I wrote this paper in 2008 for a history class. Don't steal this. lol
January of 1547 found King Henry VIII ill and on his death bed grossly overweight and suffering from gout and covered with boils. During his reign he had managed to marry six women, break away from the Catholic Church and establish the Church of England. His wives, two of which were beheaded on the basis of treason and only three would bear him children, would know King Henry VIII as a man devoted to excelling himself, all the while pleasing his libido. The children who would later be known as King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I were affected by King Henry VIII’s selfish and often careless decisions. Edward would be the first Tudor to rule but under the close eye of his uncle Duke of Somerset[1], his reign displayed his own feebleness and lack of training by those around him to become King. Edward would be Henry’s main priority in the years before his own death. Mary I would be next in succession, her attempt to return England to its true religion made her rule a bloody one. Elizabeth I would be the last of the children to take on the English realm. She had many successes as a Queen but would suffer much as her older sister did in personal matters. The children of Henry VIII would find themselves relying on the advice of others. Though not always close only Edward and Elizabeth showed utter devotion to their father and his memory, even emulating him through paintings and how they were addressed by their court. Mary would be the only one of Henry’s children to try returning England to how it once was, trying to capture the time before Anne Boleyn. Henry’s mistakes regarding his marriages made the lives of his children more difficult and with each new child he had after Mary a fight for the throne and their fathers approval ensued. Although Henry VIII had three children who would take the throne in sixteenth and seventeenth century England, they would all be affected by Henry VIII’s personal and political decisions which would be both detrimental and beneficial to his children and their rule as well as England.
Edward VI
Edward Tudor was born to Henry VIII and his wife Queen Jane Seymour. Much awaited for by his father, Edward was doted on the instant he was born. His mother had passed from a fever caused by giving birth. Nonetheless, Edward was immediately kept in a sterile environment to protect his health[2]. Many portraits by the famed Hans Holbein that portray Henry and his children often show Edward at his right side while his hand rests upon his shoulders, Mary and Elizabeth are both separated by pillars.[3] King Edward VI was crowned in 1547 at the age of nine. He was to be under the arm of his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset for his entire reign. Edward VI was to keep a chronicle during his reign, discussing foreign and domestic affairs, religion and his sisters. He was closer to Elizabeth and held contempt for Mary due to her religion. Artistic depictions of Edward show him carrying a golden dagger much like his father and in his father’s customary position.[4] Though his reign was short he excelled in state matters. Raised Protestant at Catherine Parr’s urging[5] Edward began making headway for the Church of England. It was due to Edwards’s persistence that the Church of England transformed into a strict Protestant body. He also insisted that the Book of Common Prayer[6] be used and that Catholic mass be abolished. This did not please his older sister Mary, who was now forbidden from attending mass; it was a threat from the Emperor of Spain that he allowed his sister to continue her heresy. Though he was a child he rarely showed any behaviors of a child his age. He was known for his tantrums of anger but they quickly passed. Henry VIII’s lack of guidance made Edward susceptible to being manipulated. Edward’s uncle Thomas Seymour was so anxious to remove his brother The Duke of Somerset as Lord Protector of Edward that he had plotted to kidnap the young King. “As he [Thomas] unlocked the door leading from the antechamber into the royal bedroom, Edward’s loyal Spaniel leaped at him [Thomas], Seymour drew his gun and shot the dog dead…As Edward stood, pale and terrified in his nightshirt.”[7] Edward made no mention of this in his chronicle; however he did sign the death warrant for his uncle’s treason[8]. Edward’s reign was not entirely his own. Manipulated by both uncles to pass reforms that were in the best interest of England and to rule in their favor damaged this young King. Edward VI passed away from tuberculosis at the age of fifteen[9] and urging those who would listen not to make Mary the next in line to the throne[10], he was afraid she would undo many of his reforms and attempt to bring England back to its natural and true religion. Edward’s lack of training from Henry VIII caused his reign to be manipulated to please others, however he was the least affected child of Henry VIII’s.
