The Children of Henry VIII

At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the daughter of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey.

These are the players in a royal drama that ultimately led to Elizabeth's ascension to the throne—one of the most spectacularly successful reigns in English history.