BRITISH MONARCHY AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS

founded by John Wycliffe during the reign of Edward III, gained momentum

and frightened both secular and clerical landowners, inspiring the first

anti-heresy statute, De Heritico Comburendo, to become law in 1401. Henry,

ailing from leprosy and epilepsy, watched as Prince Henry controlled the

government for the last two years of his reign. In 1413, Henry died in the

Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey. Rafael Holinshed explained his

unpopularity in Chronicles of England: "... by punishing such as moved with

disdain to see him usurp the crown, did at sundry times rebel against him,

he won(himself more hatred, than in all his life time ... had been possible

for him to have weeded out and removed." Unlikely as it may seem (due to

the amount of rebellion in his reign); Henry left his eldest son an

undisputed succession.

HENRY V (1413-1422)

Henry V, the eldest son of Henry IV and Mary Bohun, was born in 1387. As

per arrangement by the Treaty of Troyes, he married Catherine, daughter of

the French King Charles VI, in June 1420. His only child, the future Henry

VI, was born in 1421.

Henry was an accomplished soldier: at age fourteen he fought the Welsh

forces of Owen ap Glendower; at age sixteen he commanded his father's

forces at the battle of Shrewsbury; and shortly after his accession he put

down a major Lollard uprising and an assassination plot by nobles still

loyal to Richard II . He proposed to marry Catherine in 1415, demanding the

old Plantagenet lands of Normandy and Anjou as his dowry. Charles VI

refused and Henry declared war, opening yet another chapter in the Hundred

Years' War. The French war served two purposes - to gain lands lost in

previous battles and to focus attention away from any of his cousins' royal

ambitions. Henry, possessed a masterful military mind and defeated the

French at the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415, and by 1419 had captured

Normandy, Picardy and much of the Capetian stronghold of the Ile-de-France.

By the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, Charles VI not only accepted Henry as

his son-in-law, but passed over his own son to name Henry as heir to the

French crown. Had Henry lived a mere two months longer, he would have been

king of both England and France.

Henry had prematurely aged due to living the hard life of a soldier. He

became seriously ill and died after returning from yet another French

campaign; Catherine had bore his only son while he was away and Henry died

having never seen the child. The historian Rafael Holinshed, in Chronicles

of England , summed up Henry's reign as such: "This Henry was a king, of

life without spot, a prince whom all men loved, and of none disdained, e

captain against whom fortune never frowned, nor mischance once spurned,

whose people him so severe a justicer both loved and obeyed (and so humane

withal) that he left no offence unpunished, nor friendship unrewarded; a

terror to rebels, and suppressor of sedition, his virtues notable, his

qualities most praiseworthy."

HENRY VI (1422-61, 1470-71 AD)

Henry VI was the only child of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, born on

December 6, 1421. He married Margaret of Anjou in 1445; the union produced

one son, Edward, who was killed in battle one day before Henry's execution.

Henry came to the throne as an infant after the early death of his father;

in name, he was king of both England and France, but a protector ruled each

realm. He was educated by Richard Beauchamp beginning in 1428. The whole of

Henry's reign was involved with retaining both of his crowns - in the end,

he held neither.

Hostilities in France continued, but momentum swung to the French with

the appearance of Joan of Arc in 1428. The seventeen year old was

instrumental in rescuing the French Dauphin Charles in 1429; he was crowned

at Reims as Charles VII, and she was burned at the stake as a heretic.

English losses in Brittany (1449), Normandy (1450) and Gascony (1453) led

to the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War in 1453. Henry lost his claim

to all French soil except for Calais.

The Wars of the Roses began in full during Henry's reign. In 1453, Henry

had an attack of the hereditary mental illness that plagued the French

house of Valois; Richard, Duke of York, was made protector of the realm

during the illness. His wife Margaret, a rather headstrong woman, alienated

Richard upon Henry's recovery and Richard responded by attacking and

defeating the queen's forces at St. Albans in 1455. Richard captured the

king in 1460 and forced him to acknowledge Richard as heir to the crown.

Henry escaped, joined the Lancastvian forces and attacked at Towton in

March 1461, only to be defeated by the Yorks. Richard's son, Edward IV, was

proclaimed king; Margaret and Henry were exiled to Scotland. They were

captured in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1470. Henry

was briefly restored to power in Settember 1470. Edward, Prince of Wales,

died after his final victory at Tewkesbury on May 20, 1471 and Henry

returned to the Tower. The last Lancastrian king was murdered the following

day.

THE YORKISTS

The Yorkist conquest of the Lancastrians in 1461 did not put an end to

the Wars of the Roses, which rumbled on until the start of the sixteenth

century. Family disloyalty in the form of Richard III's betrayal of his

nephews, the young King Edward V and his brother, was part of his downfall.

Henry Tudor, a claimant to the throne of Lancastrian descent, defeated

Richard III in battle and Richard was killed. With the marriage of Henry to

Elizabeth, the sister of the young Princes in the Tower, reconciliation was

finally achieved between the warring houses of Lancaster and York in the

form of the new Tudor dynasty, which combined their respective red and

white emblems to produce the Tudor rose.

