Women of the Tudor Royal House: An Age of Passion, Blood and Glory

A historical narrative about the customs of the royal court of England from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
The story of the Tudor dynasty traces back to a Welsh noble family “ap Twddur,” whose ancestors can be traced to the first millennium AD. They began to play a role in English history with Owen Tudor, who married Catherine of France, the widow of Henry V. From this marriage came two sons—Edmund and Jasper—whom their half-brother Henry VI granted the titles of Earl of Richmond and Earl of Pembroke, respectively. Edmund Tudor once again formed kinship with the House of Lancaster by marrying the great-granddaughter of the founder of this branch, John of Gaunt (through the legalized line of descendants of his mistress Katherine Swynford, who officially had no right to the throne), Margaret Beaufort. From this marriage (after the father’s death) was born the future Henry VII (1457). Under the Tudors, England reached America (Cabot’s expedition—end of the 15th century) and began its colonization. An important political event that strengthened national unity was the naval victory over the Spanish “Invincible Armada” in 1588.