Mary Tudor is a noted Princess
Princes and Princesses of the Realm refers to the legitimate children and siblings of the reigning monarch of England- in this case, King Henry VIII. The heir to the Throne is termed the Prince or Princess of Wales; the next in line is generally termed the Duke or Duchess of York.
It is generally preferable for a monarch to have a son as his legitimate heir due to England's history of anarchy whenever a woman has been a claimant to the throne, although a Princess of Wales will still be seen as the legitimate heir over an illegitimate son, who may be granted noble titles but cannot inherit the throne of England. Henry's obsession with acquiring a legitimate son is a driving force of the series and results in his firs three tumultuous marriages and his Reformation of the Church of England.
ThE Princes and Princesses of the Realm depicted in the series are:
- Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII Tudor and Queen Elizabeth of York; sister to Henry VIII. She married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk without her brother's permission and was banished from court; but the marriage later fell apart despite producing children because of his infidelities, and she died of tuberculosis in episode 1.09. She was based on Henry's other sister Princess Mary, but was named after Margaret to avoid confusing her with Henry's daughter, Mary. Her granddaughter, Lady Jane Gray, was declared Queen of England by Parliament for 9 days on instructions from the dying child-king Edward, before she was overthrown by Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.
- Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII Tudor and Queen Catherine of Aragon; Princess of Wales until her parents' marriage is annulled in episode 2.03, making her a bastard. Although Mary's legitimacy was never restored, she was restored to the succession after her half-brother Edward by her father; but Edward dropped her from the succession on his deathbed because he feared she would reverse his religious reforms. However, popular opinion overturned this and she was made Queen Mary I of England. Unfortunately, her fanatical suppression of Protestantism and her marriag to King Philip of Spain quickly made her very unpopular, and she died after only five years on the throne, with no children.
- Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII Tudor and Queen Anne Boleyn; Princess of Wales until her parents' marriage is annulled in episode 2.10 and her mother is executed, making her a bastard. Though Elizabeth was not restored as a Princess of the Realm, she became third-in-line to the throne after her two half-siblings. A more moderate Protestant than her brother Edward, Elizabeth was suspected of plotting against her Catholic sister Mary, who nonetheless named Elizabeth her successor on her deathbed, making her the Queen Elizabeth I of England. Although the last monarch of House Tudor as she never married or had children, Elizabeth proved a far more effective ruler than her father or half-siblings, reigning for 44 years and establishing England as a very prosperous nation.
- Prince Edward Tudor, son of King Henry VIII Tudor and Queen Jane Seymour; Prince of Wales until his father's death. The Protestant Edward was crowned King Edward VI while still a minor, meaning most of the actual ruling during his reign was carried out by his uncle, the Lord Protector of the Realm, Edward Seymour (until his execution). Edward's 7-year reign was characterized by expensive radical religious reforms, and he died without children at age 16, attempting to drop both his half-sisters from the succession; however, both succeeded him on the throne.