Tudors and Stuarts continued..[Click for large image of Newcastle]

1553 AD Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen.
Edward VI was a sickly child, and as his health worsened, Dudley married his own son, Guilford, to 15 year old Lady Jane Grey. Just six weeks later, Edward died and Dudley proclaimed Lady Jane Queen, thereby making Guilford King. Jane’s reign lasted only 9 days, then Henry VIII’s daughter Mary Tudor took the throne which was rightfully hers. Dudley was executed immediately. Six months later, in 1554, Jane and Guilford died on the scaffold within minutes of each other.
1553 to 1558 Reign of Mary Tudor.
1558 to 1603 Reign of Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth was Henry VIII’s second daughter. Her mother was Anne Boleyn, Henry’s 2nd wife, who was beheaded before her daughter’s 3rd birthday.
Elizabeth was intelligent, well educated, and kept tight hold of the nation’s purse strings. She disliked war because it was so expensive, so for the first thirty years of her reign the country was at peace. However, when Portugal and Spain claimed they should have a monopoly of trade with the ‘new world’ of America, Elizabeth gave ships and funds to English privateers. In return, they shared the profits and treasure from their raids on Spanish ships with the Queen.