The Tudors, part 1

Right, so.  The Tudors.

I'm not going to get into the War of the Roses or any of that stuff here - probably another series, but here's what you need to know for this story:

• Henry VII ended the whole Lancaster/York thing when he married Elizabeth of York.  Yep.  Married a daughter from the opposing house, bada boom bada bing it's decided.
• Henry did have some claim to the throne, but he won the throne in battle.  He defeated the previous king - you might have heard of him, Richard III.  He, and the Princes in the Tower, are yet another story.
• There were other people who also had claims to the throne, and made attempts at it during his reign.
• Henry was good at making money.  Really good, actually, and apparently a spendthrift so he left the throne with a hefty treasury and a nobility that may or may not have been happy about that.  Accounts vary, as you can understand.

So this is the situation when Henry's son - that would be Henry VIII - takes the throne.  There's a bit more but we'll get to that next time, because it's more the younger Henry's story than the older Henry's.