House of Tudor

The Tudor family was an English family which became that kingdom's ruling dynasty in 1485 when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII, who was in turn succeeded by his son, Edward VI, then his (Henry VIII's) daughter, Mary Tudor, and finally his other daughter, Queen Elizabeth.

In 1588 Tudor rule was disrupted when the Spanish Armada conquered England, deposed Elizabeth, and installed the Spanish princess Isabella on the throne as Queen of England. She belonged to the powerful continental European Catholic Hapsburg dynasty.

In 1598 a popular uprising led by Robert Cecil expelled Isabella from England and restored Elizabeth, and with her Tudor rule, to the throne. However, at the time Elizabeth was sixty-five years old and had no children, nor were there any other living members of the Tudor family. Upon her death, it is expected that Scotland's King James VI, a member of the Stuart family, will become King of England.