Who was king after Henry 8. Henry VIII Tudor. His wives and heirs

Henry VIII Tudor 1491-1547 Outstanding statesman and warrior, patron of the arts and sciences, poet and musician? Or a woman-killer, a daring apostate, an executioner of the opposition, a vile and ruthless man, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of his own interests and for the good

The colorful figure of the English King Henry VIII Tudor (1491-1547) has long attracted the attention of not only educated readers, professional historians and writers, but also psychiatrists and doctors. The task of unraveling this most colorful personality of the 16th century is too attractive. Perhaps science has finally come close to revealing the secrets of the English monarch, who became famous for his polygamy and the Reformation, which ended in a quarrel with the pope and the proclamation of Henry as the head of the Anglican Church.

Henry VIII Tudor

In 1993, Oxford historian Vivian Hubert Howard Green's book Mad Kings was published, where in the chapter on Henry (Big Harry) there is the following conclusion: "While, obviously, it would be ridiculous argue that the personality of Henry VIII shows the disturbed genes of the insane French king, it shows signs of mental and emotional imbalance. The author implies that Big Harry was the great-great-grandson of the French schizophrenic King Charles VI. So, maybe the whole short time is not in the genes, but in the blood? As Goethe rightly noted, "blood is a juice of a very special quality."

Eighteen years later, his colleagues published in the Cambridge Historical Gazette historical journal the results of your research. Bioarchaeologist Catrina Banks Whitley, PhD graduate of the Southern Methodical University (USA), and anthropologist Kyra Kramer argue that the repeated miscarriages that occurred in the king's wives could be due to the fact that the king has in the blood Kell antigen was present.

Let me remind you that Kell antigens (or Kell factors) are proteins found on the surface of red blood cells. There are about 24 of them, but two are most common - K and k. Moreover, the latter is present in almost all people, but the former is less common. Accordingly, depending on the presence or absence of it, people can be divided into three blood groups: Kell-positive (KK), Kell-neutral (Kk) and Kell-negative (kk). Among Europeans, representatives of the latter group are more common, but neutral and positive "Kellovites" are extremely rare (according to some sources, there are only nine percent of them).

In principle, a woman with only a negative Kell antigen in her blood can give birth to a man with a positive Kell antigen. healthy child. However, during the first pregnancy, her body produces antibodies that, during subsequent pregnancies, pass into the placenta and attack the fetus with a positive Kell antigen. As a result, babies may suffer from excess fluid in the tissues, anemia, jaundice, an enlarged spleen, or heart failure, often leading to miscarriage between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Here you go" blue blood"Monarch!

Catherine of Aragon was five years older than her husband. Their firstborn, a daughter, was born dead. The second child, Henry, Prince of Wales, born in 1511, lived for seven weeks. The remaining four children were either stillborn or died immediately after birth. The only surviving child was Maria, born in 1516. She became Queen of England in 1553 and went down in history as the Bloody.

They tried to explain the premature birth as a mental shock caused by the deterioration of relations between Henry and the queen's father. Allegedly, the monarch endlessly reproached Catherine for the betrayal of King Ferdinand of Aragon and "vented his discontent on her."

In 1518, one of his wife's ladies-in-waiting, Elizabeth Blount, bore him a son, later the Duke of Richmond. She was replaced by Mary Boleyn, and then her sister Anna, a sophisticated and well-read lady, "radiating sex." It was the marriage with Anne Boleyn that became the reason for the "divorce" from the throne of St. Peter. The Pope did not allow a lustful English autocrat to divorce a legitimate Spanish princess. As a stronghold of Catholicism, Henry personally wrote strong objections to Luther's teachings. The English monarch rebelled against the dictates of Rome only after the refusal of the pontiff to sanction his second marriage.

On January 29, 1536, Anna suffered a miscarriage of a male infant. It was even suggested that the fetus was probably a freak. Heinrich allowed himself to be convinced that Anna had bewitched him in order to marry him. Boleyn, in turn, attributed the miscarriage to the shock she experienced when she received the news of Henry's fall in a jousting tournament. Anna was worried not only for her husband's life, but also because her husband did not love her, but his new passion - Jane Seymour.

