540th Anniversary of the founding of the House of Tudor

The House of Tudor was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 22 August 1485 to 1603. Their forebears were the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family who eventually established a claim to the English throne after Sir Owen Tudor  had married Catherine of France after the death of her first husband King Henry V. They had two sons Edmund and Jasper who were recognised as half brothers of Henry VI. 

The Tudors ruled the Kingdom of England and the Lordship of Ireland for 118 years with five monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The Tudors succeeded the House of Plantagenet and were in turn succeeded by the Scottish House of Stuart. 

The first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, descended through his mother from the House of Beaufort, a legitimised branch of the English royal House of Lancaster. The Tudor family rose prominently to power in the wake of the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), which left the main House of Lancaster (with which the Tudors were aligned) extinct in the male line. Henry VII was successful in obtaining strong support in his quest to become king not only from traditional Lancastrian supporters, but also from discontented supporters of the Plantagenet rival of the House of York, and he claimed the throne by right of conquest after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field on the 22 August 1485. He cemented his position in 1486 by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV and the heiress of the Yorkist claim to the throne, this move symbolically united the houses of Lancaster and York.

The Tudors extended their power beyond modern England, achieving the full union of England and the Principality of Wales in 1542 and successfully asserting English authority over the Kingdom of Ireland. They also maintained a nominal English claim to the Kingdom of France. Henry VIII fought wars with France primarily as a matter of international alliances but also asserting claim to the title, however his daughter Mary I finally lost control of all French territories after the failed Siege of Calais in 1558.

The House of Tudor monarchs ruled for 118 years. Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547) was the only son of Henry VII to live to the age of maturity, and he proved a dominant ruler. Issues around royal succession (including marriage and the succession rights of women) became major political themes during the Tudor era, as did the English Reformation in religion, impacting the future of the Crown. Elizabeth I was the longest serving Tudor monarch at 44 years, and her reign provided a period of stability and international trading growth although there were always continuing problems involving Spain, Ireland and matters of religion. She also never clearly indicated who her successor to the throne would be. When Elizabeth I died childless, her cousin of the Scottish House of Stuart was invited  to succeed her, in the Union of the Crowns of 24 March 1603. The first Stuart to become King of England (r. 1603–1625), James VI of Scotland and I of England who's connection was being a great-grandson of Henry VII's daughter Margaret Tudor, who in 1503 had married James IV of Scotland. 

A connection still persists to today as Charles III is a ninth-generation descendant of George I, who in turn was James I's great-grandson.

There have been a number of stamps issued to commemorate the Tudors. These are “The Great Tudor” set of 1997 that focused on King Henry VIII and his six wives. The second “The House of Tudor” in 2009 (illustrated above) and that featured all six monarchs and included a miniature sheet illustrating significant people and events of the era.

This article has been brought to you by Sheffield Philatelic Society if you wish to know more about us and our meetings please visit our website on www.sheffieldps.org.uk or email me at spspresident25.27@gmail.com