British History - Tudors & Stuarts 1485 - 1714

EDWARD VI

Edward was only nine when he came to the throne, and the government was in the hands of his uncle, Edward, Duke of Somerset, who had the title Protector. Somerset abolished the laws against heresy, removed images and altars from the churches, and introduced an English-language Book of Common Prayer, which was compiled by Thomas Cranmer. By an Act of Uniformity in 1549, the use of this Prayer Book was made compulsory. In another change, priests who had previously had to live as single men were now allowed to marry.

LADY JANE GREY

In 1550 the Duke of Northumberland took over from Somerset as Protector and persuaded Edward to name Lady Jane Grey as his heir to the throne. Lady Jane, the grand-daughter of Henry VII, was married to Northumberland's son Guildford Dudley. Edward agreed to Lady Jane Grey becoming his successor because he feared that the Crown would otherwise pass to his sister, Mary, who was a devout Catholic and who would make England a Catholic country again. Edward died in 1553 but his death was kept secret and Lady Jane was proclaimed queen. But less than two weeks later Mary's claim to the throne was recognized and Lady Jane and her husband were imprisoned. At first Mary refused to execute Lady Jane Grey, Dudley and Northumberland, for attempting to secure a Protestant succession. But a rising in their favour led by Sir Thomas Wyatt made Mary realize they would always be a danger to her while they lived. They were beheaded in the Tower of London on February 12, 1554.

MARY I

Mary I came to the throne in 1553. She had been unhappy ever since Henry VIII had divorced her mother, Catherine of Aragon. Her greatest wish now was to undo the Reformation and restore England to the Roman Catholic faith. Mary's husband, the devoutly Catholic Philip II of Spain, encouraged her plans. Opposition to the Church of Rome was strong and could only be crushed by harsh measures. Mary began by stopping all clergy from reading the Book of Common Prayer. In Mary's five-year reign 275 Protestants were put to death for refusing to convert back to Catholicism. Among the victims were nobles and clergy such as Archbishop Cranmer. Mary has since acquired the nickname ''Bloody Mary''. Mary died broken-hearted in 1558. Her husband did not love her and lived abroad and she had no child or heir. The loss of Calais - England's last foothold in France - in 1558 was the final blow for this unhappy queen. ''When I die,'' Mary said, ''Calais will be written on my heart.''

FOCUS ON THE GREAT TUDOR PALACES

There are many fine Tudor manors, houses and palaces all over England - from the black-and-white half-timbered houses of Chester, to the Great Houses of Hardwick Hall, and especially Hampton Court Palace. Five wives of Henry VIII lived in the splendid Hampton Court situated beside the Thames, and it is said to be haunted by the ghost of Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. The palace was offered to Henry in 1526 by Cardinal Wolsey who wanted to keep in favour with the king. Tournaments were held in the Tiltyard Gardens, and the Clock Court, Great Hall and Gate House are all of Tudor origin. Bess Hardwick, one of the richest people in Elizabeth I's reign, was actively involved in the designed of her great house, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire in 1597. Now that the barons' wars were over, these palaces were built without castle-style fortifications.

Elizabeth I

HENRY VIII'S YOUNGER DAUGHTER, Elizabeth, ascended the throne in 1558, with no opposition. She restored the Protestant religion and gradually established the Church of England. Elizabeth I was a remarkable woman. She spoke five languages besides English: Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish. She was a talented musician, a graceful dancer and a fine archer. She was also a very skilled politician, calculating and extremely clever. Elizabeth said of herself that she had ''the body of a weak and feeble woman, but the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too''.

GOOD QUEEN BESS

Elizabeth's reign lasted for 45 years. She remained unmarried and independently powerful, and dominated her male advisors. She died without an heir: Her court celebrated her as Gloriana, and the ordinary people referred to her as Good Queen Bess. Her enemies were mostly Roman Catholics, who were badly treated and often went in fear of their lives. Her reign also witnessed the execution of Mary Stuart and the dramatic attack of the Spanish Armada.

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland when she was just a week old on the death of her father, James V. She was brought up as a Catholic in France, and was married at the age of 16 to the dauphin of France. When he became king in 1559, she became Queen of France as well as of Scotland. Through her descent from Henry VIII's sister, Margaret, Mary was also Elizabeth's heir and so she had a claim to the English throne too. Mary was celebrated as the most beautiful woman of her time, an accomplished and graceful child of the French court. She was also a clever politician - almost as dominating as Elizabeth of England.

MARY'S DECLINE AND FALL

In 1561 Mary's husband died and she returned to Scotland. The Scots were mainly Protestants and disapproved of Mary's religion and of her foreign ways. She next married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who was a jealous man. Darnley helped murder Mary's secretary, David Rizzio, suspecting him of being the queen's lover. Mary, in turn, was determined on revenge. Soon after their son James was born, Darnley was strangled and the house where he was staying blown up. Suspicion fell on James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and increased when Mary married him. The Scottish lords did not like Bothwell. Scottish opposition to Mary forced her to give up the throne in favour of her baby son, James VI. Mary fled to England, throwing herself on Elizabeth's mercy. But Elizabeth made her a prisoner. Mary was considered a ringleader in a series of plots against Elizabeth. Mary was charged with involvement in the Babington Plot and was tried and found guilty. Elizabeth eventually allowed Mary's execution.

PHILIP II PLANS AN INVASION

Under Elizabeth I, England became Protestant again. Philip II of Spain was determined to dethrone her. He wanted to restore England to the Catholic faith that his wife Mary I had so rigorously tried to reinstate. Elizabeth had angered Philip by supporting the Dutch in their war of independence against Spain. British seamen, were also raiding Spanish colonies and plundering treasure ships. Philip planned an invasion.

THE ARMADA

In 1588 an Armada, or fleet, of 130 Spanish warships set sail up the English Channel, to pick up soldiers from Dunkirk in France and land them on the English coast. The English prepared an emergency fleet led by experienced sailors Lord Howard of Effingham, Francis Drake, John Hawkins, and Martin Frobisher. The English fought a running naval battle with the Spanish in the Channel. Eventually the Armada took shelter in Calais harbour, but Drake sent in fireships. To escape the danger of their whole fleet catching fire, the Spaniards hurriedly raised anchor and sailed out to another confused battle. Both sides had run short of cannon fire, and with no further supplies available, the Armada was forced by bad weather to escape into the North Sea.
The Armada returned home after sailing round the British Isles. It lost 44 ships out of 130. Many surviving ships had to be scrapped. This did not end the conflict between Spain and England which continued because Elizabeth could not bear to hold peace talks with Spain. It was left to her successor, James I, to make peace in 1604.