The Succession of Henry VIII

Edward VI was only nine when he succeeded his father as king of England and supreme head of the English church.

Queen Mary, who was catholic like her mother, married Philip II of Spain, a Catholic, and the English were in violente disturbance.

A few years later Queen Mary died, probably of ovarian cancer, and Elizabeth succeeded her on the throne.The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, under whose reign the English Renaissance came to full bloom, and the arts and literature, especially poetry and theatre, flourished. It was in Queen Elizabeth's reign, the Elizabethan era, that English literature gained its shining stars: Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Early Modern literature would likely never have reached the heights it did, had it not been for Queen Elizabeth.