Sleepy History - The Tudors: Were the Tudors the Worst Family in the History of England?

Episode Date: August 20, 2026

✨Sleepy History is written and narrated by humans. ✨ Narrated By: Jessika Gossl Written By: Jo Steer In tonight's episode, learn about the powerful dynasty that once ruled over England, and discover how Tudor monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth I shaped the country and its culture. Includes mentions of: British History, Death, Religious Traditions, Violence, War #History #Sleep #Queen #Elizabeth #Stuart #British #UK About Sleepy History Explore history's most intriguing stories, people, places, events, and mysteries, delivered in a supremely calming atmosphere. If you struggle to fall asleep and you have a curious mind, Sleepy History is the perfect bedtime companion. Our stories will gently grasp your attention, pulling your mind away from any racing thoughts, making room for the soothing music and calming narration to guide you into a peaceful sleep. Want to enjoy Sleepy History ad-free? Start your 7-day free trial of Sleepy History Premium: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepyhistory.supercast.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have feedback or an episode request? Let us know at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumberstudios.com/contact⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To learn more, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.slumberstudios.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between 1485 and 1603, England was ruled by the Judas. Today, it's one of history's best-known dynasties. Its leading figures and dramatic events eternalized on the page, screen, and stage. But what of the history beyond the famous names, like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I? How did they rise to power and maintain it for over a century? Tonight, we'll explore their stories and gain an overview of Tudor culture and the period overall. So just relax and let your mind drift as we explore the sleepy history of the Tudors. It's the 22nd of August 1485 when two armies go to war in the English countryside.

On one side of the battlefield is King Richard the 3rd. His Bannerman displaying the white rose of York. At the other end of the field, the roses are red for Lancaster, the house of Richard's rival, Henry Judah. What follows at Bosworth Field will be the final major battle in a long series of civil wars, the wars of the roses. By the end of the day, King Richard will be dead. marking the beginning of the Tudor era. Of all the dynasties to rule England, the House of Tudor remains among the most famous.

Its monarchs live through turbulent times, some of their own making, or those who'd ruled before them. You're likely familiar with Henry VIII, the king who began a religious reformation and famously married six times, or Elizabeth the Fourth. First, the Virgin Queen who staved off religious turmoil and a Spanish invasion. Certain kings and queens might be more familiar than others, but the lesser-known monarchs are no less fascinating.

Each Tudor monarch had their own challenges to overcome. Each left their mark on the pages of history. As we've already mentioned, the dynasty was born from conflict. The Wars of the Roses comprised a series of civil wars between members of the House of York and the House of Lancaster. Kings were overthrown and others captured and killed, as the crown changed hands between York and Lancaster. By 1485, the war was 30 years in, and the country was in a state of turmoil. One of the most famous incidents was the disappearance of the princes in the tower. Before the Yorkist King Edward IV had died, he'd named his brother Richard as Lord Protector.

Richard later proclaimed himself king, and Edward's young sons disappeared. Many believed that the York heirs had been murdered by their own uncle. Whether Richard III was truly guilty of these crimes is something still debated to this day. Regardless, many held suspicions at the time, and his rivals were keen to exploit this ill-feeling. One such figure was Lady Margaret Beaufort, whose son, Henry Judah, had a claim to the throne. With opinion at court turning against King Richard, she was the judge. began to promote Henry as the rightful king. Lady Margaret orchestrated a marriage between Lancasterian Henry who was exiled in France and Elizabeth of York, sister of the missing princes.

