Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
How would you go about RANKING THE TUDORS, specifically the Tudor monarchs? There are five to choose from; Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I (no Lady Jane Grey I’m afraid, as she wasn’t really a Tudor and I don’t see her as genuine monarch either). As members of what I think is England’s most famous royal dynasty, much ink has been spilt on all of them, but who’s your favourite Tudor monarch and who’s your least? Do you think Henry VIII was just misunderstood, or that Gloriana was the worst thing to happen to England this side of 1066?
In today’s royal history documentary from History Calling, I’m going to take you through my personal ranking and explain why I’m putting them in this order. I’m sure there will be cries of treason in the comments from people who disagree with my choices, but you can share your own ranking with everyone there as well.
I’ll be thinking about how hard these Tudor Kings and Queens had to work to get and keep the throne, how they treated their subjects (and sometimes their family members) while they were there, any mitigating factors which might explain their bad behaviour and their posthumous reputations. Events discussed will include the end of the Wars of the Roses, the six wives of Henry VIII, Edward VI’s experiences of being a child monarch with a Lord Protector, the gruesome fate of his two uncles, Thomas Seymour and Edward Seymour, Mary I’s habit of burning Protestants at the stake and Elizabeth I’s famous jealous streak, temper tantrums and refusal to marry.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
THE WARS OF THE ROSES PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0EVv2DJZOZT5ZyQwSJ4o7oZ
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3rTWScL
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
Microphone: amzn.to/3rYtjH8
LEARN MORE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
Amy Licence, Elizabeth of York: forgotten Tudor Queen (Amberley, 2013).
amzn.to/4bzoQjk
Chris Skidmore, Bosworth: the birth of the Tudors (London, reprint, 2014). amzn.to/3sfYcF7
S.B. Chrimes, Henry VII (New Haven & London, 2013). amzn.to/3cc59Bh
Robert Hutchinson, Young Henry: The Rise of Henry VIII (W&N, 2012). amzn.to/3mu5liP
David Starkey, Henry: Virtuous Prince (Harper Press, 2008). amzn.to/39y2jVK
Giles Tremlett, Catherine of Aragon: Henry’s Spanish Queen (London, 2010)
amzn.to/3UfGmmx
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016 amzn.to/3rbFuPj
Eric Ives, Lady Jane Grey: a Tudor mystery (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). amzn.to/3EiF012
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
Anna Whitelock, Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen (Bloomsbury, London, 2009) amzn.to/3dUgYwN
David Starkey, Elizabeth: apprenticeship (2001) amzn.to/3upA1Eu
Anne Somerset, Elizabeth I (2003): amzn.to/3MQUU4v
BUY OR RENT
Britain’s Bloody Crown Presented by Dan Jones (2016) amzn.to/2TPep8i
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
How would you go about RANKING THE TUDORS, specifically the Tudor monarchs? There are five to choose from; Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I (no Lady Jane Grey I’m afraid, as she wasn’t really a Tudor and I don’t see her as genuine monarch either). As members of what I think is England’s most famous royal dynasty, much ink has been spilt on all of them, but who’s your favourite Tudor monarch and who’s your least? Do you think Henry VIII was just misunderstood, or that Gloriana was the worst thing to happen to England this side of 1066?
In today’s royal history documentary from History Calling, I’m going to take you through my personal ranking and explain why I’m putting them in this order. I’m sure there will be cries of treason in the comments from people who disagree with my choices, but you can share your own ranking with everyone there as well.
I’ll be thinking about how hard these Tudor Kings and Queens had to work to get and keep the throne, how they treated their subjects (and sometimes their family members) while they were there, any mitigating factors which might explain their bad behaviour and their posthumous reputations. Events discussed will include the end of the Wars of the Roses, the six wives of Henry VIII, Edward VI’s experiences of being a child monarch with a Lord Protector, the gruesome fate of his two uncles, Thomas Seymour and Edward Seymour, Mary I’s habit of burning Protestants at the stake and Elizabeth I’s famous jealous streak, temper tantrums and refusal to marry.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
THE WARS OF THE ROSES PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0EVv2DJZOZT5ZyQwSJ4o7oZ
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3rTWScL
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
Microphone: amzn.to/3rYtjH8
LEARN MORE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
Amy Licence, Elizabeth of York: forgotten Tudor Queen (Amberley, 2013).
amzn.to/4bzoQjk
Chris Skidmore, Bosworth: the birth of the Tudors (London, reprint, 2014). amzn.to/3sfYcF7
S.B. Chrimes, Henry VII (New Haven & London, 2013). amzn.to/3cc59Bh
Robert Hutchinson, Young Henry: The Rise of Henry VIII (W&N, 2012). amzn.to/3mu5liP
David Starkey, Henry: Virtuous Prince (Harper Press, 2008). amzn.to/39y2jVK
Giles Tremlett, Catherine of Aragon: Henry’s Spanish Queen (London, 2010)
amzn.to/3UfGmmx
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016 amzn.to/3rbFuPj
Eric Ives, Lady Jane Grey: a Tudor mystery (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). amzn.to/3EiF012
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
Anna Whitelock, Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen (Bloomsbury, London, 2009) amzn.to/3dUgYwN
David Starkey, Elizabeth: apprenticeship (2001) amzn.to/3upA1Eu
Anne Somerset, Elizabeth I (2003): amzn.to/3MQUU4v
BUY OR RENT
Britain’s Bloody Crown Presented by Dan Jones (2016) amzn.to/2TPep8i
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