Mary I
Henry VIII affected his daughters reign by marrying a protestant woman Anne Boleyn who would also be the source of much pain. Plagued with sickness Mary Tudor lived a very painful life. She was claimed illegitimate after the annulment of her parent’s marriage. She went on to live without Catherine who was banished from court and was raised in the faith of her mother, a devout Catholic. She did not get along with her father after the annulment as he became a tyrant. She was also ridiculed by her father’s new Queen Anne Boleyn. “Anne always treated Mary with calculated cruelty, heaping humiliations on her and urging the King to have her put to death.”[11] Mary did enjoy a rather brief and happy childhood, after being separated from her father and mother for three years and placed in a separate house, she was more devoted to her mother so the separation was not a big feat for Mary to overcome; “What it did give her was three more years to grow up in peace and relative contentment, away from the looming crisis which was about to break over the court.”[12] Mary in her thirties was promised to Prince Philip of Spain. They were married even through protests and it is said the new king felt no real love for his new wife. D.M. Loades is a historian who specializes in Early Modern English History; he makes this known in his description of Mary as a head over heels newlywed. “A woman starved of affection and personal attentions since her early childhood, she responded to Phillip’s skillful and discreet advances with wholeheartedness.” [13] The irony is that Mary’s strong belief in marriage after the disaster of her mother and father’s marriage as well as her own, displays her piety. At all costs of being a dutiful Catholic, she believed she needed guidance from her husband in the affairs of the state.[14] She also was keenly aware that she needed to give her husband an heir in order to solidify the succession of her family as well as her religion. It is not known whether Mary understood their marriage to be strictly political as Philip viewed it but it pained her to have him be gone to govern his other kingdoms for such long periods of time. Anne’s marriage to Mary’s father would be the root cause of the ‘Marian Persecutions.[15]’ These persecutions would make the once beloved queen, Bloody Mary. She refused to let her younger sister Elizabeth out of prison for fear that her sister would attempt to join a rebellion to over throw her.[16] Mary was a rigid woman as she grew older pained by cysts on her uterus that caused her to believe she was pregnant.[17] Mary’s ultimate decision to remain Catholic and to return England to its original faith did not put her subjects at ease. The Marian Persecutions only reassured her subject’s beliefs that Catholics were inherently evil and public outcry ensued. In the minds of the English Catholicism was increasingly becoming identified with brutal persecution, and many longed for the Queen to die. The plots to over throw her became increasingly real. Elizabeth however comforted her sister when Phillip refused to return to England unless he was crowned. Mary could not make such decisions without parliaments consent. It became obvious that Phillip was to return only for political reasons. Once his wife was proven barren he immediately left her, coming to England only to give Mary an heir and when that failed, he retreated, leaving Mary to feel God had withdrawn his favor from her. Mary lay on her death bed and pronounced that her much detested sister be named Heir to the throne. [18]
Elizabeth I
The skillful daughter of a cunning Queen, Elizabeth I would prove to be the only Tudor to be more adored than her father during his reign. Henry VIII had his daughter’s mother put upon the execution block after failing to produce a male heir. Anne Boleyn was executed three years after Elizabeth’s birth. Elizabeth was a constant reminder of her mother’s Protestantism and cunning, Henry had her declared illegitimate and sent to live in her mother’s house which she was allowed to keep after her death. Elizabeth was brought back into favor with much thanks owed to her step mother Katherine Parr. After the brief reunion Elizabeth attempted to stay in her father’s favor. After her father’s death she was sent to live with Dowager Queen Katherine Parr. It was in that arrangement that she would come into contact with Thomas Seymour who had wed the Dowager Queen with the consent of Edward VI. Elizabeth was involved in a scandal with Thomas Seymour in which she was questioned about the nature of their affair. Displaying her father’s stubbornness she refused to answer any questions.[19] According to her nurse Kat Ashley who did not mind the way Seymour showed affection to Lady Elizabeth “He would come many mornings into the Lady Elizabeth’s chamber before she was ready, and sometimes before she did rise…and strike her upon the back or on the buttocks familiarly.”