If Henry was also ill with Macleod's syndrome, then this is the reason for the cardinal physical and psychological changes in the physical and moral appearance of Henry VIII. McLeod syndrome is a genetic disease characteristic of people with a positive Kell antigen, reflected on the X chromosome. The disease is typical for men and manifests itself from the age of 40. Accompanied by symptoms such as heart disease, movement disorders, and major psychological symptoms, including paranoia and mental impairment.

There is no information in written sources about other symptoms that would correspond to Macleod's syndrome. There is no evidence of prolonged muscle contractions (tics, spasms, or convulsions) or abnormal increases in muscle activity (hyperfunction). However, scientists believe that significant psychological metamorphoses also speak in favor of their diagnosis: Heinrich's mental and emotional instability increased significantly in the years before his death. Researchers tend to diagnose it as psychosis.

In the first years of his reign (Henry was anointed king in 1509), the second of the Tudors on the throne was distinguished by his beautiful appearance, great energy and endowed with charisma. Humanists had high hopes for this versatile educated person, a brilliant athlete and player, as well as a gifted musician. Later, Henry's ill health was explained by malnutrition, as a result of which he developed scurvy and mourning. In the 1540s, the king had already gained so much weight that he could not go up and down the stairs and had to be lifted and lowered with the help of special devices.

"He ate too much meat, often with spices or pickles in winter, too little fruit and fresh vegetables, and therefore suffered from an acute lack of ascorbic acid or vitamin C, Vivian Green stated. “It seems that the features of his illness are quite consistent with the characteristic symptoms of scurvy: ulceration of the leg with rapidly spreading tumors, pain and wounds, halitosis, fatigue, difficulty walking, shortness of breath, edematous tumors, red complexion, irritability and depression. And yet Heinrich was certainly not the only one of his contemporaries who was ill due to malnutrition."

It was also assumed that Henry VIII had diabetes, syphilis and extensive gout. However, all these diagnoses are unproven. Neither he nor his children showed signs of syphilis, and there is no mention in the records of the use of then-current drugs against this venereal disease, such as mercury.

As soon as the general public had time to get acquainted with the results of a study of two American women, criticism against them was not long in coming. Retha Warnicke of Arizona State University, author of The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Trial of Henry VIII, said that without genetic analysis, there is hardly any chance of finding out the truth.

A large number of miscarriages in the family of the English monarch can be explained by other factors. Until the end of the 19th century, midwives had no idea about elementary hygiene. For this reason, in the time of Henry VIII, up to half of all children died before reaching adolescence. Cardinal changes in the personality of the king can be explained by hypodynamia - a lack of movement, a frantic appetite, which led to obesity and related diseases.

In general, a remarkable surge of scientific thought (the conjecture about blood) is again extinguished by traditionalists with "mossy" ideas about mental disorder sovereign.

C The reign of Henry the Eighth, the second Tudor king, was one of the longest and most well-documented in the history of England. Everyone knows the events of his personal life, which would be more than enough for three men, and not for one: six wives, two of whom he executed, divorced one, and abandoned the other, declaring the marriage invalid. short biography some of his wives could fit into one line:

Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, executed, died

Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Divorced, executed, survived..

Further, confusion with children, who is illegitimate, who is not. In order to gain freedom of personal life, he broke with the pope, who did not approve of divorces, and the evil Pinocchio became the head of the church himself, simultaneously executing everyone who did not have time to adapt.
Despite the fact that the TV series "The Tudors" and also the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" depict King Henry as a muscular, handsome brunette, in fact, of course, he was not one. Or was?
At the age of sixteen, they wrote about him: "A talented rider and knight, he is popular among his entourage for ease of handling." When Henry the Eighth turned fifty, it was said of him: "Aged before his age ... he is often quick-tempered, easily falls into anger and succumbs more and more to black depression as the years pass."
It is interesting to trace the changes in the appearance of the king, which reflected not only the natural course of time, but also the events that happened to him.

So, on June 28, 1491, King Henry the Seventh and his wife Elizabeth York had a second son, who was named after his father.
I think it was an angel with golden curls and bright eyes. True, the child was extremely spoiled, he even had his own whipping boy, who was punished for the hooliganism of the little prince.

