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The Royal Family Tree from Henry VIII: Tudors to Stuarts
Henry VIII is the best-known Tudor king, and his family tree explains how England passed from the Tudors to the Stuarts. This tree follows his parents, his six wives and his three children who reigned. It states only relationships given in the sources at the end.
Henry VIII's Parents
Henry VIII was born at Greenwich on 28 June 1491, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York [1]. He became heir when his elder brother, Prince Arthur, died in 1502, and he succeeded in 1509 [1]. He reigned until 1547 [1].
The Six Wives, in Order
Henry had six wives between 1509 and his death in 1547. Legally, three of the marriages were annulled, not ended by divorce [3]. In order [3]:
- Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur's widow, married in 1509 [1][3]
- Anne Boleyn (c. 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536), mother of Elizabeth I [3]
- Jane Seymour (c. 1512/13 – 24 October 1537), married on 30 May 1536, eleven days after Anne Boleyn's execution [3]
- Anne of Cleves, a marriage annulled for non-consummation [3]
- Catherine Howard, a first cousin of Anne Boleyn [3]
- Catherine Parr, who outlived Henry [3]
Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were both beheaded [3].
The Three Children Who Reigned
Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour each gave Henry one child who survived infancy. All three became monarchs [3]:
| Child | Mother | Reign | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward VI | Jane Seymour | 1547–1553 | [2][1] |
| Mary I | Catherine of Aragon | 1553–1558 | [4][3] |
| Elizabeth I | Anne Boleyn | 1558–1603 | [5] |
- Edward VI became king at nine on his father's death, under a regency [2]. Jane Seymour bore him in 1537 [1].
- Mary I was the first Queen Regnant. An Act of Parliament of 1533 declared her illegitimate. She was restored to the succession in 1544 [4].
- Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was the last Tudor monarch. She succeeded her half-sister in November 1558 and reigned for 45 years [5].
Henry also had an illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, with Elizabeth Blount [3].
From Tudor to Stuart (1603)
None of Henry's children left an heir. In 1603 the English crown passed to James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England and Ireland on the union of the crowns on 24 March 1603 [6]. James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII [6]. That made him a cousin of the Tudor line, not a descendant of Henry VIII.
Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is shared under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.