The match would unite the warring houses, ending the civil war and further legitimizing Henry's crown. Having agreed to the match Henry made for England, with financial and military support provided by France. He landed in Pembrokeshire on the southwest coast of Wales. Thanks to his Welsh ancestry, Henry had many supporters in Wales. He gathered an army of thousands and marched into England, meeting Richard in battle not far from Leicester. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor triumphed, despite being outnumbered. Richard was the last English king. to die in battle, and Henry the last to win the throne by force. And thus began the reign of the Judas, with Henry the 7th, King of England and Lord of Ireland,

crowned at Westminster Abbey later that year. One of Henry's first acts was to backdate his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth. Richard's former chief advisor was put to death as a traitor, and a number of prominent Yorkers, had their property and titles taken. Some went on to win them back after proving useful to the new king. Henry issued an edict. Anyone who pledged loyalty would be free from suspicion. In truth, though, the king was always somewhat paranoid,

as many others might be in the same situation. His marriage to Elizabeth in 1486 did help matters, as many had hoped. York and Lancaster were now joined in marriage, and the wars of the roses were officially over. Henry adopted a new heraldic symbol, the Tudor rose, or Union Rose. It combined the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster, and was a sign of the peace that Henry hoped to bring about. This, he would achieve. Despite countless threats against him, Yorkist rebellions and plots to take the throne. One plot revolved around a boy claiming to be the Earl of Warwick.

The real Warwick was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Irish nobles rose up alongside English Yorkists but were defeated by Henry's army. In a show of forgiveness, which was unusual for the times, Henry pardoned the Irish nobles. The boy, whose real name was Lambert Simmel, was sentenced to work in the Royal Kitchen, turning meat on the spit above the hearth. Henry was less sympathetic when it came to Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, the youngest of the missing York princes. Warbeck invaded England, having gained the support of Burgundy and Scotland, Bert was captured and executed as a traitor.

Henry's paranoia helped to keep him on the throne. He kept close counsel with only those he really trusted, ruling England through a strong central government. He established new courts, like that of the Star Chamber, made up of members of his Privy Council. This enabled him to bypass slow and corrupt local courts, enacting royal justice against those who threatened the crown, Henry also reintroduced old fines and taxes, levying them against the nobility to reduce their wealth and power, while at the same time

increasing the crowns. He avoided spending money on costly wars with foreign powers, instead opting to make marriage alliances through his children. His daughter Margaret was married off to King James IV of Scotland, while his son and heir Arthur were the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. And when Arthur sadly died just months into the marriage, the practical king arranged a new match between Arthur's widow and his younger son, the future King Henry VIII. By 1509, when Henry the 7th passed away, on the whole, England was peaceful and prosperous. Henry had reaffirmed. Henry had refilled the country's treasury, which had been depleted by civil war, and established a strong centralized government. He'd formed a flourishing trade network and made strong alliances,

helping to restore England's reputation on the world stage. Although he's sometimes overlooked by more gregarious juda monarchs, Henry V. 7 gave England exactly what it needed after the turbulence of civil war. Thanks to his cautious nature, steadiness, and wisdom, his 17-year-old son inherited a stable, wealthy kingdom. Henry VIII, however, was very different from his father. Perhaps in part because of their contrasting upbringings, his father's character had been forged through years of hardship.

He'd had to fight for the crown and then fight to keep it. But Henry VIII was born into a powerful ruling dynasty and enjoyed immense comfort and privilege. As we mentioned earlier, Henry wasn't meant to be king. He became heir to the throne at 10 years old when 15-year-old Prince Arthur passed away. Henry would have had an excellent education, studying philosophy and theology and learning to speak different languages. but it wouldn't have been focused on preparing him for kingship, and he'd have been much less restricted and perhaps more spoiled than his brother. This made for a ruler who could be intelligent and charming, but also vain, ill-tempered and impulsive.

Henry had the arrogance of a king who believed he'd been chosen by God, a king who answered to no one. It's these qualities which led him to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the Queen having failed to bear him a son. Unable to gain an annulment from the Pope, Henry took the drastic decision to split England from Rome and to form the Church of England. Determined to marry his mistress and Berlin, the King had triggered the English Reformation. A thousand years of Catholic authority ended overnight, beginning centuries of division between Catholics and Protestants.