Prince Henry grew up to be a well-educated and well-read man, fluent in French and Latin and Spanish, well-versed in mathematics, heraldry, astronomy and music, and interested in science and medicine. He was a true man of the Renaissance - he loved art, poetry, painting, and at the same time, he was sincerely devout.
Importantly, academic knowledge did not prevent him from becoming a tall, handsome, well-built athlete and passionate hunter; By the way, I loved ... tennis. However, the lack of discipline in education, the unbridled nature, the unwillingness to study what is not interesting, traits excusable for the second son of the king, later brought him and England many problems during his reign.
The Venetian envoy wrote of the young prince that he was the most handsome of the monarchs he had taken away, above average height, with slender and finely shaped legs, very fair skin, with bright, reddish-brown hair, cut short in the French fashion; the round face was so beautiful that it would suit a woman; his neck was long and strong.
The fact that the prince was well built is also confirmed by the dimensions of his youthful armor: 32 inches in the waist and 39 inches in the chest (81 cm and 99 cm). His height was and remained 6 feet 1 inch, which is about 183 cm, if I am not mistaken, with a weight of 95 kg. He also had good health: in his youth he only had a mild case of smallpox, but periodically suffered, also in mild form, malaria, which was common in Europe at that time (there were many marshes drained now).

Portrait of 18-year-old Henry (where, in my opinion, for some reason he looks terribly like his great-uncle, Richard III).
And this is the young Prince Hal through the eyes of a contemporary artist.

Armor of young Henry (left) and armor of Henry in his 40s (right)

Henry in 1521 (aged 30)

Portrait of Henry aged 34-36 Age 36-38

In the eyes of his subjects, the young king, who ascended the throne after his miserly father, who sent to the chopping block or into exile the last of his surviving relatives after the battle of Bosworth, who had not convened Parliament for ten whole years, was the personification of a new beautiful hero. "If the lion knew his strength, hardly anyone would be able to cope with him," Thomas More wrote about him.
His reign proceeded more or less smoothly until the king reached the age of 44.

Heinrich at the age of 40: the prime of life

By this time, the king had already divorced Catherine of Aragon and married the clever Anna Boleyn, but the turbulent events did not particularly affect his health: until 1536 he had no problems with him, except for a gradual increase in weight. Judging by the very detailed ordinance drawn up by him personally regarding the royal table, the king had, as they say, a brutal appetite for meat, pastries and wine. Hence the fullness that is already present in the portrait at the age of 40, which is not present in the portrait of 30-year-old Henry (see above). Yes, the king was a womanizer and a glutton, but he has not yet become Bluebeard and a tyrant.
What happened in January 1536 at the tournament at Greenwich? The already rather obese Heinrich could not resist in the saddle and collapsed in armor from the horse, which also wore armor. The horse then fell on top of him. The king was unconscious for two hours, his legs were crushed and, most likely, suffered from several fractures. His health was rightfully feared so much that Queen Anne had a miscarriage: unfortunately, it was a boy. As if that weren't enough, the king's illegitimate son, the young Duke of Richmond, soon died, and Anne was soon accused of adultery.
Fractures and other wounds healed at first, but soon the king began to be tormented not only by headaches, but also by chronic, extensive, wet, purulent ulcers on his legs. From the pain he could not speak and was silent for ten days in a row, suppressing a torn cry. Doctors unsuccessfully tried to heal these ulcers by piercing them with a red-hot iron, or excised them, not allowing them to drag on, in order to "help the infection come out with pus." Also, most likely, the king had suffered from diabetes for a long time by this time (hence the incurability of ulcers). Is it any wonder that physical suffering, coupled with the consequences of a head injury, completely changed the character of the monarch?
Now researchers claim that as a result of an injury at a tournament in 1536, Henry the Eighth suffered damage to the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for self-control, perception of signals from the external environment, social and sexual behavior. In 1524, when he was 33 years old, he also suffered a minor injury when he forgot to lower his visor and the tip of an opponent's spear hit him hard above his right eye. This gave him recurring severe migraines. But in those days they did not know how to treat brain injuries, as well as diabetes.

The surrounding people knew about the state of health of the king, but everyone who dared to open their mouths was accused of treason and sent to the scaffold. Heinrich could issue an order in the morning, cancel it by lunchtime, and then be furious when he learns that it has already been carried out.
From that moment began a new, dark stage of the reign.
The most passionate desire of the king at this point was to obtain an heir to continue the Tudor dynasty. Combined with the serious psychological changes that occurred to him after 1536, this desire resulted in a series of impulsive and cruel acts for which Henry is famous to this day. It is more than likely that the king suffered by that time and a lack of potency. Even the actual fulfillment of his dream with the birth of a son from Jane Seymour, Edward, could not change anything.

