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  • 1485 to 1603

The Tudor family tree, from Henry VII to Elizabeth I

This Tudor family tree follows one crown through three generations, from Henry VII at Bosworth in 1485 to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. The chart can be moved, enlarged and edited. The article under it sets out every reign, the six marriages of Henry VIII and the laws that ordered the succession, with a numbered source for each statement.

The chart of Henry VIII and his family

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The Tudor family tree drawn with portraits. Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, and Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, stand at the top. Henry VII and Elizabeth of York are below them. The third row holds Arthur, Catherine of Aragon, Margaret, Henry VIII with his six wives and two mistresses, and Mary. The fourth row holds Mary I with Philip of Spain, Henry FitzRoy with Mary Howard, Edward VI and Elizabeth I.

Select a person on the chart, and the row about them opens from here.

The parents of Henry VII and of Elizabeth of York stand at the top, the royal couple below them, their children and the eight partners of Henry VIII on the third row, and the grandchildren at the foot.

Drawn from the Tudor template of the library. Select a person to find the row in the people table.

years on the throne
118
crowned monarchs
5
days of Queen Jane
9
marriages of Henry VIII
6
people on the chart
24
The key

How to read this Tudor family tree

Read the chart from the top down, one generation to a row, with children hanging from the union of their parents. The key under the chart lists every mark.

  • A portrait is a person

    Initials stand in for a portrait that is not known.

  • The plate names the person

    It gives the years, with a dagger before the year of death, and the title.

  • A double ring is the centre

    Henry VIII is the centre, with his earlier partners to his left.

  • Numbers count the marriages

    The circled numbers beside Henry VIII give the order of his six marriages.

  • Two strokes mark an annulment

    Three of the six marriages were annulled.

  • A dashed line is no marriage

    Elizabeth Blount and Mary Boleyn were mistresses of the king.

Not on the chart

Who the chart leaves out, and why

The chart draws one king’s household. Henry VIII alone has eight partners on its third row, and more people would crowd it.

Not on the chart.
PersonWhoWhy not drawn
Owen Tudor and Catherine of ValoisGrandparents of Henry VIIThe chart starts a generation later.
Edward III and the BeaufortsSource of the Tudor claimFour generations further back.
Edward VBrother of Elizabeth of YorkHe vanished as a boy.
Four children of Henry VIIThey died youngOnly those who lived are drawn.
James IV and Charles BrandonHusbands of the king’s sistersOutside his household.
Lady Jane GreyGreat-granddaughter of Henry VIITwo generations further down.
Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VIThe Scottish heirsDrawn in the second diagram.
Other husbandsOf Margaret Beaufort and Catherine ParrOnly the Tudor marriage is drawn.
Three wives of Philip IIHe married four timesOnly Mary I belongs here.

Sources5101114212224263336425053

Regnal table

The Tudor monarchs in order

The Royal Family counts five Tudor sovereigns, or six with Lady Jane Grey, over 118 years.1 The last column shows how the crown passed.

The Tudor monarchs and Lady Jane Grey.
MonarchReign beganCrownedDiedAgeReignHow the crown passed on
Henry VII22 August 148530 October 148521 April 1509, Richmond5223 years, 8 monthsTo his only surviving son.
Henry VIIIApril 150924 June 150928 January 1547, Whitehall5537 years, 9 monthsTo Edward, by birth and by the act of 1544.
Edward VI28 January 154720 February 15476 July 1553, Greenwich156 years, 5 monthsTo Jane Grey by his devise, against the act.
Jane10 July 1553Never crownedDeposed 19 July 1553, beheaded 12 February 155416 or 179 daysTo Mary, proclaimed by the council.
Mary I19 July 15531 October 155317 November 1558, St James’s Palace425 years, 4 monthsTo Elizabeth, under the act of 1544.
Elizabeth I17 November 155815 January 155924 March 1603, Richmond6944 years, 4 monthsTo James VI of Scotland.

