Henry VIII: Married six times (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr). When the Pope refused to annul his first marriage, Henry broke with Rome in 1534 and established the independent Church of England.
Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603): A Protestant queen whose reign was a golden age of poetry, drama (William Shakespeare), and exploration (Sir Francis Drake). In 1588, England defeated the invasion of the Spanish Armada.
The Stuarts and Civil War
James I: King of Scotland who united the English and Scottish crowns in 1603. Commissioned the King James Bible.
The Gunpowder Plot (1605): Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605. Commemorated each year as Bonfire Night.
The English Civil War (1642–1651): War between Cavaliers (Royalists supporting King Charles I) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell). Charles I was executed in 1649, and England became an 11-year republic (the Commonwealth).
The Restoration (1660): Charles II was invited back from exile to restore the monarchy. During his reign, London suffered the Great Plague (1665) and the Great Fire of London (1666). Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral.
The Glorious Revolution (1688): Parliament invited Protestant William of Orange and his wife Mary II to take the throne, replacing Catholic King James II. The Bill of Rights (1689) established that the monarch cannot levy taxes or suspend laws without Parliament's consent.