Henry went on to close the monasteries, absorbing church lands and wealth into the crown. This led to unrest, including a huge northern uprising, which the king put down with extraordinary brutality. He was just as ruthless when it came to those closest to him, no matter how lawynolds. they'd proven to be. Those sent to the scaffold included his close friend, Sir Thomas Moore, and later his chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell. Henry's ruthless attitude extended to his wives. He'd initiated the Reformation to Marianne Berlin, but quickly tired of her when she didn't produce a son. Less than three years into their marriage, Anne was put to death on trumped-up charges of treason. Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, gave him the son he so wanted, but she died

soon after giving birth. He had his fourth marriage to Anne of Cleaves annulled after the wedding, because he found her less appealing than she'd appeared in portraits. Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was just 17 when she wed the 49-year-old King of England. accused of adultery after a year and a half of marriage, she met the same sorry fate as Anne Boleyn. Henry's sixth wife, Catherine Parr, was perhaps lucky to have survived her husband. By the end of his rule, he'd become increasingly tyrannical. He was cruel, paranoid and feared by many. The saga of Henry VIII and his six wives is nothing short of a tragedy.

tragic for his wives and the country itself. Of course, the causes of the Reformation were many and complex. Still, some would say Henry turned England upside down in pursuit of his desires, leaving a legacy of unrest that would endure for centuries. However, Henry also paved the way for the English Renaissance, with some experts arguing that it began during his reign, partly inspired by the earlier Italian Renaissance. This was a period of cultural growth in literature and music in particular.

Granted, pieces of art and manuscripts have been lost in Henry's decision to dissolve the monasteries, but at the same time, something new was emerging. A distinctive Tudor culture linked to their national identity. Henry himself fit the mould of an ideal Renaissance man. He was an athlete, swordsman, scholar and musician. And as king, he supported universities, sponsored artists and performers, and welcomed pioneering creatives and theologians to his court. The court was the stage for countless grand spectacles, from banquets and dances,

to jousting tournaments and masks. Ever the showman, Henry often took part himself, playing the part of a medieval knight, the hero of his own romantic myth. Elaborate events were great fun for Henry, but they were also a form of Tudor propaganda. Like the still iconic portraits of the king, painted by Hans Holbein the younger,

it was all about presenting an image of majesty. Grand displays demonstrated England's wealth and power, as did the many buildings the King commissioned. Hampton Court Palace is among the most resplendent, its stunning architecture blending a range of styles. Tall Gothic windows adorned red brick Tudor walls, set to proportions typical of Italian Renaissance architecture. Motifs of the Tudor rose appear throughout the palace, on stained glass windows, in the moldings of ceilings, and carved into woodwork on wall panels. Palatial buildings and shows of power brought prestige to king and country. Unfortunately, for Henry's son and successor, Edward V.6th,

these elaborate displays were somewhat of a smokescreen. When Henry died in 1547, England had only the appearance of being strong and prosperous. In reality, the king had drained the treasury and burdened the crown with enormous debts. Dissolving the monasteries had brought in significant funds, but nowhere near enough to cover the cost of wars in France and Scotland, or the many extravagances of Henry's lavish lifestyle. Henry had even reduced the amount of silver in coins so that more could be minted in a bid to generate revenue for the crown. This debasement of the currency led to years of inflation, resulting in higher prices across the country and greater poverty. Furthermore, the people were at odds over religion.

Displaced Catholics sought to restore the Pope's authority, while some Protestants wanted further reforms. On both sides, there were people willing to die for their convictions, believing that their immortal soul, was on the line. King Edward VI was only nine years old when he became king, but he'd been raised as a Protestant and already had strong beliefs. The same was true of his Lord Protectors, who governed the country until the king came of age. The first was his uncle, Edward Seymour, who held power between 1547 and 49. Seymour was a committed reformer and generally well-meaning. but he lacked the political acumen needed for the Tudor court. His introduction of a new prayer book resulted in Catholic revolts in southwest England.

Seymour was pushing reform a little too quickly for some. There were more rebellions that same year, protesting his idealistic but impractical land reforms. Seymour was removed from power after just two years, having alienated the nobility and angered the poor. His replacement was more successful and would rule as Lord Protector for the next four years. John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, focused on restoring stability. He put an end to expensive wars with France and Scotland, beginning to heal the wounds of England's financial ruin.

