House of Tudor Family Tree

 

The House of Tudor Family Tree below details all Tudor Kings and Queens of England from 1485 – 1603 and their direct ancestors and descendants.

In this House of Tudor Family Tree, Tudor monarchs are capitalized and coloured blue. Direct descendants of the House are capitalized in black while spouses are shown in black and lower case. Kings of Scotland are shown in black and lower case except for James VI who succeeded to the English throne following the death of Elizabeth I and the end of the Tudor line.

 

What is the House of Tudor?

The House of Tudor ruled England for just over a century from 1485 to 1603. Although their ascendancy is relatively short compared to other royal houses, the changes made during the period had far reaching consequences. 

The House of Tudor is named after the first monarch, Henry Tudor, who took the throne in 1485 after defeating Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field and ending the Wars of the Roses.

The Wars of the Roses was the result of succession disputes between the Houses of Lancaster and York.  Henry Tudor was a member of the House of Lancaster, but on his accession he married Elizabeth of York uniting the two houses. years.

The emblem of the House of Tudor was the red and white Tudor rose – an amalgam of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York.

 

History of the House of Tudor

King Henry VII

The first monarch of the House of Tudor was Henry Tudor, son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, who took the throne as King Henry VII in August 1485. His marriage to Elizabeth of York produced eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

Their firstborn was a son, Arthur born in 1486, was created Prince of Wales. He was followed by Margaret born 1489, Henry born in 1491 and Mary born in 1496. Three other children, Elizabeth born in 1492, Edmund born in 1499, Edward year of birth not known, and Katherine born in 1503 died in infancy.

Henry VII was keen to establish the House of Tudor as strong and influential European rulers. He made treaties with both Spain and Scotland, sealed with the marriage of his son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon and his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland.

However, in 1502, the death of Prince Arthur left the dynasty weakened as its survival rested on Prince Henry, the only one surviving son.

 

King Henry VIII

Prince Henry succeeded his father in 1509 and within weeks married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. The joy and optimism for the future following the birth of their son, Henry, on 1st January 1511, soon turned to despair. The young prince died six weeks after his birth and Catherine did not give birth to another surviving child until the birth of Princess Mary in 1516.

By the mid 1520s, Henry had formed the opinion that his lack of male heir was due to God’s displeasure with his marrying his brother’s widow. Henry had also fallen in love with Anne Boleyn and was determined to divorce Catherine. However, Catherine steadfastly refused to grant him a divorce. Desperate to marry Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII instigated the Break with Rome and founded the Anglican church with himself as Head of the Church in England. With the Pope no longer having influence in England, Henry’s ministers were able to declare his marriage to Catherine of Aragon unlawful.

Henry married pregnant Anne Boleyn in January 1533 but the marriage did not bring him the happiness nor the son he so desired. The union produced just one child, a daughter Elizabeth born in September 1533. Although Anne had several more pregnancies they all resulted in miscarriage or stillbirth. Disenchanted with his second marriage, Henry now wanted to marry Jane Seymour and wanted a quick solution.

Henry’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, discovered ‘evidence’ of Anne’s infidelity and she was accused of sleeping with a number of men including her brother. She was tried, found guilty and beheaded on 19th May 1536. Eleven days later Henry married Jane Seymour.

Henry’s third marriage finally gave him the son he so desired. Prince Edward was born in October 1537, but sadly, his mother, died twelve days later.  Three more marriages followed but none produced children. A marriage to Anne of Cleves was designed to strengthen England’s relationship with Germany, but Henry disliked her on sight and she was quickly divorced. Kathryn Howard, niece of Thomas Howard and cousin of Anne Boleyn was Henry’s fifth wife, she was found guilty of adultery and beheaded. Henry’s sixth wife, Katherine Parr outlived him.

Henry VIII modelled himself on his ancestor, King Henry V, and went to war against France in 1513, 1525 and 1544 and against Scotland in 1513 and 1542. However, he failed to achieve the successes or military accolades of his predecessor.

 

King Edward VI

King Henry VIII died in 1547 and was succeeded by his ten-year old son, Edward. As a minor, a regency council had been established in Henry VIII’s will but Edward’s uncle, Edward Seymour soon took control and gave himself the title Duke of Somerset.

The Seymour family and King Edward VI were committed Protestants and introduced the Book of Common Prayer. Seymour also tried to force through the marriage of Prince Edward to Mary Queen of Scots by waging a war in Scotland known as Rough Wooing. The young queen of Scots was sent to France by her guardians where she married the dauphin.

