Evolution of the British Empire

George Stuart’s English Historical Figures ® span 400 years from the Tudor and Stuart dynasties through the Victorian Period. Following the reign of Henry VIII, the role of the monarchy changed forever. English politics and religion underwent a progressive transformation well ahead of Western Europe. The English rulers went from being “absolutists” in the 16th Century to “figureheads” in the 19th Century. As head of the Church of England and above politics, the monarch is the revered symbol of the nation. Today’s monarchs are expected to uphold and maintain this exalted symbolism. Indeed, the challenge is almost as demanding and precarious as was that of their forefathers’ “divine right” to rule over every aspect of the realm.