Tudor, house

Tudor, house of

English royal dynasty that gave five sovereigns to England (1485–1603). The Tudors originated in the 13th century, but the dynasty's fortunes were established by Owen Tudor (c. 1400–61), a Welsh adventurer who took service with Henry V and married Henry's widow, Catherine of Valois (1401–37). Owen and Catherine's son Edmund Tudor (c. 1430–56) was created earl of Richmond and married Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), a descendant of John of Gaunt of the house of Lancaster. Their son Henry Tudor claimed the English throne as Henry VII in 1485 and cemented his claim with his marriage to Elizabeth of the house of York, daughter of Edward IV. The Tudor rose symbolized the union between the red rose of the Lancastrians and the white rose of the Yorkists. The Tudor dynasty continued in the 16th century with the reigns of Henry VIII and his children Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. In 1603 the dynasty was succeeded by the house of Stuart.