The Seymour family fell from favour in 1550 and John Dudley emerged as leader of the council. Dudley was also a Protestant and when Edward became ill in Spring 1553, he married his son, Guildford to Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary. Neither Dudley, now Duke of Northumberland nor Edward wanted Henry VIII’s eldest daughter Mary to succeed because she was a Catholic. A Devise for the Succession was drawn up which settled the throne on Lady Jane Grey. 

 

Lady Jane Grey

King Edward VI died on 6th July 1553. His death was kept quiet for three days and on 9th July it was announced that Lady Jane Grey was Queen. However, Jane refused to be crowned and upset Northumberland’s plans when she also refused to allow Guildford Dudley to be King. 

The people were also not happy with this arrangement and support for Mary to be crowned Queen grew. Jane Grey was Queen for just nine days before Mary took her place.

 

Queen Mary I

Mary was proclaimed Queen on 19th July 1553. Northumberland was executed for treason two days later but Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley were imprisoned in the Tower. Mary recognised that they had been pawns in Northumberland’s scheme. 

In October 1553, Mary introduced two pieces of legislation: firstly a declaration that her mother and father’s marriage was legal and that she was their legitimate child; secondly she reversed all Protestant legislation and restored Catholicism.

While there was mass support for Mary to take her rightful place as queen, there was much less support for her decision to marry Philip of Spain. Sir Thomas Wyatt, son of the poet of the same name, led an uprising against the marriage. He was joined by Henry Grey, father of Jane Grey who wanted to see his daughter back on the throne. The rebellion failed and Wyatt and Grey were executed. To prevent further uprisings Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley were also executed.

The marriage with Philip went ahead in July 1554 and by September Mary believed she was pregnant. Although she put on weight and showed symptoms of pregnancy no baby appeared. Mary had further phantom pregnancies but the marriage produced no children. 

In November 1554 Mary began burning Protestants who refused to recant their faith. Three Hundred Protestants lost their lives in this way earning Mary the nickname Bloody Mary. 

Mary’s husband, Philip, had spent little time in England since the marriage, but he returned in 1557 seeking Mary’s support for his war against France. Eager to support her husband Mary agreed against her councillor’s advice. The war led to the loss of Calais, England’s last possession in France.

Mary died in November 1558 possibly from cancer. She was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth.

 

Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor monarchs. Having seen the devastating effect of her sister’s marriage she chose not to marry, preferring to retain her independence and overall control of her government. This decision earned her the nickname the Virgin Queen. 

Elizabeth was a Protestant and re-established the use of the Book of Common Prayer. She also made herself Head of the Church in England, once again breaking England from Rome. This was welcomed by Protestants but resisted by Catholics who sought to overturn her rule and replace her with her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. 

In 1568, Mary Queen of Scots fled Scotland and sought refuge in England. Elizabeth reluctantly agreed and had her placed under house arrest. Nevertheless, with Mary in England plots against Elizabeth increased. The uncovering of the Babington Plot in July 1586 led to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in February 1587.

Mary’s execution shocked the Catholic world and Philip of Spain, already angry at Elizabeth’s support for Protestants in the Netherlands, began amassing an armada to invade England. The defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English navy in 1588 was seen as a great triumph for Elizabeth. 

Also seen as a triumph were the voyages of discovery by Francis Drake who circumnavigated the globe, and Walter Raleigh who named Virginia after Elizabeth  and introduced potatoes and tobacco to England.

Elizabeth’s reign also saw the rise of the playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. The theatre was immensely popular and the Globe theatre in London was the most famous in England.

Although Elizabeth never married, she enjoyed a close relationship with Robert Dudley and it is likely that Dudley initially believed they would eventually marry. His death in 1588 affected Elizabeth badly. During her later reign Elizabeth had a close relationship with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, son of Lettice Knollys, second husband of Robert Dudley.

Devereux, Earl of Essex, used flattery to maintain his place at Elizabeth’s side and influence political decisions. However, in February 1601 he was found guilty of treason and executed.

On 24th March 1603, Elizabeth died having reigned for forty-five years. She had no children and the throne passed to James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots. Elizabeth’s death saw the end of the reign of the House of Tudor  and the amalgam of the rule of England and Scotland under the House of Stuart.

 

Complete list of  Tudor Monarchs 1485 – 1603

King Henry VII
 1485-1509
King Henry VIII
1509-1547
King Edward VI
1547-1553
Lady Jane Grey
1553
Queen Mary I
1553-1558
Queen Elizabeth I
1558-1603

 

Published Jan 07 2025  – Updated – Jan 07 2025