Monarchy

The first king to rule all of England as king was Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great. His forebears were kings of Wessex, to which they attached Kent; it was Athelstan who united Mercia and Northumbria to Wessex to create the united English kingdom.

However, there are a few tricky points of terminology:

• Athelstan's title was "king of the English", not "king of England". Same thing really, but the first to be king of the English land rather than of the English people was Henry II.
• Before there was a single kingdom, several rulers had be accepted as overlord over all the English kings. Among those was Alfred the Great's grandfather Egbert, king of Wessex, and before him Offa, King of Mercia

House of Wessex:

Egbert

Athelwulf

Athelbald

Athelbert

Ethelred I

Alfred (the Great)

Edward (the Elder)

Athelstan *First King of ALL England*

Edmund I (the Elder, the Deed-Doer)

Eadred

Eadwig

Edgar (the Peaceable)

St Edward (the Martyr)

Ethelred II (the Unready)

House of Denmark:

Swen (Forkbeard)

House of Wessex

Ethelred II (restored)

Edmund II (Ironside)

House of Denmark

Cnut the Great (Canute)

Harold I (Harefoot)

Harthacnut

House of Wessex (restored)

St Edward (The Confessor)

Harold II

Edgar II (the Atheling)

House of Normandy:

William I (the Bastard, the Conqueror)

William II (Rufus)

Henry I (Beauclerk)

Stephen I (of Blois) or the Empress Mathilda (Maud)

House of Plantaganet:

Henry II (FitzEmpress, Curtmantle)

(Henry the Young King, briefly co-king with his father, Henry II)

Richard I (the Lionheart)

John (Lackland)

Henry III

Edward I (Longshanks)

Edward II

Edward III

Richard II

House of Lancaster:

Henry IV (Bolingbroke)

Henry V

Henry VI

House of York:

Edward IV

House of Lancaster (restored)

Henry VI (restored)

House of York (restored)

Edward IV (restored)

Edward V

Richard III

House of Tudor:

Henry VII

Henry VIII

Edward VI

Jane

Mary I (Bloody Mary)

Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen)

House of Stuart

James I & VI

Charles I

The Commonwealth

The House of Stuart (restored)

Charles II

James II

House of Stuart/House of Orange

Mary II & William III

House of Orange

William III

House of Stuart

Anne

House of Hanover

George I

George II

George III

George IV

William IV

Victoria

House of Sax-Coburg-und-Gotha

Edward VII

George V

House of "Windsor"

George V

Edward VIII

George VI

Elizabeth II

Ordinary people died of infectious diseases, accidental causes (especially farming & construction related, & drowning - few people could swim!), complications of childbirth, cardiovascular diseases, cancer etc etc... plus, sometimes from starvation, neglect, or violently in war or at the hands of criminals! Not that different from today really, although any significant injury - most of which would be survivable with modern medical care - had the potential permanently to cripple or kill the victim. Alcohol related diseases, accidents & violent crimes were also pretty common.

The ruling classes were just as susceptible to most of these as their "social inferiors", but many men of the elites died from injuries sustained in combat sports (especially jousting - the young Henry VIII nearly died thus!), riding & hunting, or war! Massive consumption of alcohol & a diet excessively high in animal protein & fats (& relatively low in fruit & vegetables, esp vegetables - "peasant food"!) also took their toll in predictable ways!

Tudor Kings, Queens, princes:

Henry VII died from a stroke;

Prince Arthur - "consumption", but possibly some congenital heart problem;

Henry VIII - congestive heart failure & associated complications: he was, in later years, grossly obese, probably alcoholic, & possibly had Type 2 diabetes. He also suffered regularly from outbreaks of scurvy & associated complications (eg leg ulcers); a total medical disaster zone, & he probably died due to a number of interacting complications of all of these conditions!

Edward VI - "consumption" (ie tuberculosis);

Mary I - cancer (probably stomach);

Elizabeth I - "old age"( probably heart failure & pneumonia, plus general exhaustion, no doubt!).

Henry VIII's wives:

Catherine of Aragon - cancer (probably lung: the detailed autopsy report suggests this);

Anne Boleyn - decapitation (judicial murder by her husband);

Jane Seymour - complications of childbirth (probably puerperal fever);

Anne of Cleves - "old age" (probably heart problems & pneumonia etc - typical killers of the elderly, then as today!);

Catherine Howard - decapitation (as per Anne Boleyn!);

Catherine Parr - "old age" (as per Anne of Cleves).

