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The Tudor period is one of dynastic stability. Starting with the accession of Henry VII to the throne in 1485 and ending with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, there are five Tudor monarchs, not counting Lady Jane Grey who ruled for just nine days. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are the most powerful and best remembered. Under the Tudors, England becomes established as a world power. The government runs increasingly smoothly, the systems of justice and taxation are regularised across the kingdom and the arts blossom. But it is the ordinary citizen, rather than the royal court, who contributes most to this national success, not least by filling some of the least desirable job vacancies in history.