[20] Elizabeth moved past this and grew up to be one of the most educated women in all of England. She succeeded her sister Mary in 1558 and crowned in 1559. She was welcomed by all of England who had seen the horror of Bloody Mary’s reign. Within days of Mary’s death, according to the Count de Feria who was sent by Philip of Spain to preside over a meeting of the Privy Council in which Elizabeth’s succession was confirmed believed that the late Queen’s policies were being scathingly criticized, and Elizabeth had ordered the persecution heretics to cease.[21] Elizabeth was religiously tolerant, she re-established the Church of England after she was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. This move would officially make the Church of England Protestant. William Cecil was one of her most beloved advisors and she greatly relied on him for many things. Elizabeth was quite known for having “favorites”, with these men she was happy to give affection to. However, at a young age Elizabeth had desperately craved the attention and affection of her father and Elizabeth enjoyed the same power over her favorites and prospected husbands yearning for her love. She took some pleasure in denying them of her, just as she was initially denied by her father after Edward’s birth. Though her refusal to enter into a marriage only broadened her political powers. Elizabeth entertained various marriage proposals in order for the issues of the state to continue. Elizabeth yearned to be recognized as much as her father had during his reign and would insist she be referred to as “his majesty” when being introduced. Henry VIII had more of a positive effect on Elizabeth than on Edward or Mary. Elizabeth would go on to rule England for forty-five years and endure hardships towards the end of her reign, but none the less she was considered one of the most beloved Queen’s of English history.
Henry VIII and his three children would be affected by his careless and selfish decisions. His children were influenced in their reigns and they also felt the severity of their father’s decisions in both personal and political matters. This would cause a family to be at odds. Once meeting Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth’s mother, He quickly claimed Mary as illegitimate and separated her from her mother Catherine of Aragon. This would be the stepping stone for the many problems his children would face in their reigns. The divorce would cause Mary much grief and would be the main reason behind her vicious rule and her willingness to put people to death who did not strictly obey her orders. Edward VI was to be the first of Henry’s children to rule the realm of England, though he could not rule with an iron fist, he was the least affected by his father’s decisions. Elizabeth I would be the last Tudor to rule England. She would take heed in matters of the state and be tolerant of others. She would also use being single to her advantage in making treaties with other countries. Each of his children would find that their father’s personal inclination for love and decision to reform England partly for Anne Boleyn and partly to remove the Church of England from foreign rule, would mean they would all be emotionally stunted.
[1] Duke of Somerset was Edward Seymour, Jane Seymour’s brother.
[2] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[3] Unknown, Tudor Family Painting, 1545
[4] Guillaume Scrots, King Edward VI, portrait, unknown
[5] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[6] The Book of Common Prayer was a set of prayer books written by Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Cantebury.
[7] Jonathan North, England’s Boy King. (Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom: Ravenhall Books 2005)
[8] Thomas Seymour after his wife Catherine Parr died, Thomas attempted to marry Princess Elizabeth.
[9] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[10] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII.(New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[11] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[12] D.M. Loades, The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government, and Religion in England 1553-1558. ( New York: St. Martin’s Press 1979)
[13] D.M. Loades, The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government, and Religion in England 1553-1558. ( New York: St. Martin’s Press 1979)
[14] D.M. Loades, The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government, and Religion in England 1553-1558. ( New York: St. Martin’s Press 1979)
[15] The Marian Persecutions refers to the persecutions of Religious Reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England
[16] Thomas Wyatt led Wyatt’s Rebellion that Elizabeth was said to be a part of, after being interrogated she was found to have no real part in the rebellions.
[17] D.M. Loades, The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government, and Religion in England 1553-1558. ( New York: St. Martin’s Press 1979)
[18] Lacey Baldwin Smith, This Realm of England 1399-1688. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company 2001)
[19] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[20]Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996)
[21] Alison Weir, The Children of Henry VIII. (New York, New York: Ballantine Books 1996).
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