Dudley brought in more church reforms, but took a more staggered approach, beginning with changes less likely to cause protest. It began with services being held in English instead of Latin, and culminated a few years later with the 42 articles, a far more radical proclamation of England's Protestantism. Certainly, the Church of England envisioned by Seymour and Dudley was much more radical than the one Henry had established. Church buildings lost their altars and ornate decoration. Services were stripped of any ritualistic pomp.

These reforms were backed wholeheartedly by King Edward. By the time he was a teenager, he was taking an active role in government. Intelligent and well-read, with strong religious convictions, Edward had the makings of a strong ruler. Who knows how different things might have been had fate not intervened and cut his life short. The teenage king became seriously on well at the beginning of 1550. Protestants in the government were plunged into a crisis at the prospect of Edward's half-sister, Mary, undoing his reforms once she was queen.

Mary was a Catholic. Before his death that summer, Edward named his Protestant cousin Lady Jane Gray as his heir. The 15-year-old Jane is said to have protested. But it all proved futile, events now set in motion. Dudley had wed her to his son, Guilford, and she was proclaimed queen upon Edward's death. The problem was that regardless of her religion, most saw Mary Judah as the rightful heir. She was Henry VIII's daughter by Catherine of Aragon, and had been named Edward's successor in her father's will. Jane never really stood a chance, Mary's followers being so powerful and so many.

After just nine days in power, support for Jane crumbled, and Mary entered London to the cheering of crowds. Queen Mary the first, as she was soon after crowned, would be England's first true Queen regnant, not a wife or queen consort, but a sovereign in her own right. With powers equal to the men who had ruled before her, Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned. She might have received mercy, had her father not joined the Wyatt Rebellion, an unsuccessful uprising led by Protestant rebels. An initially reluctant Mary agreed to Jane's execution, persuaded by her advisors that she was a threat to her power.

The story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen, is nothing short of a Shakespearean tragedy. Edward had hoped to avoid a constitutional crisis, but instead, he'd inadvertently sealed his cousin's fate. To some, Jane's death made her a Protestant martyr, and sadly, she'd be the first of many more to come. Mary immediately set about restoring Catholicism in England, and with more ferocity than perhaps Edward had feared. Protestant reforms were repealed, and Catholic ceremonies reinstated, and by 1554, papal authority had been restored. The Queen likely saw this as a return to stability and an end to the havoc wreaked by her father

and then her half-brother. It was also deeply personal, a calling from God. As Queen, Mary hoped to return England to what she saw as the one true religion, saving countless souls. And she would prove as ruthless as her father, if not more so, when bringing the country's Protestants into line. To this day, she's referred to as Bloody Mary. She ordered the executions of nearly 300 Protestants

who were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs. These executions, held in public, were meant as a deterrent to other Protestants. In reality, they made martyrs who inspired further rebellion. The executions were deeply unpopular, even among some Catholics. Life in Mary's England was hard for the majority, with a large part of the population living in poverty. Alongside inflation, there was a string of poor harvests and outbreaks of plague and sweating sickness. Mary's personal popularity had also declined, after her marriage to Philip II of Spain. Many feared Spain's influence over the English court, with Mary's counsel taking legal steps to limit Philip's power.

Resentments grew stronger after 1557, when Philip influenced Mary to join Spain's war against France, despite a plethora of reasons that made it inadvisable. Her counsel only agreed after the English aristocrat, Thomas Stafford, led a failed rebellion, backed by French support. Regardless, joining the war remained an unpopular choice, especially after its humiliating end. The French retook Calais in northern France, a region ruled by the English for over two centuries. Losing England's last French territory was a huge blow, and the Queen appears to have been devastated by its loss. Even more distressing to Mary was her failure to produce an heir, a Catholic successor to continue in her stead. She suffered two false pregnancies, experiencing physical symptoms as if she were with child.

This might have been the result of illness or psychological stress, which demonstrates the immense pressure she was under. The Catholics in Mary's court were also anxious because of what it meant for England's future. Mary's half-sister Elizabeth was next in line for the throne. Elizabeth was Henry VIII's daughter by Anne Boleyn and a Protestant. The sibling's relationship had always been strained. Elizabeth had even been arrested on Mary's orders after the Wyatt Rebellion in 1554. That's the same uprising that led to the execution of Lady Jane Grey, despite no proof of her involvement.

