One of the king of the England was William I, duke of Normandy. He
has many sons and, when he died in 1087, his succession was problematic. Many years later became king Henry II Plantagenet, in 1154. He organized many reforms, especially in the judicial system. While in the past men were tried without any witnesses, now a judge was helped by a group of people called a "jury". The king's courts applied a common body of customary law called "common law". This king decided to killed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett, after he recognized his guilt and he was whipped publicy. Henry II died in 1189. His son was the new king: Richard I, the Lionheart. He reign from 1189 until 1199 and he was a brave soldier and a crusader. After Richard became king John, who was forced by the great feudal lords to sign the "Magna Carta" in 1215. This document guaranteed the right to a fair and legal trial. During the reign of Henry III the nobles, led by Simon de Montfort, elected a council and started a programme of reforms who was called "Parliament". Later Edward I became king and the Parliament became the "Modern Parliament" with some changes. -The hundred years war and wars of the roses In 1300 rivalry with France was strong, and Edward III wanted to regain the territories which had belonged to Henry II. He tried to get them claiming the French Crown, but this clain was rejected, so he declared war on France in 1337 and begun the Hundred Years'War. In the same years a plague called Black Death rached England. The taxes which financed the war caused discontent among the peasants and in 1381 there was the Peasants'Revolt. At the end French reconquered his territories and the war finished. In 1455 there was a civil wars called the Wars of the Roses that involved two important families of England: The house of Lancaster and the house of York. The war was called "wars of the roses" because the flags of the families had the first a white rose, and the second a red rose. This war end with a marriage with Elizabeth of York and Enry Tudor, later called Henry VI.
With him began the dinasty of the Tudors.
-Tudors, Henry VIII, Elizabeth Henry VII was a clever sovereing and he created the royal navy and he supported the merchant classes. Henry VIII is remembered for the break with Rome. The power of the church in England was great, and wasn't subject to the authority of the king. Henry VIII wanted that the Pope annulled his marriage. The Pope denied the request and Henry , with the Parliament, proclamed himself the head of the church of England (Act of Supremacy). The king married six times. When he died Mary became queen and she tried to restore catholicism and began the persecution of protestants. She died and became queen Elizabeth, son of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. Her reign coincided with the Golden Age. The queen never married. Her closest heir was Mary Stuart the roman catholic queen of scotland. She consolidated the power of England . The queen permitted private ships to attack spanish ships carrying gold and silver. Philip II decide to invade England but his armed ships the "Invincible Armada", were defeated by the English fleet. When Elizabeth died left the reign to James, the son of Mary Stuart.
The Sisters of Lady Jane Grey and Their Wicked Grandfather / Being The True Stories of The Strange Lives of Charles / Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and The Ladies Katherine and / Mary Grey, Sisters