Sources1345791518192026283343526465

Henry VII dated his reign from 21 August, the day before the battle, so that men who had fought for Richard III could be treated as traitors.38 Mary I is dated from her proclamation.52

1457 to 1486

A thin claim and a won battle

Henry Tudor was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457 to a mother of thirteen, Margaret Beaufort. His father, Edmund Tudor, had died of plague in captivity at Carmarthen months before.9361033 Edmund was a son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V, and so a half-brother of Henry VI.1136

The claim came through Margaret. She descended from John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III, through one of his children born outside marriage.10 The Beauforts were later made legitimate, and in 1407 Henry IV confirmed this with words that barred them from the crown.5657

The descent from Edward III

Lancaster, Beaufort and York all descend from Edward III. A dashed line passes over generations not drawn.Edward IIIKing of EnglandJohn of GauntDuke of LancasterLionel of AntwerpSecond sonEdmund of LangleyDuke of YorkHenry IVLancastrian kingJohn BeaufortEarl of SomersetHenry VCatherine of ValoisMarried twiceOwen TudorWelsh squireJohn BeaufortDuke of SomersetHenry VILast Lancastrian kingEdmund TudorEarl of RichmondMargaret Beaufort1443–1509Edward IVKing, House of YorkHenry VIIReigned 1485–1509Elizabeth of YorkDied 1503Henry VIIIReigned 1509–1547
  • Lancaster
  • Beaufort
  • York
  • Tudor
  • A monarch of England
  • A marriage
Lancaster, Beaufort and York all descend from Edward III. A dashed line passes over generations not drawn.

Sources9101112365657

The stronger claim belonged to Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV.2 After Edward IV died in 1483, his son Edward V was deposed, Richard III was crowned and the princes vanished in the Tower.1426 Henry, in exile in Brittany since 1471, promised to marry Elizabeth and won Yorkists who had turned against Richard.33257

He landed near Milford Haven on 7 August 1485, and at Bosworth on 22 August Sir William Stanley’s men joined Henry and Richard was killed.26 Henry was crowned on 30 October and married Elizabeth on 18 January 1486, uniting Lancaster and York.937 Parliament repealed Titulus Regius, the act that had declared her illegitimate.58 The Tudor rose joins the red rose of Lancaster to the white of York.33

Reign I

Henry VII, who founded the line

Henry VIIreigned 1485 to 1509

Portrait of Henry VII
Born
28 January 1457, Pembroke Castle
Crowned
30 October 1485, Westminster Abbey
Married
Elizabeth of York, 18 January 1486
Died
21 April 1509, Richmond Palace
Heir
Henry, his second son

Sources393337

Pretenders such as Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck troubled the first years. Henry founded the Yeomen of the Guard in 1485, and royal income rose from about £52,000 a year to £142,000.2

Arthur married Catherine of Aragon and died in 1502, aged fifteen.443 Margaret married James IV of Scotland in 1503 under the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.4260 Elizabeth of York died in the Tower on her birthday in 1503, after a birth, and four of her eight children outlived childhood.933 Henry died at Richmond in 1509 and lies beside her at Westminster Abbey.933

The two houses joined in 1486, and their heir.
Reign II

Henry VIII and the search for a son

Henry VIIIreigned 1509 to 1547

Portrait of Henry VIII
Born
28 June 1491, Greenwich
Crowned
24 June 1509, Westminster Abbey
Married
Six times, 1509 to 1543
Died
28 January 1547, Whitehall
Heir
Edward, his son by Jane Seymour

Sources31528

Henry VIII, the second son, became heir when Arthur died and succeeded in April 1509, aged seventeen.315 In June he married his brother’s widow under a papal licence, and the two were crowned together.153

By the late 1520s the marriage had one living child, Mary, and the king had acknowledged a son, Henry FitzRoy, by Elizabeth Blount.335 Henry claimed that the marriage had never been lawful, Wolsey failed to win the pope’s agreement in 1529, and Thomas Cromwell turned to Parliament.3 Cranmer declared the marriage void on 23 May 1533, and the Act of Supremacy of 1534 declared the king supreme head of the Church of England.4527

Anne Boleyn bore Elizabeth and was beheaded in 1536. Jane Seymour bore Edward and died twelve days later.347 Henry died at Whitehall on 28 January 1547 and was buried at Windsor beside Jane.2815

1509 to 1547

The six marriages of Henry VIII

Schoolchildren learn “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived”. In law none ended in divorce, and three marriages were annulled, declared never to have been valid.343

