House of Tudor: The Five Tudor Monarchs in Order, 1485-1603
The house of Tudor ruled England from 1485 to 1603: the five Tudor monarchs in order, their reign dates, the family line, and the disputed nine-day claim of Lady Jane Grey.
Last updated September 2026
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The house of Tudor ruled England for 118 years, from 1485 to 1603. Five monarchs reigned in that time, and three of them were children of Henry VIII. This page lists them in order, shows how the crown passed from one to the next, and records the one claim that most lists leave out.
TL;DR: The Tudors were Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-1547), Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The line began with a battle at Bosworth and ended when Elizabeth died childless. Lady Jane Grey's nine days in July 1553 are shown as a disputed record.
The house of Tudor in order
| # | Monarch | Reign | Length | How the reign began | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry VII | 22 Aug 1485 - 21 Apr 1509 | 23 years | Won the crown at Bosworth | Reviewed |
| 2 | Henry VIII | 21 Apr 1509 - 28 Jan 1547 | 37 years | Inheritance from his father | Reviewed |
| 3 | Edward VI | 28 Jan 1547 - 6 Jul 1553 | 6 years | Inheritance, aged nine | Reviewed |
| - | Lady Jane Grey | 10 - 19 Jul 1553 | 9 days | Named in Edward VI's will | Disputed |
| 4 | Mary I | 19 Jul 1553 - 17 Nov 1558 | 5 years | Inheritance under the Act of Succession | Reviewed |
| 5 | Elizabeth I | 17 Nov 1558 - 24 Mar 1603 | 44 years | Inheritance from her half-sister | Reviewed |
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Dates are Julian (Old Style), the calendar England used at the time. Mary I's reign is dated here from her proclamation in London on 19 July 1553. Some lists date it from 6 July, the day Edward VI died.
Where the Tudors came from
The Tudor family came from Anglesey in north Wales. Owen Tudor, a Welsh courtier, married Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V. Their son Edmund married Margaret Beaufort, a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. That Beaufort line gave their son, Henry, his claim to the throne.
The claim was thin. But by 1485 the Wars of the Roses had killed off most of the Lancastrian heirs. Henry returned from exile in France, landed in Wales, and defeated Richard III at Bosworth on 22 August 1485. Richard died in the battle.
Henry VII: founding the house of Tudor
Henry VII dated his reign from 21 August, the day before the battle. That let him treat anyone who fought for Richard as a traitor. He then married Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's daughter, in January 1486. The marriage joined the Lancaster and York lines, and the Tudor rose combined the red and the white.
Henry spent much of his reign putting down rivals and pretenders, among them Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. He left a full treasury and a secure throne. His elder son Arthur died in 1502, so his second son became Henry VIII.
Henry VIII: break with Rome
Henry VIII reigned for almost 38 years. He married six times, and his search for a male heir drove the break with the Pope. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 made the king Supreme Head of the Church of England. The dissolution of the monasteries followed from 1536.
Henry had three children who each reigned: Mary, by Catherine of Aragon; Elizabeth, by Anne Boleyn; and Edward, by Jane Seymour. The order of his wives, and how each marriage ended, is on the Henry VIII's wives in order page.
Edward VI, Jane Grey and Mary I
Edward VI came to the throne at nine. His council ruled in his name, and his reign pushed England further towards Protestant worship, with new prayer books in 1549 and 1552. He fell ill in 1553 and wrote a "devise" that passed the crown to his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey.
That plan failed within days. Mary, Henry VIII's elder daughter, gathered support in East Anglia, and London proclaimed her queen on 19 July. Mary restored the authority of the Pope and married Philip of Spain in 1554. Hundreds of Protestants were burned for heresy in her reign. England also lost Calais, its last foothold in France, in January 1558.
Lady Jane Grey, July 1553
Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed 10 July 1553, displaced 19 July 1553.
Relation: Great-granddaughter of Henry VII, through his daughter Mary · Status: Disputed.
Note: The Royal Family website counts Jane as a Tudor monarch and says the dynasty had "six if Lady Jane Grey is included". Most numbered lists leave her out, because her title came from Edward VI's will and not from Henry VIII's last Act of Succession, which named Mary and then Elizabeth after Edward. She was executed on 12 February 1554.
Sources: The Royal Family, "The Tudors"; Historic Royal Palaces, "Lady Jane Grey".
Elizabeth I: the last Tudor
Elizabeth I reigned for 44 years. Her religious settlement of 1559 made the Church of England Protestant again. Her reign saw the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587 and the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. It also produced the plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe.
Elizabeth never married. On her death on 24 March 1603, the crown passed to James VI of Scotland, a great-great-grandson of Henry VII through Henry's daughter Margaret. He reigned in England as James I, and the Stuarts took over.
A home DNA test cannot link you to a royal line like this one. Our guide to the best DNA test for ancestry compares five kits and bundles. It also explains what they can and cannot show.
The Tudor family line
- Henry VII married Elizabeth of York. Their children included:
- Arthur, Prince of Wales, who died in 1502 before he could reign.
- Margaret, who married James IV of Scotland. Her great-grandson became James I of England.
- Henry VIII, whose children were Mary I, Elizabeth I and Edward VI.
- Mary, who married Charles Brandon. Her granddaughter was Lady Jane Grey.
Short profiles of each ruler are on the Tudor monarch page. The women who ruled in their own right are compared on the queens of England page.
To read more, try our guide to the best Tudor books. It picks eight. They run from Henry VII to Elizabeth I.
Verdict: the house of Tudor in one line
The house of Tudor gave England five monarchs in 118 years, from Henry VII's win at Bosworth to Elizabeth I's death in 1603. The count is five by most lists and six if Lady Jane Grey is included, which is why her record is marked disputed here. For the dynasties before and after, see the House of Plantagenet and the full England royal family list.
Sources checked for this page
- The Royal Family, "The Tudors"
- Britannica, "House of Tudor"
- The Royal Family, "Henry VII"
- The Royal Family, "Elizabeth I"
- English Heritage, "An Introduction to Tudor England"
- Historic Royal Palaces, "Lady Jane Grey"
Questions people also ask
How many Tudor monarchs were there?
Five: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The Royal Family website counts six if Lady Jane Grey is included.
How long did the house of Tudor rule?
118 years, from Henry VII's victory at Bosworth in August 1485 to Elizabeth I's death in March 1603.
Why did the Tudor line end?
Elizabeth I died unmarried and without children. The crown passed to James VI of Scotland, a great-great-grandson of Henry VII through Henry's daughter Margaret.
Were the Tudors Welsh?
The family came from Wales. Henry VII's grandfather, Owen Tudor, was a Welsh courtier who married Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V.