Tudor Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arthur

Arthur, as the eldest son of Henry VII, was the heir to the throne and made the advantageous marriage to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.

Arthur's death as a late teen made Catherine a widow, and the laws of the church did not permit a man to marry his brother's widow. Henry VII, however, managed to gain a papal dispensation that permitted his son, the future Henry VIII, to marry Catherine.

Some historians suggest that a key factor in Henry VIII's appeal to the pope was that the very substantial dowry due from Spain from Catherine's original marriage remained partially unpaid, and that the marriage of Henry to Catherine would ensure collection of the remainder.

Later, when Henry VIII asked for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon the fact that he had already been granted a dispensation to marry her in the first place was an additional complication.

Answer: There was practically no evidence against her

As would be the case today, it wasn't easy to figure out exactly what happened about thirty years ago, as Catherine's hearing occurred in 1529 and Arthur had died in 1502. Life expectancy was fairly short in Tudor times and very few had served in the courts of both Henry VII and Henry VIII (although Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey are two who did), and even fewer had lived at both courts.

This entire episode was about Catherine being over 40 and viewed as incapable of bearing a child by the standards of Tudor times. Henry's obsession with having a male heir took over and divorcing Catherine, despite no compelling evidence against her, was his only solution.

Answer: Lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon

Anne was a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Her sister, Mary Boleyn, was a mistress of Henry VIII prior to Henry's infatuation with Anne.

Answer: foreign policy

Foreign policy was a tricky matter in the days of Henry VIII, as both France and Spain posed a potential threat. Like Henry, Cromwell frequently changed positions on foreign policy, sometimes favoring the pursuit of a French alliance and sometimes favoring pursuit of a Spanish alliance. Anne had grown up in the French court and always favored a French alliance, especially over an alliance with the parents of her hated rival Catherine of Aragon.

Answer: 29

Jane was just 29 when she died in October 1537, after giving birth to the next king of England, Edward VI.

Answer: Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer compiled/wrote "The Book of Common Prayer" in 1549. It was revised in 1552. One can see the room in which it was written by visiting Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Answer: Duke of Northumberland

As Edward VI was underage, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, was calling the shots. He ultimately found disfavor with the English people, and John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, won a power struggle against him. This gave Northumberland the access to the dying King Edward VI that made manipulation of the line of succession possible.

It all went wrong, however, and Northumberland was ultimately executed for treason in 1553.

Answer: Religious intolerance in England

Religious intolerance peaked during the reign of Mary I, known infamously to history as "Bloody Mary." The Marian persecutions, in which approximately 300 protestants were burned at the stake, came to frame Mary's poor standing in the history of the English monarchy.

The economic policies of both Henry VIII and Edward VI, which included debasement (reduction in the precious metal content of the coinage) had led to enormous inflation and widespread poverty in England. Mary, consequently, presided over an England that was in a deep economic slump. (The currency was not full stablized till late in the reign of Elizabeth I).

Not only did the land holdings of England not increase, but the prized territory of Calais was lost to the French during the reign of Mary I.


Mary I suffered through poor health throughout her reign.

Answer: William Cecil

William Cecil may have been the most capable adviser ever to an English monarch. He solved the economic woes of Elizabethan times by stabilizing the currency and by resolving English debts abroad.

Answer: She was a blood relative of Mary

As the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor, who was the husband of James IV and the sister of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeth's cousin and was her blood relative.

Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, Mary crossed the English border in 1568, but once the Elizabethan court learned of this, Mary was placed under house arrest.

Elizabeth had resisted the temptation to execute Mary Queen of Scots for 19 years (1568-87) in the absence of strong evidence against her as a conspirator in the 1567 murder of Lord Darnley (Mary's second husband and her consort on the Scottish throne). Elizabeth was in no position to establish either the guilt or the innocence of Mary. Conversely, most Scottish people believed that Mary was guilty in the matter of Darnley's murder. Mary fled Scotland in 1568 for that very reason. Had she remained in Scotland, most historians agree that she'd likely have been executed.

Elizabeth was not convinced of the need for an execution until Mary was implicated in the Babington Plot, a treasonous plan to place Mary on the throne of England.

Finally, Elizabeth and Mary never met.