Tudor History

Henry VII is crowned king

Aug 22, 1485

Henry VII is crowned King of England after defeating Richard III at The Battle of Bosworth. The defeat of Richard III ended the War of the Roses which were a series of wars fough between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

Tudor History

Period: Aug 22, 1485 to Jun 23, 1540

Marriage

Jan 18, 1486

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marry at Westminster. This marriage marked the unification of the two houses. They also had a son born in this year, Prince Arthur.

Battle of Stoke

Jun 17, 1487

Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne from Ireland, is intercepted and defeated by Henry VII.This was the last battle in the War of the Roses.

Prince Arthur dies

Apr 2, 1502

11 year old Henry becomes heir to the throne after Prine Arthur catches a deadly disease and dies. He was only 15. He leaves his wife, Catherine of Aragon, behind. Henry VIII would later marry her.

James IV marries Margaret

Aug 8, 1503

James IV of Scotland marries Henry's daughter Margaret. The marriage between the two was seen as a way of easing the tension between the Englsih and Scottish crowns.

Henry VII dies, Henry VIII succeeds

Apr 21, 1509

Henry VII dies and is succeeded by Henry VIII who was 17 years old at the time. He was regared as athletic and intelligent. He married his brothers widow, Catherine of Aragon, two months after he became king.

James IV is killed in battle

Sep 9, 1513

James IV of Scotland is killed at the Battle of Flooden field. He declared war on England after they went to war with France as a reult of the Italian Wars. Thomas Howard led England's outnumbered army to victory.

Thomas Wolsey

Jan 1, 1515

Thomas Wolsey becomes Henry VIII's chief minister in this year. In 1518, he basically became head of the English Church after being made Papal Legate. Wolsey's prestigous position soon came to end after he failed to arragne a divorce betweeen Henry and Catherine of Aragon.

Fidei Defensor

Oct 17, 1521

The Pope, Leo X, rewards Henry with the title Defender Of The Faith in recognition of his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum' (Defence of the Seven Sacraments). Henry's book defended marriage and the supremacy of the pope and attacked the teachings of Martin Luther.

Henry VIII attempts to annul his marriage

Jan 1, 1527

In this year, Henry VIII appealed to the Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. This was because Catherine wa aging and he was desperate to have a male heir to the throne. He wanted to marry Ann Boleyn instead. The Pope blocked Henry's attempt to divorce his wife.

First protestant martyr burned

Feb 29, 1528

Patrick Hamilton was a churchman who travleede to europe to learn about the reforming ideas of Martin Luther. He came back to Scotland to preach but he was tried as a heretic and burned at the stake in St Andrews

English Church support Henry's desire to divorce Catherine

May 15, 1532

The Pope rejected Henry's appeal to divorce his wife as this would go against the Catholic religion. Angered by this event, Henry put pressure on the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant him a divorce. In the end, the Church allowed him to end his marriage to Catherine and marry the pregnant Ann Boleyn a year later.

Henry is made head of the English Church

Nov 1, 1534

The Act of Supremacy confirms Henry as the head of the Englsih Church and also seperated the Roman Catholic Church from the Church of England.

Sir Thomas More executed

Jul 6, 1535

Sir Thomas More is executed for treason after refusing to acknowledge the Act of Succession which made Elizabeth heir to the throne. He was Henry's Chancellor.

Dissolution of the monasteries begins

Jan 1, 1536

Henry believed the monasteries were still loyal to the Pope after several measures were intorduced in England to end the Pope's authority. Whether Henry decided to rid of the monasteries for money is open to debate. Thousands of people were made homeless as a reult.

Execution of Ann Boleyn

May 19, 1536

Henry's second wife failed to provide him with a male heir to the throne. She did however provide him with another daughter, Elizabeth. Henry soon grew tired of Ann and she was found guilty of adultery and treason. She was executed at the tower of London.

First Bible is published in Englsih

Aug 4, 1536

Archbishop Thomas Cramner organised the publication of a bible in English.

Prince Edward is born

Oct 12, 1537

Henry married Jane Seymour a few days after Ann was executed. She soon died after giving birth to Henry's only son. He was distraught by her death.