This exercise was not a dictation and the text here is only a suggestion; other answers may also be
correct.
Henry had a son by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who died just two weeks later. He then
engaged to marry Anne of Cleves, whom he had never met. When they did meet, he found her
unattractive and had the marriage annulled a few months later. His fifth wife, Kathryn Howard, was
Anne Boleyn’s cousin and, like her, was accused (probably with some justice) of having sexual
relations with other men. She was beheaded in 1542. Henry’s last wife was Kathryn Parr, who was
widowed on Henry’s death in 1547.
Henry’s wars against Scotland and France were costly and mostly ineffective. The main results
were economic chaos in England and a strengthening of the alliance between Scotland and France.
Henry’s son Edward became king in 1547, and during his short reign he was not able to solve
the political and economic problems caused by his father. He was only nine years old when his
father died, and he died at the age of 15. The real power lay first with his uncle, Edward Seymour
and, after he was forced out, by John Dudley, the Earl of Warwick.
Edward’s reign is mainly remembered as a period of religious reform. Under Henry VIII,
England had basically remained doctrinally Catholic, despite the split with the pope. Under Edward
VI, the leading figures of the English Reformation – Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh
Latimer – were able to establish genuinely Protestant reforms.
Edward’s mother was Jane Seymour, the third of Henry VIII’s six wives. During his reign, priests
were allowed to marry, the Book of Common Prayer (the prayer book used in church) was issued in
English, and many English Protestants living in exile returned to England.
When Edward died Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, became queen and England was
once more a Catholic country, owing allegiance to the pope.
Edward had tried to stop the Catholic Mary from becoming queen by naming his cousin, Lady
Jane Grey, a Protestant, as the next queen.
This was very unfortunate for Lady Grey, who didn’t want to be queen, and accepted the role
only very reluctantly. Mary successfully challenged her for the right to the throne and Lady Grey
was put to death.
As a devout Catholic, Mary did not want her half-sister Elizabeth (daughter of Anne Boleyn) to
rule after her death. For this, she needed to marry and have a child to succeed her.
Mary’s marriage to Prince Philip of Spain was unpopular with many English people, who feared
that England might come under Spanish control. Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion to try to remove
Mary as queen and prevent the marriage, but in July 1554, a year after Mary became queen, the
wedding took place.
The marriage was not a success. Two months after her marriage, Mary stopped menstruating
and was believed to be pregnant. She continued to show signs of pregnancy, but by June 1555 it
was clear that this was a false, or phantom pregnancy.
Once Philip realized she would not bear him a child, he left England to join in the ongoing wars
against France.
Like her father, Mary believed her failure to bear a son was a punishment from God. In her case,
though, she convinced herself it was because she had tolerated heretics. About 300 people were
burned to death during Mary’s reign. The details of their deaths were recorded in the Book of
Martyrs by John Foxe.