Held in the Tower of London, where her mother had been executed, the same fate might well have befallen Elizabeth. She protested her innocence, and no incriminating evidence was ever found. Mary opted to let her sister live, though she was kept under house arrest for a year after her release. Unlike Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth had a great deal of support. Executing her without proof might have brought about chaos. It was a traumatic experience, but one that she survived, likely learning a great deal in the process. Elizabeth would forever after be careful with whom she trusted. She learned to hide her true feelings in order to stay safe.

These qualities would prove useful in 1558, when it transpired that Mary's second false pregnancy was actually an illness that would claim her life. Elizabeth began secretly organizing her counsel and making plans, while still remaining guarded before the Queen and her advisors. No doubt, Mary would have preferred another successor. a Catholic ruler like Mary Queen of Scots. However, perhaps having seen how Edward's interference played out,

she did not attempt to stop Elizabeth's succession. England's first queen regnant, Mary I, died in November 1558. Her reign was even shorter than that of her half-brothers, though to Protestants it might have seemed far longer. For Protestants, Mary's death brought a sense of relief, a reprieve from the fear that they'd lived in for years. The executions had left a scar on the country. Many looked to Elizabeth to heal that wound, and that was exactly what she planned to do when she ascended the throne at 25 years old. Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, would be the longest reigning Tudor monarch.

and the last. Elizabeth is also known as the Virgin Queen, having never married despite immense pressure to do so. This fact alone speaks to her strength of character, something that in part she inherited from her father, Henry VIII. Elizabeth was like Henry in a number of ways, being somewhat vain and prone to mood swings, but also intelligent, quick-witted and charismatic. She had her had Henry's confidence, but was far less impulsive. The trials of her youth had taught her caution. Not only had she been imprisoned in the Tower of London, but as a teenager, she was cast out by her stepmother, Catherine Parr, after Parr's husband made unwelcome advances toward

her. Elizabeth's upbringing was closer to that of her grandfather, Henry the seventh, than the cushioned childhood of her own father. Like her grandfather, Elizabeth had to fight to survive, and it made her strong, resilient, careful, and wise. It's perhaps one of history's greatest ironies that Henry the 8th tore the country apart in order to produce a male heir when his daughter Elizabeth would prove as fine a leader as any. Far better than him, we might even say. England was still suffering the repercussions of Henry's choices when Elizabeth became queen,

11 years after his death. The kingdom was still in debt, with many in poverty. England was vulnerable to foreign attack and plagued by religious discord. And yet, Elizabeth would bring about a so-called golden age, a flourishing of Tudor culture, trade and exploration, which would see England transformed into a major player on Europe stage. One of the first things Elizabeth did was restore Protestantism, undoing Mary's Catholic reforms.

But her policies were far more moderate than some had expected. Elizabeth tried to find a middle way that might allow Protestants and Catholics to coexist, For instance, she authorized the 1559 Book of Common Prayer. Some wording was ambiguous, allowing for different interpretations. Although there were fines for non-attendance at church, Elizabeth didn't look to hold sway over the private beliefs of her subjects. She was willing to compromise if it meant restoring order.

And we might say that in this, she succeeded. During the course of Elizabeth's 45-year-long reign, England remained in a state of relative peace. This was partly thanks to the Queen's secretary and spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, who exposed multiple conspiracies at home and abroad. One of the most famous intrigues was the Babington plot, a plan to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots. The reluctant Elizabeth eventually signed her cousin's death warrant after Walsingham found definitive proof of her direct involvement.

