HENRY VII    1485 - 1509
When Richard III fell at the Battle of Bosworth, his crown was picked up and placed on the head of Henry Tudor.  He married Elizabeth of York and so united the two warring houses, York and Lancaster.  He was a skilful politician but avaricious.  The material wealth of the country increased greatly. During Henry's reign playing cards were invented and the portrait of his wife Elizabeth has appeared eight times on every pack of cards for nearly 500 years.

HENRY VIII    1509 - 1547
The best known fact about Henry VIII is that he had six wives! Most school children learn the following rhyme to help them remember the fate of each wife: "Divorced, Beheaded, Died: Divorced, Beheaded, Survived". His first wife was Catherine of Aragon, his brothers widow, whom he later divorced to marry Anne Boleyn.  This divorce caused the split from Rome and Henry declared himself the head of the Church Of England.  The Dissolution of the Monasteries began in 1536, and the money gained from this helped Henry to bring about an effective Navy.  In an effort to have a son, Henry married four further wives, but only one son was born, to Jane Seymour.  Henry had two daughters both to become rulers of England  - Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn. 

EDWARD VI    1547 - 1553
The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was a sickly boy; he had, it is thought, tuberculosis. Edward succeeded his father at the age of 9, the government being carried on by a Council of Regency with his uncle, Duke of Somerset, styled Protector. Even though his reign was short, many men made their mark. Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer and the uniformity of worship helped turn England into a Protestant State.

After Edward's death there was a dispute over the succession. 

As Mary was Catholic, LADY JANE GREY was named as the next in line to the throne. She was proclaimed Queen but Mary entered London with her supporters and Jane was taken to the Tower.  She reigned for only 9 days.  She was executed in 1554, aged 17.

MARY I (Bloody Mary)   1553 - 1558
Daughter of HENRY VIII and Catherine of Aragon. A devout Catholic, she married Philip of Spain.  Mary attempted to enforce the wholesale conversion of England to Catholicism. She carried this out with the utmost severity.  The Protestant bishops, Latimer, Ridley and Archbishop Cranmer were among those burnt at the stake.  The place, in Broad Street Oxford, is marked by a bronze cross.  The country was plunged into a bitter blood bath, which is why she is remembered as Bloody Mary.  She died in 1558 at Lambeth Palace.