Heinrich is about 49 years old

Henry VIII and the guilds of barbers and surgeons (the king was very interested in medicine, and these guilds were created under his patronage). The king is 49 years old on the canvas.

Detail of a 1545 portrait showing Henry, Edward and - posthumously - Jane Seymour.

And this is the whole portrait, left and right - the two daughters of the king.

Despite his morbid condition, his spirit was stronger body, and Henry lived another eleven years. Ignoring the prohibitions of doctors, he traveled a lot, continuing an active foreign policy, hunted and ... ate much more. The creators of the History Channel documentary recreated his diet based on surviving sources: the king consumed up to 13 meals a day, which consisted mainly of lamb, chicken, beef, venison, rabbit meat and a variety of feathered bird, like a pheasant and a swan, he could drink 10 pints (1 pint \u003d 0.57 l) of ale a day, as well as wine. Although, on the other hand, it is also possible that it was only the king's menu offered to him by the cooks, and by no means what he actually ate. But...
With the impossibility of the former mobility, he quickly gained weight and by the age of fifty weighed ... 177 kilograms! Judging again by the armor, his waist from 81 cm in girth at the age of 20 grew to 132 cm at the age of about 50 years. By the end of his life, he could barely walk on his own. The ulcers on his legs only worsened, and they gave off such a strong odor that he announced the approach of the king long before he entered the room. Catherine Parr, whom he married in 1543, was for him more nurse than wife, only she could calm the monarch's fits of rage. He died in 1547, exhausted by attacks of fever and another cauterization of ulcers.

In fact, judging by the armor of the end of his reign, the width of the king's torso was almost equal to his height!

All the variety of existing portraits of Henry the Eighth is posted on this wonderful resource:

And here in English you can watch the documentary "Inside the Body of Henry the Eighth"

On January 28, 1547, King Henry VIII Tudor of England died at Whitehall Palace. Much can be said about the reign of this sovereign. But he is known to the general public mainly due to his numerous marriages (Henry VIII had six wives). Many researchers believe that the main reason for the divorces and executions of wives objectionable to Henry was the desire to keep the throne of England for the young Tudor dynasty. Be that as it may, this wish of Henry VIII was granted: on October 12, 1537, his long-awaited son and heir, Edward, was born. His mother was Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour.

Edward VI - the unfulfilled hope of the dynasty

To have an heir to the dynasty was one of the most cherished desires of Henry VIII. Only his third wife, who died shortly after giving birth, was able to realize this dream. The newborn prince became a real joy not only for parents, but for the whole of England, because he guaranteed peace and stability in the state.

The question of Edward's health is still controversial. Some researchers say that he was a sickly child from birth. Others - that he had good health, despite the diseases common at that time, which he did not escape.

When Henry VIII died, Edward was only 9 years old. For several years before the death of Henry VIII, peace and tranquility reigned in the royal family. Moreover, leaving a will, the king did not forget to mention his daughters in it. Henry pointed out that in the absence of Edward's heirs, the next ruler of England was to be Mary and her heirs, and after her, Elizabeth and her heirs.

The guardian of the little king was appointed maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. The boy received an excellent education. He knew French, Greek and latin languages, was interested in state affairs and was a staunch Protestant. During the short period of his reign, a Protestant catechism was written, the Book of Prayers was republished, and some reforms of Protestant worship were carried out.

A lot of intrigue was woven around the young king. His uncle, the Duke of Somerset, who had taken care of him, was deposed in 1551 by the Earl of Warwick, who later became the Duke of Northumberland. Somerset was temporarily imprisoned, and when he got out of it, he immediately tried to regain the favor of the king. However, his opponent by that time was already very strong, and as a result, the Duke of Somerset was executed allegedly for participating in illegal meetings.

The Duke of Northumberland had very far-reaching plans. He managed to persuade the young king to bequeath the throne to Jane Grey, who was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII. The duke planned to marry this young lady to his son, thus founding a new dynasty. At the same time, neither Northumberland nor the king was in the least concerned about the presence of two older sisters in Edward, who were the granddaughters of the founder of the dynasty and who, accordingly, had much more rights to the throne than Jane Gray. The eldest of Henry VIII's daughters, Mary, was a fierce Catholic. It was this fact that forced the young king, unlike his sister, who adhered to the Protestant faith, to bequeath the throne to Jane. Three days after signing the will, Edward VI suddenly fell ill. His guardian, for one reason known to him, removed the doctors from the king, sending a healer in their place.

