase in his childhood.

Marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon

Jun 11, 1509

Catherine of Aragon, born in 1485, was first married to Henry's older brother Arthur until he died. In June of 1509 Henry held a wedding and coronation for Catherine and she become his first wife.

Birth of Mary I

Feb 18, 1516

She was the only child of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary was later known as Bloody Mary and would take the throne after her brother, Edward died.

Marriage of Henry and Anne Boleyn

Jan 25, 1533

After she became pregnant with his child, Henry and Anne married secretly. Once Henry and Catherine's marriage was ended, they were free to announce it to the public. Henry had actually had an affair with Anne's older sister Mary years before the Henry and Anne were married. Anne spent several years of her life in France and spoke the language flluently. She also served under Queen Catherine for some years before marrying Henry. She also gave birth to Henry's second child, Elizabeth.

Catherine and Henry Divorced

Jun 18, 1533

After finding out that Anne Boleyn became pregnant with Henry's second child, he asked the Roman Catholic Church to allow him to divorce Catherine. They refused, so he decided to leave the church and make himself the head of the Church of England.

Birth of Elizabeth

Aug 26, 1533

Henry's second daughter is born, from Anne Boleyn.She would become queen on November 17, 1558 and be known as one of England's greatest monarchs.Elizabeth held religious view opposite to those of her sister Mary, and so promptly revoked Catholic legistlation she had imposed.She never married, gaining the nickname "Virgin Queen". However, she was linked to a few suitors.Elizabeth led England well;new areas of the New World were explored under her watch. She also oversaw the Spanish Armada defeat

Act of Supremacy Granted

Nov 1, 1534

The first Act of Supremacy is put in place by King Henry VIII and Parlimentofficialy in 1534, granting the king authority over the Church of England. It's coming about stemmed from the fact that Catherine couldn't give birth to a male heir healthy enough to survive. Henry had wanted to divorce her. Under current circumstances, the Pope could not grant his wishes and Cathernine simply didn't want to, pulling in her nepthew Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) to help.

Death of Catherine of Aragon

Jan 7, 1536

After she was essentially outsted by Henry in 1533 and granted the title Princess Dowager of Wales, Catherine was forced to leave and live in poorly maintained, unsanitary manors and castles, with few people to aid her as compared to before. She rarely complained though and often prayed until her death at Kimbolton Castle.

Anne Boleyn is Executed

May 17, 1536

On this day Anne Boleyn is executed on the charges of audultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king. Shortly before her death, her marriage to the king was pronounced invalid.

Marriage of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour

May 30, 1536

King Henry VIII had supposedly been planning to marry Jane far before he executed Anne Boleyn, his second wife. Jane is described as calm and composed. She would give him his first son, Edward. She might possibly have first arrived at his househould while serving Catherine of Aragon(1st wife), & been switched to serving Ann Boleyn as she grew to be the next apple of the king's eye. Henry stayed at her family home in Wiltshire in September 1535, which is where Jane may have caught his attention.

Birth of Edward VI

Oct 15, 1537

Henry's first & only son is born, whobecame king at age 10 in 1547. after his father's death.

Death of Jane Seymour

Oct 24, 1537

Just two weeks after giving birth to Edward, Jane passed away. She is said to be the only of King Henry VII's wives to be buried with him.

Marriage to Anne of Cleves

Jan 6, 1540

The marriage occurs in Greenwich, England. It was arranged mainly to create an alliance in case furhter conflict arose with France and the Holy Roman Empire. Interestingly, before he ever even created a contract for marriage, had sent agents and painters to gather information regarding the desirability of bride candidates. Hans Holbein, one of those painters, was sent to scout out Anne.

Annulment of Marriage to Anne of Cleves

Jul 1, 1540

Tensions arose, both personally and emotionally related. Allegedly, Henry calledanne a 'Flanders Mare', and tensions between him and the Duke of Cleves (her father) were growing out of control to the point of possible war. She was also not well accustomed to the lifestyle of the English at the time. She had been raised to learn domestic skills, rather than the literature and music so greatly emphasized by Henry and hiss court.