Mary's execution in 1587 then set the wheels in motion for a Spanish invasion. King Philip II of Spain had been waiting for an excuse to attack England. He'd grown increasingly displeased for a number of reasons. Among them, Elizabeth's rejection. of his marriage proposal. Philip also accused the queen of facilitating piracy, allowing English privateers like Sir Francis Drake to plunder Spanish ships and bring the bounty home to England. Consequently, upon the execution of the Catholic Queen Mary, Philip declared a holy war against England. In 1558, he launched a fleet known as the Spanish Armada,

presenting Elizabeth with the biggest challenge of her reign. Spain was Europe's leading superpower of the age, and the English Navy had been outnumbered and outpowered. So, the defeat over the Armada seemed both wonderful and miraculous. It seemed to the English like God was on their side. The victory greatly elevated England's reputation in Europe, the country emerging as a major maritime power. Its presence on the world stage had already been growing,

thanks to pioneering explorers like Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. Drake was the first English captain to circumnavigate the globe, Raleigh masterminded expeditions to North America, and the attempt to establish colonies. These early attempts failed, but inspired further colonization. while exploration in general resulted in a burgeoning trade network. We might say that the foundations of the future British Empire were laid during the reign of Elizabeth I. Arguably, what had an even greater lasting impact was the cultural growth that the Queen oversaw.

With Elizabeth's patronage of the arts and education, the seeds of cultural change came into bloom. Elizabeth was keen to support forms of learning, as she herself was exceptionally studious from a young age. She gave funding to universities like Oxford and Cambridge and sponsored the translation of classical works into English. New grammar schools opened across the country. At these schools, the curriculum was focused on Latin to prepare boys for university, and there was an emphasis on Protestantism. During Elizabeth's reign, literacy rates improved, alongside access to education and other changes like the spread of the printing press. More and more people had access to the English Bible, even if they could only listen to it being read out in church.

The result was a flourishing across different forms of culture. The Elizabethan age was one of poetry and drama, and the Queen's Court itself was like a theatre. Like her father before her, Elizabeth knew how to impress. Grand spectacles brought the crown more prestige. Her court was the stage for all manner of entertainment, including plays, dances, and musical performances. The queen was particularly fond of music, patronizing a number of composers,

including the Catholic William Bird. Recognizing his talent, she appointed him to serve in her own royal chapel, despite opposition from many Protestants at court. Bird and his contemporaries heralded a new age of English music, one increasingly less restricted to church settings. Vocal melodies interweaved with those played on instruments, including lutes, fiddles, harpsichords, and recorders. This rich, polyphonic, and emotive music also lent itself beautifully to the staging of plays. It's possibly theatre, more than any other art form, that people still associate with the English Renaissance. Plays were performed in purpose-built

Tudor theatres to an audience that included a range of social classes. Acting evolved into a paid profession, with licensed companies funded by noble patrons. Some major acting groups were protected by the Queen. Elizabeth herself hosted plays at her court and protected theatres from Puritans, radical Protestants who wanted them closed. The era gave rise to some extraordinary writers. Among them, the playwright William Shakespeare, still considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time, Shakespeare changed the face of the English language. His plays also contrary to to the formation of a national identity, reflecting the values and great questions of the age.

Themes like love, revenge, justice, and obedience are part of what makes his plays still relevant today. What's more, the play spoke to a shift in the nation's psyche, a tendency towards humanism rather than Christianity alone. Renaissance humanism balanced out religious doctrine, with a belief that a person had some part in their own fate, simply put, an individual's choices mattered. And that was as true for monarchs as it was for their subjects.

It might seem like a fitting stance to take, considering the events that we've explored tonight. Although fate played a larger role for some tutors more than others, each king or queen made choices that had widespread consequences. Elizabeth's choices brought peace and prosperity, and a golden age of culture, trade, and exploration. Yet, her refusal to name an heir might have resulted in a crisis, had it not been for the forethought of her Privy Council. As it is, when Elizabeth died in 1603, the reign of the House of Tudor ended peacefully, far more so than it had begun. gun. Her successor was James Charles Stewart, the Protestant son of Mary Queen of Scots,

and he would beckon in a new era as King James I of England and 6th of Scotland. It was the first time in history that the two nations would be united under one sovereign ruler. That's a story for another time. Our tale ends tonight with Elizabeth, the last. and many would say the best of the Tudors.