The Tudor dynasty was NOT your average dynasty. For one thing, the so-called “dynasty” lasted just three generations and 118 years. It started with a power grab. It saw a staggering number of executions. It thrust England into years of religious chaos. The wars in France fought over this period were expensive and ultimately disastrous. There were periods of crop failure, economic collapse, poverty, and hunger. The safety net of religious support was eliminated as the monasteries were dissolved and the funds recovered went to the crown.

AND, it included two crowned Queens (first time in history!) and one uncrowned but proclaimed Queen (also one of a kind). It included a stunning naval victory over the famed Spanish Armada. It saw the establishment of the first permanent playhouse and the works of great English playwrights and poets, including Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd,  Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Thomas Middleton, Sir Philip Sydney, and (of course), William Shakespeare. It also saw the first book published by a Queen.

Dickens might have called it the best of times and the worst of times.

It was also a time of scandal. That’s what we’ll be looking for the next couple of episodes. Considering this dynasty includes a first king who might have been legally barred from taking the throne, a king who managed to get married more times than any other monarch in English history, two queens executed by the command of their royal husband, a contested succession, two extreme shifts in the politics of religious observances, and only one “normal” transfer of power from father to adult son—there are plenty of controversies to explore.

History shows us what's possible.