EDWARD IV (1461-1470 and 1471-1483)

Edward IV was able to restore order, despite the temporary return to the

throne of Henry VI (reigned 1470-71, during which time Edward fled to the

Continent in exile) supported by the Earl of Warwick, 'the Kingmaker', who

had previously supported Edward and who was killed at the Battle of Barnet

in 1471. Edward also made peace with France; by a shrewd display of force

to exert pressure, Edward reached a profitable agreement with Louis XI at

Picquigny in 1475. At home, Edward relied heavily on his own personal

control in government, reviving the ancient custom of sitting in person 'on

the bench' (i.e. in judgement) to enforce justice. He sacked Lancastrian

office-holders and used his financial acumen to introduce tight management

of royal revenues to reduce the Crown's debt. Building closer relations

with the merchant community, he encouraged commercial treaties; he

successfully traded in wool on his own account to restore his family's

fortunes and enable the King to 'live of his own', paying the costs of the

country's administration from the Crown Estates profits and freeing him

from dependence on subsidies from Parliament. Edward rebuilt St George's

Chapel at Windsor (possibly seeing it as a mausoleum for the Yorkists, as

he was buried there) and a new great hall at Eltham Palace. Edward

collected illuminated manuscripts - his is the only intact medieval royal

collection to survive (in the British Library) - and patronised the new

invention of printing. Edward died in 1483, leaving by his marriage to

Elizabeth Woodville a 12-year-old son, Edward, to succeed him.

EDWARD V (April-June 1483)

Edward V was a minor, and his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was made

Protector. Richard had been loyal throughout to his brother Edward IV

including the events of 1470-71, Edward's exile and their brother's

rebellion (the Duke of Clarence, who was executed in 1478 by drowning,

reputedly in a barrel of Malmsey wine). However, he was suspicious of the

Woodville faction, possibly believing they were the cause of Clarence's

death. In response to an attempt by Elizabeth Woodville to take power,

Richard and Edward V entered London in May, with Edward's coronation fixed

for 22 June. However, in mid-June Richard assumed the throne as Richard III

(reigned 1483-85). Edward V and his younger brother Richard were declared

illegitimate, taken to the Royal apartments at the Tower of London (then a

Royal residence) and never seen again. (Skeletons, allegedly theirs, found

there in 1674 were later buried in Westminster Abbey.)

RICHARD III (1483-1485)

Richard III usurped the throne from the young Edward V, who disappeared

with his younger brother while under their ambitious uncle's supposed

protection. On becoming king, Richard attempted genuine reconciliation

with the Yorkists by showing consideration to Lancastrians purged from

office by Edward IV, and moved Henry VI's body to St George's Chapel at

Windsor. The first laws written entirely in English were passed during his

reign. In 1484, Richard's only legitimate son Edward predeceased him.

Before becoming king, Richard had had a strong power base in the north, and

his reliance on northerners during his reign was to increase resentment in

the south. Richard concluded a truce with Scotland to reduce his

commitments in the north. Nevertheless, resentment against Richard grew. On

7 August 1485, Henry Tudor (a direct descendant through his mother Margaret

Beaufort, of John of Gaunt, one of Edward III's younger sons) landed at

Milford Haven in Wales to claim the throne. On 22 August, in a two-hour

battle at Bosworth, Henry's forces (assisted by Lord Stanley's private army

of around 7,000 which was deliberately posted so that he could join the

winning side) defeated Richard's larger army and Richard was killed. Buried

without a monument in Leicester, Richard's bones were scattered during the

English Reformation.

THE TUDORS

The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-known

figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in ending

the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to found the

highly successful Tudor house. Henry VII, his son Henry VIII and his three

children Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I ruled for 118 eventful years.

During this period, England developed into one of the leading European

colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter Raleigh taking part in the

conquest of the New World. Nearer to home, campaigns in Ireland brought the

country under strict English control.

Culturally and socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor

court played a prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in

Europe, nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund

Spenser and Cardinal Wolsey. The Tudor period also saw the turbulence of

two changes of official religion, resulting in the martyrdom of many

innocent believers of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The fear of

Roman Catholicism induced by the Reformation was to last for several

centuries and to play an influential role in the history of the Succession.

