British Monarchy History Episode 20

[Music] the British royal family we know today are just one generation amongst a remarkable monarchy spanning over a thousand years but how did An ancestry that once ruled the lands eventually forfeit power with over a millennium of succession Global conquests betrayals and grandstone buildings Still Standing Tall all Royal history has been documented and preserved with countless kings and queens each with their own stories this is the entire history of the British Monarchy our story doesn't begin with the Scots the pendulum swing of religious Reformation that had gripped England since the reign of Henry VII once again shifted towards the side of protestantism with the Ascension of Elizabeth as ruler she was crowned Queen Elizabeth I on the 17th of November 1558 the reign of Elizabeth was an incredibly trans formative time in English History one of her most defining features was her Chastity Elizabeth a virgin in 163 the issue of succession loomed large in Elizabeth's later years but before she an agreement had been reached that the throne would pass on to her cousin James I 6 of Scotland son of Mary Queen of Scots on the 24th of March 16003 James I 6 of Scotland was cred found James I King of England it's worth noting that while James was ruler of both England and Scotland the two kingdoms were not a unified entity they still had separate parliaments their own laws and individual judiciaries King James was just a shared head of state but it was the first step towards the unification of the island of Great Britain and King James spent most of his rule to unify the two administrative bodies despite this however the reign of the first Steward king would mostly be remembered for its in division religion still dominated English domestic policy and the King continued to support the Protestants in their Reformation that firmly took hold in England during the early years of his rule the king had a new version of the Bible commissioned named the King James Bible it was an English language Bible that soared in popularity thanks to its poetic pros and vivid imagery many historians credited for helping to spread the English language across the globe as it quickly became the most printed book ever and Still Remains a popular version of the Bible today in 1604 he expelled all Catholic priests from the island a move that would spark an explosive reaction from the increasingly radical Catholic minority which still called England their home one wet and dark evening in Northampton Shore 11 men quietly murmured to one another at a nearby Inn bathed in Candlelight and gripped by religious fervor they devised a plan to put an end to the Protestant Reformation and its supporters they would take 36 barrels of powder into the cellers of the newly constructed Houses of Parliament and ignite them on the day the building was to opening the king and his Council in a bang of smoke and fire it was to be known as the powder plot over the course of a few weeks they rolled their barrels down avoiding deduction and capture night after night with the grand opening set for the 5th of November and the powder ready to blow all the plotters had to do was wait but their plans failed an anonymous letter betrayed the plotters and on the morning of the grand opening Royal Guards flooded into the cellar to discover a lone man standing amidst the barrels of powder guy Fox was caught and a arrested he was brutally tortured for several days finally giving away the identities of the other conspirators after 3 days on the rack the powder plotters were rounded up captured and all around London people lit bonfires in celebration of the foiled attack on Parliament and the King this tradition still exists in England today the plots had hoped their attack would stop the Reformation in its tracks but in fact it had the opposite effect effect King James had once promised not to persecute Catholics as long as they be quiet and give but an outward obedience to the law after the failed powder plot however he passed a wave of anti-catholic legislation and many in Parliament who had remained decidedly neutral on the Reformation now firmly supported the Protestant cause but for all the religious Strife in the realm King James's biggest actually Came From Within part parament had been growing increasingly powerful and at the start of the 1600s their influence in the kingdom was at an all-time high in 1614 he commented that he was surprised his ancestors should have permitted such an institution to come into existence it is sedation in subjects to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power like many before him King James believed in the absolute power of the monarchy and as a result resented Parliament ability to challenge and contest his rule but while they may have had their differences both ruling bodies were able to compromise and maintain the peace as a result the reign of King James I was widely considered to be a peaceful and prosperous time in England the English crown established its first colony in the new world Jamestown in Virginia so named after King James and the Virgin Queen Elizabeth before him meanwhile the great literary tradition of English writers continued to flourish as England became a center for culture and art in Europe by the end of his life King James suffered from ill health brought on by a lifestyle of excesses he would eventually during a strong bout of dysentery on the 27th of March 1625 at his funeral it was remarked that the king as he lived in peace but cracks in the Kingdom had started to show too long had England labored under the strains of parliamentary and religious upheaval the heir to the English Throne Charles I was about to inherit a realm that was on the verge of tearing itself apart