What Ordinary Tudor People Really Thought About Their Monarchs
We often look back at the Tudors and see the magnificent palaces and the dramatic and dangerous stories, but the vast majority of people who lived in Tudor England were not courtiers. They were regular people, they were farmers, servants, labourers, merchants, soldiers, apprentices, and craftsmen all trying to survive in a very difficult world. Their relationship with the monarchy was complicated. It was often a combination of loyalty, fear, admiration, resentment, hope, and sometimes desperation.
At the beginning of the Tudor period, many people were probably just relieved that the Wars of the Roses had ended. When Henry VII became king after Bosworth in 1485, stability I would imagine mattered more to many people than the glitz of royalty. Years of war had damaged many noble families and created huge uncertainty to the whole country. Henry VII gained a reputation for being careful and financially strict. Noble families sometimes disliked his heavy taxation and fines, but many ordinary people probably appreciated the fact that England was remaining relatively peaceful. Peace usually meant that there were fewer disruptions to farming and trade. Meaning people would have found survival a little easier.
There was still a strong deference towards the monarchy. Tudor society was hierarchical and most people genuinely believed kings and queens were chosen by God. Questioning royal authority could be dangerous not only in the political sense but also spiritually. The monarch was after all seen as ruling by divine authority on Earth. Many everyday people would never see the monarch in person, but royal events would still have influenced their lives. There would have been proclamations, taxes, sermons, celebrations, and of course, punishments. To many of the lower classes in Tudor England the royal family must have felt very distant and almost mythical.
Under Henry VIII, feelings about the monarchy became much more divided.
Today he is usually remembered for his six wives and larger than life personality, but ordinary people experienced his reign very differently. Some admired him in his younger years. He was charismatic, athletic, generous in public, and represented strength and magnificence as royalty was expected to do. He held royal tournaments, feasts, and embarked on huge building projects to display his wealth and power. Some people must have looked at these projects with some pride, maybe seeing them as symbols of England’s greatness and not just of Henry’s ego. They would also have projected this image to foreign visitors, ambassadors, and rivals, helping England to appear wealthy, cultured, and powerful on the European stage. Which would have been extremely important to portray, any hint of England’s weakness could encourage foreign powers to take advantage.
Other people may have wondered to themselves why so much money was spent on what they may have seen as frivolous things when ordinary families were struggling to survive the poor harvests and rising prices. Sounds somewhat familiar, doesn’t it?
Taxes could cause real anger, just like they do today. They were especially resented when they were for wars in France or Scotland. Many ordinary men could be forced into military service and some would have never returned home. But, Tudor monarchs also gave alms and supported charitable works. Medieval and Tudor rulers believed charity helped demonstrate Christian duty and perhaps even aided salvation. Some great building projects, churches, hospitals, and colleges could therefore be viewed as both acts of piety and displays of vanity.
The break with Rome changed ordinary lives enormously. The dissolution of the monasteries during Henry VIII’s reign destroyed institutions that had provided charity, food, medical help, and spiritual solace for centuries. Wealthier nobles sometimes even benefited by gaining former church lands, but poorer communities would have suffered badly. The little support they had was destroyed. This helps to explain why rebellions like the Pilgrimage of Grace gained so much support in the north. Some people were worried their old world was disappearing.
Edward VI was Henry’s only surviving legitimate son and a Protestant. He was surrounded by powerful advisers, and religious change accelerated again. For many ordinary people this period must have felt confusing and maybe even unsettling.
But then came Mary I, who tried to restore Catholicism. Today she is often remembered mainly as “Bl**dy Mary,” but opinions at the time were much more divided. Many Catholics welcomed her restoration of the old religion. Protestants, however, feared persecution. Her marriage to Philip of Spain was also a worry to many English subjects who were anxious about foreign influence on the country.
Finally came Elizabeth I, who became one of the most popular Tudor monarchs with large sections of society. She was a careful monarch who crafted her public image. She understood the importance of spectacle. She took part in royal progresses which allowed ordinary people to actually see her travelling through towns and villages. Her popularity increased especially in 1588 after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. But even during Elizabeth’s reign there were hardships, including poverty, food shortages, and heavy taxation during wartime. Poorer people did not necessarily experience the “Golden Age” in the same way the wealthier people did, and her popularity varied regionally and economically.
What fascinates me most is that Tudor people probably viewed the royal family much more personally than we may think. A monarch’s decisions could influence religion, food prices, employment, war, punishment, and even survival. Royal marriages and deaths could genuinely create fear or celebration because they affected the stability of the country. Some people loved their monarchs, some feared them, and some just endured whatever changes arrived from above because they had little choice.
I also think it is interesting how differently we judge Tudor monarchs today compared to people living at the time. Modern people often admire figures for their personality or their accomplishments, but ordinary Tudor people were more likely to care about whether they brought peace, stable prices, fair taxes, or religious security. Basically they wanted a boring monarch!
Do you think ordinary Tudor people loved their monarchs, or did they fear them?
Image info:
An Allegory of the Tudor Succession: The Family of Henry VIII
Date: 1590
Collection: Yale Center for British Art
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