THE TUDORS

1485 - 1603

HENRY VII = Elizabeth of York,

(1485–1509) dau. of EDWARD IV

Catherine of (1) = HENRY VIII = (2) Anne Boleyn, = (3)

Jane, dau. Margaret (1) = JAMES IV,

Aragon, dau. (1509–1547) dau. of Earl

of Sir John King of

Scotland

of FERDINAND V, of Wiltshire

Seymour

(1488–1513)

first King of Spain

ELIZABETH I

EDWARD VI JAMES V, = Mary of

MARY I (1547–1553)

(1558–1603) King of Scotland Lorraine,

(1553–1558)

(1513–1542) dau. of

Duke

of

Guise

MARY, =

Henry, Lord

Queen Darnley

of Scots

(1542–1567,

ex.1587)

THE STUARTS 1603 – 1714 Anne, dau. of =

JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND

FREDERICK II,

AND I OF ENGLAND

King of Denmark

(1567–1625)

(1603–1625)

Elizabeth = Frederick V, CHARLES I = Henrietta

Maria,

Elector Palatine (1625– dau.

of HENRY IV,

ex.1649)

King of France

Sophia = Ernest Augustus,

Elector of Hanover

CHARLES II

Mary = WILLIAM II JAMES II =

Anne Hyde,

(1649–1685)

of Orange (1685–

dau. of Earl of

GEORGE I

deposed 1688)

Clarendon

(1714–1727)

WILLIAM III = MARY II

ANNE

(1689–1702) (1689–1694)

(1702–1714)

Joint Sovereigns

HENRY VII (1485-1509 AD)

Henry VII, son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, was born in 1457.

He married Elizabeth of York in 1486, who bore him four children: Arthur,

Henry, Margaret and Mary. He died in 1509 after reigning 24 years.

Henry descended from John of Gaunt, through the latter's illicit affair

with Catherine Swynford; although he was a Lancastrian, he gained the

throne through personal battle. The Lancastrian victory at the Battle of

Bosworth in 1485 left Richard III slain in the field, York ambitions routed

and Henry proclaimed king. From the onset of his reign, Henry was

determined to bring order to England after 85 years of civil war. His

marriage to Elizabeth of York combined both the Lancaster and York factions

within the Tudor line, eliminating further discord in regards to

succession. He faced two insurrections during his reign, each centered

around "pretenders" who claimed a closer dynastic link to the Plantagenets

than Henry. Lambert Simnel posed as the Earl of Warwick, but his army was

defeated and he was eventually pardoned and forced to work in the king's

kitchen. Perkin Warbeck posed as Richard of York, Edward V's younger

brother (and co-prisoner in the Tower of London); Warbeck's support came

from the continent, and after repeated invasion attempts, Henry had him

imprisoned and executed.

Henry greatly strengthened the monarchy by employing many political

innovations to outmaneuver the nobility. The household staff rose beyond

mere servitude: Henry eschewed public appearances, therefore, staff members

were the few persons Henry saw on a regular basis. He created the Committee

of the Privy Council ,a forerunner of the modern cabinet) as an executive

advisory board; he established the Court of the Star Chamber to increase

royal involvement in civil and criminal cases; and as an alternative to a

revenue tax disbursement from Parliament, he imposed forced loans and

grants on the nobility. Henry's mistrust of the nobility derived from his

experiences in the Wars of the Roses - a majority remained dangerously

neutral until the very end. His skill at by-passing Parliament (and thus,

the will of the nobility) played a crucial role in his success at

renovating government.

Henry's political acumen was also evident in his handling of foreign

affairs. He played Spain off of France by arranging the marriage of his

eldest son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and

Isabella. Arthur died within months and Henry secured a papal dispensation

for Catherine to marry Arthur's brother, the future Henry VIII; this single

event had the widest-ranging effect of all Henry's actions: Henry VIII's

annulment from Catherine was the impetus for the separation of the Church

of England from the body of Roman Catholicism. The marriage of Henry's

daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland would also have later

repercussions, as the marriage connected the royal families of both England

and Scotland, leading the Stuarts to the throne after the extinction of the

Tudor dynasty. Henry encouraged trade and commerce by subsidizing ship

building and entering into lucrative trade agreements, thereby increasing

the wealth of both crown and nation.

Henry failed to appeal to the general populace: he maintained a distance

between king and subject. He brought the nobility to heel out of necessity

to transform the medieval government that he inherited into an efficient

tool for conducting royal business. Law and trade replaced feudal

obligation as the Middle Ages began evolving into the modern world. Francis

Bacon, in his history of Henry VII, described the king as such: "He was of

a high mind, and loved his own will and his own way; as one that revered

himself, and would reign indeed. Had he been a private man he would have

been termed proud: But in a wise Prince, it was but keeping of distance;

which indeed he did towards all; not admitting any near or full approach

either to his power or to his secrets. For he was governed by none."

HENRY VIII (1509-47 AD)

Henry VIII, born in 1491, was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth

of York. The significance of Henry's reign is, at times, overshadowed by

his six marriages: dispensing with these forthwith enables a deeper search

into the major themes of the reign. He married Catherine of Aragon (widow

of his brother, Arthur) in 1509, divorcing her in 1533; the union produced

one daughter, Mary. Henry married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in 1533; she

gave him another daughter, Elizabeth, but was executed for infidelity (a

treasonous charge in the king's consort) in May 1536. He married Jane

Seymour by the end of the same month, who died giving birth to Henry's lone

male heir, Edward, in October 1536. Early in 1540, Henry arranged a

marriage with Anne of Cleves, after viewing Hans Holbein's beautiful

portrait of the German princess. In person, alas, Henry found her homely

and the marriage was never consummated. In July 1540, he married the

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