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King Henry (Tudor) the Eighth
Born 1491
The second, but best known, monarch in the Tudor line was the handsome, powerful Renaissance king Henry VIII. An intelligent sportsman with a taste for theological debate he is famous for his appetite for wives - and for his penchant for disposing of them.
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Katherine of Aragon
Born 1485
Henry's Spanish Queen was first married to his older brother, Arthur, who died young. It is not clear whether that marriage was consummated, but it was used by Henry as the reason for divorce. A devout Roman Catholic, she lived for her faith and for her daughter, Mary.
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Mary Boleyn
Born 1499
Mary, Anne's older sister, was Henry's mistress for about five years. Some believe that Henry was the true father of her two children, Katherine and Henry, who would then be not only cousins but half siblings to Queen Elizabeth I. Mary's granddaughter Lettice Knollys served as Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth.
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Anne Boleyn
Born 1501
Perhaps the best known of Henry's wives, Anne was a vivacious, attractive woman with considerable polish, learning, and charisma which instantly drew the king's eye. Her failure to produce a son spelled her downfall, but in her short life she strongly encouraged and influenced the English Reform.
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Thomas Wyatt
Born 1500
A courtier and poet credited with introducing the sonnet to the English language, Wyatt nursed a childhood crush on Anne Boleyn his entire life. His sisters, Margaret (Meg) and Anne (Alice) attended Anne at her execution. His son, Thomas Wyatt the Younger, led an unsuccessful rebellion against Mary Tudor and was executed.
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Jane Seymour
Born 1508
Sister to Thomas and Edward Seymour, Jane was a seemingly demure girl who used the same tactic as Anne Boleyn before her – holding the king off till marriage – though she only had to hold him off for months. Jane died just after giving birth to Henry's son and heir, Edward
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Kateryn Parr
Born 1512
Last wife to Henry the Eighth, Parr was a lovable, attractive, learned woman who became a mother to Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, loving them as her own. She was the first truly Protestant English Queen, but had one weakness - Thomas Seymour - who would prove himself unworthy of her affections and trust.
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Thomas Seymour
Born 1507
The dashing admiral always grudged his brother Edward for excluding Thomas from real power, so Seymour set out to gain it in other ways. Though Princess Elizabeth aptly called him, "a man of much wit, but very little judgment," he was everafter the template for men whom she found attractive
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Edward Seymour
Born 1506
Eldest brother of Queen Jane Seymour and Thomas Seymour, he made a successful play for control of young King Edward after Henry's death and styled himself Lord Protector. While seemingly devout publicly, privately he worshipped power, which ultimately proved his undoing.
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Mary Tudor
Born 1516
The only surviving child of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, "Bloody" Mary was devoted to her mother's reputation and to the Roman Catholic Church. A lifetime of trauma took its toll on her mental and physical well-being. Mary sought happiness - sadly unachieved - with her husband, Philip of Spain.
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Edward Tudor
Born 1537
Henry's only surviving legitimate son, Edward grew up with in an extremely controlled environment, his every move monitored closely, but lacked love till Kateryn Parr came along. Devoted to the Reformation, Edward was an extremely bright but priggish boy who died well before his time, from consumption.
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Elizabeth Tudor
Born 1533
Aptly nicknamed "Gloriana," Elizabeth represented the very best, and perhaps a small bit of the worst, of both her larger-than-life parents. She won her power the hard way and relinquished none of it. England secured and began enlarging its empire under her intelligent, astute guidance but this came at the high cost of her personal happiness, a hurt she sometimes took out on others.
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Robert Dudley
Born 1532
A dashing charmer and the love of Elizabeth's life, Robert was a childhood friend of Elizabeth, and had been devoted to the queen since their time in The Tower together as young adults. Dudley waited decades for her to marry him, something Elizabeth would not, and probably could not, do. He risked loving another, her cousin, to perilous consequence.