Marriage to Kathryn Howard

Jul 28, 1540

The pair was married at Oatlands Palace, a mere16 days after his marriage to Anne ended. She was only 19 while Henry was 49 years old. Interestingly, Kathryn had been a lady in waiting to Anne Boleyn, which is wwhen she is speculated to have cought Henry's eye.

Execution of Kathryn Howard

Feb 13, 1542

Barely a year, not even that, into her marriage with Henry, rumors of cheating surfaced. Being only 19, it kind of figured that she would sometimes want the company of a hansome lad around her age. Henry after allhad gained a considerable amount of wight and had leg ulcers. In November 1541, Archbishop Cranmer told Henry of the rumors. He hesistated to believe them at first, but eventually gathered enough evidence to execute.

Marriage to Katherine Parr

Jul 12, 1543

The marriage occured at Qeeun's Closet, Hampton Court Palace. Both of her parents, Sir Thomas Parr and Maud GReen, had served in Henry's court during his early years as king. HEr mither was mindful of education and the role of an independent woman in society, and Katherin resultatly had an unquenchable thirst for language and learning. She spoke French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish when she gaiend the throne. She was, oddly enough, named after Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife.

Death of King Henry VIII

Jan 28, 1547

King Henry dies, leaving his ten year old son Edward to take the throne and his current wife Katherine Parr a widow.

Edward Takes the Throne

Jan 28, 1547

At age ten, after his father's death, Edward takes the throne. Following somewhat in the footsteps of his father, he did not obey Roman Catholicism, but was rather a devout Protestant. In 1549, he began consistent Protestant service that built upon his Book of Common Prayer. He was known for being fairly sickly throughout all his life, supposedly because of tuberculosis. Eventually, he became terminally ill, outsting his sisters & allowing Lady Jane Gray to rule.

Death of Katherine Parr

Sep 5, 1548

Shortly after Henry VIII's death, she secretly married Thomas SEymour, which affected any influence she would have had upon the regency of Edward, the new king, age 9. Later, in June 1548, she moved to Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire. She was pregnant, and gave birth to Mary on August 30th. However, she soon after caough a continuous fever, whcih would cause her death on September 5.

Mary I Takes the Throne

Jul 1, 1553

She becomes queen in July of 1553, soon after beginning her search for a husband. She found one in Philip II of Spain, son of Charles V (who she was supposed ot be married to, but that was broken off). He was 11 years younger than her. She gained her gruesome nickname "Bloody Mary" from her burning around 300 protestants at the stake during her five year rule. She didn't tolerate them and preferred Roman-Catholicism.

Death of Edward VI

Jul 6, 1553

He died in Greenwich Palace, following a mysterious and painful sickness. He was only 15. His ailment had begun as afever and cough, which graudally grew progressively worse. He had moved to Greenwich in hopes of helping his recovery. Later symptoms included ghastly colored "mouth ejections" and legs so swollen he had to lie on his back. His last public appearance was on July 1, 1553. People waited until the 3rd to see him, but weather was too chilly to allow that.

Act of Supremacy Repealed

Jan 23, 1554

Henry's Catholic daughter, Mary repeals the Act of Supremacy during her reign

Death of Anne of Cleves

Jul 16, 1557

She died while residing in the countryside in Chelsea Manor, London.

Death of Mary I

Nov 17, 1558

She died in St. James Palace in London at age 42.

Elizabeth I Takes the Throne

Nov 17, 1558

Elizabeth becomes the fifth and final Tudor monarch in England. She will rule until her death. During her reign she defeated the spanish armada and reinstated the Act of Supremacy, first put in place by her father.

Second Act of Supremacy Granted

Nov 18, 1558

Queen Elizabeth I reinstates the act of her father and declares herself Supreme Govenor of the Church of England upon her ascension.

Death of Queen Elizabeth I

Mar 24, 1603

Elizabeth dies of old age and severe depression, at around 2 or 3 am. Her fall from health began in autumn 1602, when a succesion of death among her friends began to drag her down. Catherine Howard's hurt particularly much. The next month she became depressed, and then died. This would be the end of the Tudor family's reign over England.