The Tudors - specifically Henry VII - ended the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster

and the House of York and reunited England peacefully. This feat is symbolized in the Tudor rose,
which is a fusion of the White Rose of the House of York and the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster
(but not that the red rose is larger - as the Tudors were Lancastrians).
His son, Henry VIII broke the church in England with Rome and founded the Church of England with
himself at the head. He also further consolidated power with the Crown and is essentially the father
of the Royal Navy. Interestingly, Henry VIII himself was, theologically, a devout Catholic who only
reluctantly broke the church with Rome. He was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" by the
Pope in recognition for his book, Defence of the Seven Sacraments, which criticized Protestant ideas
in general and Martin Luther in particular. He is best remembered today for his many wives, which he
took in order to produce a male heir and avoid a repeat of the bloody Wars of the Roses which his
father had just ended.
Edward VI was a sickly child, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, who became king at the age of
nine and only ruled for six years. Nevertheless, his reign is very important because his advisors - who
were all committed Protestants - began the first theological reforms of the Church of England and
made it a fully Protestant church. Nevertheless, he was unsuccessful in securing a Protestant
succession to Lady Jane Grey.
Mary I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, who was Spanish and
Catholic. She was married to Philip II of Spain. She was a devout Catholic, and very loyal to her
husband, although he was at best lukewarm towards her for most of their marriage. She reversed the
religious reforms of Edward VI and reunited the church with Rome. Mary is remembered as "Bloody
Mary" because she persecuted Protestants, having many prominent ones exiled, tortured, and/or
executed and driving many others into exile voluntarily.
Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was Protestant and her Elizabethan
Religious Settlement basically created the modern Church of England, which was a middle-ground
between the Catholic faith and extreme Protestant theology of Reformers like John Calvin. She
presided over what some call the "Golden Age" - in which England developed and the arts flourished.
She also refused to marry, though she did have many suitors and male favorites in her life. Her
refusal to marry left her without and heir and the throne passed to the Scottish king, James, which
resulted in the Union of the Crowns, a precursor to the unification of England and Scotland a century
later.
Elizabeth I at the Tower of London
As a princess, Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London by her half-sister, Queen Mary I. She was
suspected of involvement in a plot against the Queen, led by the traitor Sir Thomas Wyatt. Oh Lord!
said Elizabeth, as she entered the Tower, I never thought to have come here as a prisoner.
In 1559, Elizabeth returned to the Tower under very different circumstances. On 14 January, after
the traditional celebrations, she left the fortress to ride through the City of London to her coronation
at Westminster Abbey.
Elizabeth has become an admired, national heroine. She single-handedly rallied troops to inspire
victory over the invading Spanish Armada. She nurtured a golden age of playwrights and poets and
steered the country towards its Protestant destiny.
Despite her iconic status, Elizabeth I can also be seen as a parsimonious, dictatorial, inconsistent
prevaricator whose financial incompetence plunged the country toward economic ruin toward the
end of her reign.
Elizabeth was also, quite possibly, not a virgin after all.

Scandalous rumours of her liaison with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, existed at the time, and are
not just the product of ratings-seeking latter-day TV dramas. In 1561, such rumours were fuelled by
the Queen moving Dudley into a room close to her own at Hampton Court Palace.
Elizabeth was the last of the Tudors and when she died James VI of Scotland (I of England) came to
the throne.