Henry VII and his son ruled England for over seventy years put together, and together they introduced the new royal bloodline of the Tudors. This was a new age for the English people- one of trade, of education and development. England changed for better and for worse, through the acts and decisions of these two men.

Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland, famous for being the first monarch of the House of Tudor. As a young teen, he had already proved to be adept at music, and he introduced an era of arts to the English people. He also founded a massive, powerful Navy which brought trade and cultures from other shores. This new Navy was a great step in English military might, as none in the known world had such a mighty Navy seeking power and places to rule. Henry VII restored the political stability within his country, and he was a very diplomatic man who could look into the depths of things to find solutions to obstacles. One example of this is his marriage to Elizabeth of York, thus subsiding the enmity between the Yorks and the Lancastrians for good. Also, Henry VII was a comparatively lenient king; his son was brutal and arrogant. Henry VII even spared the life of the pretender to the throne, Lambert Simnel, and this would have aroused a great deal of public sympathy and support- they would have a just and compassionate ruler. However, this was not to last as the first of the Tudors fathered an heir- Henry VIII. Unlike his father, Henry VIII was cruel, and introduced the country to a new age of punishment and poverty. Anyone who stood in the way of this single-minded and strong-willed king would often, if not always pay the price for it; with their lives, generally. Henry also had a weakness unlike his father- he was a great lover of luxury, enjoyment and lush living, and this weakness resulted in the fast deterioration of England's wealth. However, Henry VII had a weakness in the category that his father excelled at. His country was very much in opposition of him, as his brutality was widespread and made the English people long for the deceased, compassionate Henry VII. There were many rebellions in result of this, which made ruling the country all the more harder. In the end, it can be said that Henry VII had gotten more to grips with the ruling of his country, and understood what his son did not- wisdom has to bow to strength sometimes.

The two kings personalities were very contrasting-while Henry VIII was portrayed as a very arrogant, proud and powerful man, Henry VII was the mellower, compassionate one who could sympathize with his people. Henry VII ruled fairly and was therefore liked, but little could be said about the impact he had on other countries. Henry VIII, however, was determined and willful, so he presented an aura of strength and power that assured some that the country was in safe hands. This was profoundly beneficial; at the time, war and conquest was the way to many benefits such as education, culture, trade and wealth. Therefore, Henry VIII has proved himself in the personality factor, although his father came close with his fair ruling.

Henry VIII, as well as being over-extravagant, did not have a good relationship with the Church; in fact, the Church had long held a grudge against him, actually hated him due to the fact he burned down all religious buildings previously. Those who assumed that Henry VIII would be like his father were disappointed, as all the effort that his father had contributed in order to combine the Catholic Church and the Church of England went up in smoke, literally. This caused many religious people to rebel against Henry VIII, and this act of vandalism and act of respect further decreased to popularity of the king. His father, however, was a Catholic, and although some say he left the Church , he still benefited the two Churches- the Church of England and the Catholic Church. This fostered a sense of community within the country, and lessened the chances of religion-related disputes. This increased Henry VII's popularity, making him the more liked ruler, as he was receptive to all points of view throughout. Henry VII definitely was more favored when it came to the Church, as he could understand the religious point of view and show concern about it.

Though the two kings showed their different strengths and weaknesses, and all of them are viewed to be different, there is still one profound weakness that the son has and the father shows wisdom in-money management. During Henry VII's reign, it seemed that he managed to splurge to a point that the wealth of the country deteriorated, plunging some poorer communities into poverty. On the other hand, his father Henry VII showed great thinking in the way he managed his money- he was the first king to seperate the expenses of the royal household from the revenues of the state, when previous kings had not registered the distinction. Henry VII was also the first English king in a century to be solvent, something he achieved through careful management, and by limiting wasteful expenses. Though a great array of other rulers had greater salaries than his own, they squandered it on wasteful wars that brought no benefits. Henry VIII later on admittedly did just that, so it can definitely be concluded with an assurance that Henry VII was better at managing his money and using it in the right ways. With the added fact that Henry VIII used a lot of the country's wealth for his own personal entertainment purposes, his money management had issues that were not resolved.

All in all , it is safely said that Henry VII was a better king, proving that he was a ruler full of compassion, who showed fairness, and also one that was adept in the arts. His rule created art in England, and his reign was one of peace and unity, a hard feat that his son failed abysmally at. The peace meant no wars to be said of that were deployed by Henry VII pulling the trigger, so there weren't any retaliatory wars as well. Less lives were lost, and this fair ruling system won the favor of those living in that era.

The Barons demanded the Magna

Carta

from King John.