Edward VI, the hope of the Tudors, died before his 16th birthday. Jane Gray was declared queen. Alas, the English people did not agree with the decision of their young king. The new queen lasted only nine days on the throne. She, along with the ambitious Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason, arrested and executed. And the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary, ascended the throne.

Mary the Bloody

On February 18, 1516, the King of England Henry VIII Tudor and his first wife Catherine of Aragon had another child, which became a great joy, because little Mary was their first healthy child who did not die immediately after birth. Although Maria was a girl, her birth gave hope that Catherine would be able to give birth to a long-awaited son.

The little princess was surrounded by a magnificent retinue. And by the end of 1518, her future fate was also decided: she was betrothed to the heir of the French king Francis I. In the marriage agreement concluded by the two rulers, there was also a clause according to which Mary became heir to the throne if Henry died sons. However, the king himself at that time had not yet seriously considered such a prospect.

Mary was given an excellent education. She was taught to speak and write correctly in Latin and Greek. She studied art and poetry, and also learned to ride and hunt with a falcon. However, in the program of her education, there were no subjects at all that could prepare her for ruling the country. After all, her father, the king, did not consider such an opportunity at all. However, over time it became increasingly clear that Catherine would not be able to give birth to an heir to the king, and Mary was given the title of Princess of Wales, which was usually given to heirs to the crown. The girl at that time was 9 years old, and she was already engaged for the second time - with the son of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Mary's life changed dramatically in 1527, when Henry annulled his marriage to her mother, Catherine of Aragon. The young princess was declared illegitimate and removed from the palace. The biggest stumbling block was religion. Catherine of Aragon raised her only daughter as a fierce Catholic, and her father demanded that she convert to Protestantism. The girl refused. When Henry married Anne Boleyn and she gave birth to his second daughter, Mary was returned to the court and assigned to the "legitimate" Princess Elizabeth. The new queen did not particularly favor her stepdaughter and often tore her by the ears.

However, Anne Boleyn did not stay on the royal throne for long, and soon Mary reluctantly recognized her father as the "Supreme Head of the Anglican Church." After that, she was returned to the retinue that was due to the princess. And soon the king married a third time. His wife turned out to be a sweet and kind woman who not only gave birth to his long-awaited son, but also warmed his daughters. Unfortunately, another stepmother died shortly after the birth of the child.

By the time of Henry VIII's death, Mary was already 31 years old. She did not marry during her father's lifetime, and after his death her marriage became even dangerous for those around her young brother-king. Therefore, she was kept away from the palace and from possible contenders for her hand. Young Edward was brought up in a deep dislike for his older sister. The 9-year-old boy was a staunch Protestant, and his sister Mary was an equally staunch Catholic. It was this contradiction that prompted him to deprive Mary of her right to inherit the throne.

Of course, Mary did not accept this will. Upon learning of Edward's death, she came to London. The fleet and army went over to her side, and the Privy Council declared her queen. The unfortunate Jane Grey, appointed by Edward as his heiress, was executed.

Upon assuming the throne, Mary first of all faced the same problem as her father: she desperately needed an heir. At that time, she was already almost 38 years old, and she did not differ in special beauty. However, as soon as she received the throne, a groom was immediately found for her - the heir to the Spanish throne, Philip, who was 12 years younger than her. He agreed to marry Mary for purely political reasons; he rarely came to England, where he was not particularly favored. But Maria, judging by the letters and reviews of her contemporaries, had rather tender feelings for him.

Other important tasks of Mary were the strengthening of Catholicism in England and the revival of the country, which had become impoverished under Edward. The reign of Mary, which began with the execution of Jane Gray, who was just a pawn in the hands of cunning relatives, was marked by a series of arrests and executions of Protestants. About three hundred people - especially ardent Protestants and representatives of the Anglican Church - were burned at the stake. Even those who agreed to accept Catholicism were not spared. All these people were not just Protestants, it was through their efforts that the Reformation took place in England, and, accordingly, the split of the country. But the cruelty with which they were executed led to the fact that during the reign of Elizabeth I, Mary was given the nickname Bloody.

