The Third Act of Succession
1543
Petra Tindall-Mather
Context
• Henry VII d.1509
– War of the Roses
– peace
• Succession
– Arthur d. 1502
– Henry
• Tudor line
– Ended with Elizabeth I
d.1603
Henry VIII
• Older brother Arthur
dies, Henry named heir
• Obsession with
succession
• Desperate for male heir
to continue the Tudor
line
• Crowned 1509
Catherine of Aragon
• Marries Catherine of
Aragon his brother’s
widow. 1509
• Mary I born
• No other heirs
forthcoming
• Divorce of Catherine of
Aragon 1533
• She dies in 1536
Succession to the Throne:1533 (First Act)
• Henry VIII marries Anne
Boleyn
• The First Act of
Succession passes
• Names Mary I
illegitimate
• Unborn Elizabeth made
legitimate heir and any
further issue
Succession to the Throne:
Marriage Act 1536 (Second Act)
• Made after Anne
executed
• Names both Mary I and
Elizabeth I as bastards
• The king can choose his
own heir in his Will
Succession to the Crown Act 1543
(Third Act)
• Catherine Parr is given
credit for reuniting
Mary and Elizabeth with
Henry
• Catherine urges Henry
to create the ‘Third Act
Of Succession’
Succession to the Crown Act 1543
(Third Act)
• 4 years before his death
• Names Edward VI heir
as well as any heirs he
might have
• Reinstates Mary I and
Elizabeth I as heirs
• Names the line of
succession for future
generations
Edward VI
• King aged 9 - 1547
• Did not want England to
be Catholic again
• Tried to stop Mary from
becoming queen
• Named the Lady Jane
Grey heir to circumvent
the Third Act
Lady Jane Grey
• Queen for 9 days
• Forced by relatives to
advance the family
name
• Parliament did not
recognize her as queen
• Executed by Mary 6
months later
Mary I
• Crowned 1553
• Known as Bloody Mary
for burning Protestants
• Sought to reestablish
Catholicism
• Married to King Philip of
Spain 1554
• Died in 1558
Elizabeth I
• Inherited throne after
Mary I died of cancer
• Reinstated
Protestantism
• Promoted exploration
eg. Sir Francis Drake
• Reigned till 1603
• Three consecutive
Tudor Monarchs died
without legal issue
Bibliography
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Elton, G. England Under the Tudors, History of England volume IV, Methuen & Co
LTD. Published 1965
Luminarium; Encyclopaedia Project, The Third Act of Succession, A.D. 1544, 35
Henry VIII. CAP.1.3S.r.955. Act Fixing the Succession,
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/actsuccession3.htm
Unknown, Everything Tudor, Henry VII, 2/9/2011,
Henrhttp://www.everythingtudor.com/tudorpersonalities/henryviii.html
Unknown, The Tudor Monarchs, 11/9/2011, http://tudorhistory.org/monarchs/
Unknown (image), Tudor stuff: Tudor history from the heart of England,
11/9/2011, http://tudorstuff.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/lady-jane-grey/ladyjane-grey/