Kingdom of England down. By 1588, her new navy was strong enough to defeat the Spanish Armada, which had sought to invade England to put a Catholic monarch on the throne in her place. The House of Tudor ended with the death of Elizabeth I on 24 March 1603. James I ascended the throne of England and brought it into personal union with the Kingdom of Scotland. Despite the Union of the Crowns, the kingdoms remained separate and independent states: a state of affairs which lasted for more than a century. The Stuart kings overestimated the power of the English monarchy, and were
The Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems Oxford and conducted by Simon Preston. The collection encompasses 34 motets and anthems by 14 different composers who were active during the Tudor Period, sometimes referred as "the Golden Age of English church music", which spans from around 1500 to the end of the reign of King James VI and I in 1625. This period in English history was especially marked by the religious upheaval of the English Reformation, which was advanced by King Edward VI. With competing demands over the language of Church of England liturgy, composers of this era variously set both Latin and English texts to music,