Medieval Europe is a world of merciless epidemics that claimed tens of thousands of lives and made no distinction between commoners and noble people. The Queen of England was no exception. The disease proceeded rather sluggishly, and Maria had time to think about the future of her country. Her marriage to Philip never produced a coveted heir for England. The only heir was a Protestant sister, born Anne Boleyn. On November 8, 1558, Mary conveyed her verbal blessing to Elizabeth, and on November 17 she died.

Mary Tudor, who ruled England for only a few years, became a rather iconic figure in the history of the country. She became the first woman on the English throne. But, alas, she also became the queen, to whom not a single monument was erected in her homeland. The day of her death was celebrated in England as National holiday, and her entire reign is remembered as a series of cruel executions, for which her descendants named her Bloody Mary.

Good Queen Bess, or the last of the Tudors

September 7, 1533 London froze in anticipation: the second wife of King Henry VIII, his adored Anna, was about to give birth to a child. And England, led by her king, was looking forward to her son. Their hopes were not destined to come true: the child was born healthy and strong, but alas, it was another girl. The king was terribly disappointed. However, this did not prevent him from arranging magnificent celebrations in honor of the birth of his daughter, who was given the name Elizabeth - in honor of the king's mother.

Time passed, but Anna did not give the long-awaited son. This time, the king was more decisive than in the case of Catherine of Aragon, he did not wait 20 years for another wife to give birth to his heir. Heinrich did not have reasons to divorce Anne Boleyn, but there were reasons to fabricate charges of treason against her. When Anne Boleyn was executed, Elizabeth was not even three years old. Like her older sister Maria, the girl was declared illegitimate and removed away from the royal court.

This was followed by a succession of wives, and some of them treated Elizabeth quite affably. Alas, three of the four wives of Heinrich, whom the girl knew, were waiting for early death. It is generally accepted that the execution of Henry's fifth wife, Kate Howard, made such a strong impression on Elizabeth that she decided never to marry. However, some historians believe that this decision was made due to some physical and mental flaws of the princess.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth was recognized as illegitimate, her father took care to give her excellent education. And for some time, the young heir to the throne, Edward, also studied with her. Elizabeth and Edward were very close, during the reign of Edward VI, Elizabeth was next to him. The death of her brother was a real blow to her, as was his will, which deprived her of her rights to the throne.

The reign of Sister Mary was another test for Elizabeth. Religion remains the main stumbling block. Mary began to actively restore the position of the Catholic Church in England, which led to violent resistance from the Protestants, who not only weaved secret intrigues, but also raised outright riots. Regardless of whether Elizabeth took part in these protests or not, it was she who always became their symbol - the Protestant heiress. Elizabeth survived imprisonment in the Tower and exile. However, despite all the hardships of life, she remained the heir to the English throne.

At the insistence of the Privy Council and her husband Philip, Mary Tudor, a few days before her death, recognized her unloved sister as her heiress. So Elizabeth Tudor became Queen of England. London greeted her arrival with thunderous applause.

The new queen was 25 years old. By the standards of that time, it was a respectable age, but she looked much younger than her peers, was friendly and followed fashion trends. In a word, she had everything that Mary lacked. Unlike her sister, Elizabeth did not settle accounts with representatives of a religion alien to her. Moreover, one of her first acts was the creation of the “Act of Uniformity”, in which she announced that she would follow the course of the Reformation, but did not prohibit Catholics from celebrating mass according to the Catholic rite. Thus, Elizabeth extinguished all hints of civil war in a tormented country.

Elizabeth was haunted by the same Tudor curse as her father and sister: she needed an heir. However, faithful to the decision made in her youth not to marry, at first she gently, and over time, more and more firmly rejected any suitors who were persistently wooed to her. In her life there was only one man whom evil tongues called her lover, which Elizabeth herself categorically denied, arguing that between them "there was never anything vulgar." It was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whose brother was married to the unfortunate "Nine Day Queen" Jane Grey. Robert and Elizabeth had a friendship since childhood, which lasted until the count's death. Elizabeth trusted him so much that she even appointed him Lord Protector when she was seriously ill.