The six marriages of Henry VIII. The sitter of the Catherine Howard portrait is not certain.
WifeMarriedEndedHow it endedChild who lived
Portrait of Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon11 June 150923 May 1533Declared void by Cranmer at DunstableMary I, 1516
Portrait of Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn25 January 153317 May 1536Declared void before her executionElizabeth I, 1533
Portrait of Jane SeymourJane Seymour30 May 153624 October 1537Her death after the birth of her sonEdward VI, 1537
Portrait of Anne of ClevesAnne of Cleves6 January 1540July 1540Annulled as never consummatedNone
Portrait of Catherine HowardCatherine Howard28 July 154013 February 1542Her execution in the TowerNone
Portrait of Catherine ParrCatherine Parr12 July 154328 January 1547The death of the kingNone

Sources371517181929303445476263

Anne of Cleves accepted the annulment and lived on in England as the king’s sister.49 Catherine Parr governed as regent while he was in France and later married Thomas Seymour.50

1534 to 1553

Three acts, a will and a devise

Each marriage changed the heir, and each change was written into law.

  1. 1534

    The First Act of Succession

    Dated 1533 in some records

    • Mary was declared illegitimate and removed from the succession.
    • Subjects swore an oath that recognised the children of Anne Boleyn as the lawful heirs.

    Sources63941

  2. 1536

    The Second Act of Succession

    After Anne Boleyn’s fall

    • Elizabeth was removed as well, so neither daughter stood in the succession.
    • The king might name his successor by letters patent or by his will.

    Sources303961

  3. 1544

    The Third Act of Succession

    The order that held

    • Mary and Elizabeth returned to the succession after Edward and his children.
    • Neither was declared legitimate.

    Sources639

  4. 30 December 1546

    The will of Henry VIII

    A month before his death

    • It confirmed the order Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, and after them the Grey and Suffolk families.
    • It passed over the Scottish heirs of his elder sister Margaret.

    Sources2839

  5. 21 June 1553

    The devise of Edward VI

    Letters patent

    • Edward wrote it in his own hand, and the manuscript is kept in the Inner Temple Library.
    • Changed from a draft that named only male heirs, it let Lady Jane Grey reign and excluded both of his sisters.

    Sources3940

Thirteen days after Edward died Mary was proclaimed. She reigned under the act of 1544, as Elizabeth did after her.5526

Reign III

Edward VI, a king at nine

Edward VIreigned 1547 to 1553

Portrait of Edward VI
Born
12 October 1537, Hampton Court Palace
Crowned
20 February 1547, Westminster Abbey
Married
Never
Died
6 July 1553, Greenwich Palace
Heir
Jane by his devise, Mary by statute

Sources1839

Edward VI was nine, and his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, governed as Protector until John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, overthrew him. Somerset was executed in 1552.184 The Prayer Book of 1549 brought services in English.184 Edward died of tuberculosis at Greenwich in his sixteenth year.1839

10 to 19 July 1553

Lady Jane Grey, queen for nine days

Jane is not on the chart. Her mother, Frances Brandon, was the daughter of Mary Tudor, the younger sister of Henry VIII.24 Jane married Guildford Dudley, a son of Northumberland, in May 1553.3964 The council recognised her as queen on 10 July, and she was deposed on 19 July.5 After her father joined Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary, she was beheaded on 12 February 1554, aged sixteen or seventeen.245264

Reign IV

Mary I, the first queen to rule

Mary Ireigned 1553 to 1558

Portrait of Mary I
Born
18 February 1516, Greenwich Palace
Crowned
1 October 1553, Westminster Abbey
Married
Philip of Spain, 25 July 1554
Died
17 November 1558
Heir
Elizabeth, her half-sister

Sources19

Mary I was the first queen regnant of England, a queen who ruled in her own right.6 She restored papal supremacy, and around three hundred Protestants were burnt in three years.6 She married Philip of Spain in Winchester Cathedral, the marriage had no child, and Calais fell to the French in 1558.196 Elizabeth was held in the Tower in 1554 under suspicion over Wyatt’s rebellion.52

Reign V

Elizabeth I, the last of the line

Elizabeth Ireigned 1558 to 1603

Portrait of Elizabeth I
Born
7 September 1533, Greenwich
Crowned
15 January 1559, Westminster Abbey
Married
Never
Died
24 March 1603, Richmond Palace
Heir
James VI of Scotland

Sources72043

Elizabeth I was two when her mother was executed.747 Her church settlement was laid down in the Thirty-nine Articles of 1563.7 After smallpox nearly killed her in 1562, Parliament petitioned her to marry. She never did, and she refused to name an heir until, on her deathbed, she drew a circlet above her head to assent to the King of Scots.3031

Mary, Queen of Scots, a great-granddaughter of Henry VII, fled to England in 1568 and was executed in 1587.2178 Elizabeth died at Richmond on 24 March 1603. In 1606 her coffin was laid on her half-sister’s at Westminster Abbey.20

1603

The end of the line and the Stuart succession

No child of Henry VIII left a child, so in 1603 the crown passed to the line of his sisters.

