Tudor
Tudor, the name of a royal family of England. It occupied the throne from 1485 to 1603.
The founder of the dynasty was Owen Tudor (?-1461), a Welsh squire, who was descended from an ancient Welsh family. About 1429 he and Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V, either were married or began living together as man and wife. They had five children. Edmund, the eldest, was created Earl of Richmond by his half-brother Henry VI. The earl became connected with the Lancaster family through his marriage to Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of John of Gaunt. Edmund's son Henry, who succeeded him as Earl of Richmond, became head of the house of Lancaster in 1471 and, in 1483, the rival of Richard III, a Yorkist, for the throne.
After the defeat and death of Richard in 1485 at Bosworth Field (the final battle of the Wars of the Roses), the Earl of Richmond became King Henry VII (reigned 1485–1509). His marriage in 1486 to Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV of the York family, united the houses of Lancaster and York. From Henry VII, the crown descended to his son, Henry VIII (1509–47), who was succeeded by his son, Edward VI (1547–53). After Edward's death, Henry's daughters, Mary I (1553–58) and Elizabeth I (1558–1603), ruled in turn. The Tudor dynasty ended with the death of Elizabeth, who never married. The crown then passed to the Stuart family.