The policy of Elizabeth I (and she ruled for 45 years) was distinguished by thoughtfulness and frugality. She was quite careful and in the conduct of foreign policy. However, this did not prevent her from getting involved in the war of two queens, as the conflict between Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and wife of the French King Francis II, is often called. Mary considered herself a more legitimate claimant to the English throne than Elizabeth, who was branded illegitimate. Other heirs also claimed the throne of England, each of whom was related to the founder of the Tudor dynasty. However, Elizabeth managed to stop all these encroachments. In the case of Mary - by execution.

During the reign of Elizabeth, England not only rose from its knees, on which it was placed by religious strife and embezzlement of previous rulers, but also became a great power. Through the personal efforts of Elizabeth, who financed and encouraged seafarers, the fleet of England, which was founded under her grandfather Henry VII, became a thunderstorm of the seas, displacing even the fleet of Spain. World famous English pirate Francis Drake, who, in addition to smashing Spanish ships, bringing considerable income not only to himself, but also to England, also made an invaluable gift to all of Europe by bringing potato tubers from his travels. For his contribution to the fight against the Spaniards and the contribution of huge funds to the royal treasury, Elizabeth granted Drake a knighthood.

Despite the fact that Henry VIII could not even imagine that a woman would ascend the English throne, his daughter managed to become one of the greatest rulers in the history of this state. Elizabeth actively developed the country's domestic economy and economic relations with other countries, encouraged the development of the arts, in her reign the first English colony in America was founded, and the fleet became the most powerful in the world.

However, the Tudor curse remained: the queen never married and did not give England an heir. There are stories in the historical literature that say that Elizabeth and Robert Dudley had a son, whom they had to give up for education. However, there is no reliable evidence for these stories. And even if this child really was, his mother decided that in future fate England, he should not play a significant role. On her deathbed, Elizabeth Tudor bequeathed the throne to the Scottish King James VI, who was the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Tudor dynasty. Ironically, he was the son of the same Mary Stuart, with whom Elizabeth fought for almost half of her life and whom she executed ...

Despite a drop of Tudor blood, which allowed him to be declared heir, Jacob became the founder of a new dynasty on the English throne. The Tudor Age ended on March 24, 1603, with the death of Elizabeth I.

Henry VIII (1491-1547), English king (since 1509) from the Tudor dynasty.

Born June 28, 1491 in Greenwich. Son and heir of Henry VII. The main content of the policy of Henry VIII was the strengthening of the absolute monarchy in England. At the same time, the king sought to rely on the support, on the one hand, of the townspeople and their representatives in parliament and local authorities, on the other, the constantly growing bureaucracy.

Heinrich continued the reprisals against the baronial opposition begun by his father, and from the 30s. 15th century went on the offensive against the Roman Catholic Church. He divorced his wife, Catherine of Aragon, aunt of Charles V of Habsburg, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, in order to marry the humble Anne Boleyn. Parliament, obedient to the king, approved the divorce, not approved by the Pope.

In 1534, the Pope demanded that Henry renounce the divorce and threatened to excommunicate him from the Church. In response, Henry declared himself the head of the Anglican Church, breaking all relations with the papacy and the empire. In England, the “Royal Reformation” took place, which led to the emergence of the Protestant Anglican Church.

The reform of the Church was carried out with extreme cruelty, there were mass executions of "papists", the confession of Catholicism was actually banned.

In 1536-1539. by order of the king, English monasteries were destroyed, their property was completely confiscated in favor of the crown. The most powerful of the states that had fallen away from the Roman Catholic Church, England quickly became the center and pillar of the European Reformation.

Since the time of Henry VIII, she was in fact in a state of constant war with the Habsburgs.

From now on, the English kings actively supported the reform movement on the continent, intervened in the affairs of Germany, France and other European countries.

Domestically, Henry VIII became famous as a "bloody" king, whose repressions turned not only against the feudal nobility. Forbidding the barons to seize arable land for pastures, he at the same time fiercely persecuted the peasants who turned out to be vagabonds. All able-bodied vagabonds who were caught begging three times were subject to the death penalty.

In 1535, the Lord Chancellor, famous thinker and writer T. More was executed for resisting the Reformation. As a result, Anne Boleyn also became a victim of royal "justice", Henry's marriage to whom was once the reason for the Reformation.

At the same time, it was Henry VIII, the creator of English absolutism, who consolidated the unity of the country, laid the foundations for its independent foreign policy, a new political role England in Europe.