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| A detail from a portrait featuring the children of King Henry VIII, showing Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Tudor. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain. |
On this day in Tudor history, King Henry VIII passed the Act of Succession, which would be revised several times before his death in 1547. The Act declared that only King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's children could inherit the throne of England; he also stated that, were he to die, Anne would become regent. Also, "slander or derogation of the lawful matrimony (with) his most dear and entirely beloved wife Queen Anne" was considered treason.
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| Another significant legal document passed around this time was the Oath of Allegiance, which English subjects were required to sign, thus declaring that they believed in the validity of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's marriage. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain. |
Mary Tudor, King Henry VIII's daughter with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was thus effectively declared a bastard. Anne Boleyn's daughter Elizabeth would later share the same fate, before the two were finally restored to the succession behind their brother, Edward.
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| An engraving of King Henry VIII and his children, in the order that they would succeed him. Shared for public use under Creative Commons licensing by Inor19 on Flickr. |