The three lines from Henry VII

The will of Henry VIII preferred his younger sister’s line. The crown went to his elder sister’s line, and James VI descended from both of Margaret’s marriages.Henry VIIand Elizabeth of YorkMargaret TudorQueen of ScotlandHenry VIIIReigned 1509–1547Mary TudorQueen of FranceJames V of ScotlandSon of James IVMargaret DouglasDaughter of the Earl ofAngusEdward VIDied 1553Mary IDied 1558Elizabeth IDied 1603Frances BrandonDuchess of SuffolkMary, Queen of ScotsExecuted 1587Henry StuartLord DarnleyLady Jane GreyQueen in July 1553James VI and IKing of England from1603
  • Tudor
  • The Scottish line
  • The Suffolk line
  • A monarch of England
  • A marriage
The will of Henry VIII preferred his younger sister’s line. The crown went to his elder sister’s line, and James VI descended from both of Margaret’s marriages.

Sources212223242839

Margaret Tudor was the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots, through James IV, and of Lord Darnley through Margaret Douglas.422123 Their son James was born at Edinburgh Castle on 19 June 1566.22 In 1603 he was proclaimed King of England, and each kingdom kept its own parliament, church and laws.43

1457 to 1603

A timeline of the Tudor succession

  1. Henry Tudor is born

    At Pembroke Castle.

  2. Bosworth

    Richard III is killed.

  3. Henry VIII succeeds

    He marries Catherine of Aragon in June.

  4. The first marriage is void

    Cranmer gives judgment at Dunstable.

  5. Elizabeth is born

    The act of 1534 makes her heir.

  6. Anne Boleyn is beheaded

    The act of 1536 sets both daughters aside.

  7. Edward is born

    Jane Seymour dies twelve days later.

  8. Henry VIII dies

    Edward VI is king at nine.

  9. Edward VI dies

    Jane reigns from 10 to 19 July.

  10. Mary I dies

    Elizabeth succeeds under the act of 1544.

  11. Elizabeth I dies

    James VI of Scotland succeeds.

Sources357915181920263739444547

Seven terms

A short glossary

Annulment

A judgment that a marriage had never been lawful, unlike a divorce, which ends a valid one.

Sources3

Attainder

An act of Parliament that condemned named people without a trial and kept their property from their heirs.

Sources54

Dispensation

A papal licence to set aside a rule of church law, as Henry had to marry his brother’s widow.

Sources366

Heir apparent

An heir whose place no later birth can take. An heir presumptive would give way to one.

Sources55

Letters patent

An open letter under the Great Seal, by which the Crown made grants and appointments.

Sources32

Lord Protector

The man who governed for a king too young to rule, as Somerset did for Edward VI.

Sources18

Queen consort

The wife of a reigning king. A queen regnant, such as Mary I, rules in her own right.

Sources25

Asked often

Questions about the Tudor family tree

The Tudor monarchs in order

Henry VII reigned from 1485, Henry VIII from 1509, Edward VI from 1547, Mary I from 1553 and Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603. Lady Jane Grey held the crown for nine days in July 1553.

How Henry VII was related to the kings before him

His mother descended from Edward III through John of Gaunt, and his father was a half-brother of Henry VI. He married Elizabeth of York, who had the stronger claim.

Whether the Tudor line continued

The line of Henry VIII ended in 1603. The line of his elder sister Margaret continued through James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England.

How to use this chart in a class

The PNG and the PDF carry the chart and every portrait credit, and the people table lists who was alive in each reign. A free account opens the chart in the full editor.

Reference

People and sources

A page of its own lists all 24 people on the chart, each with a short note and the sources for it, and the 66 numbered sources this article cites. It also gives the credits of the portraits and this page as a reference in the APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard styles, ready to copy.

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