| 1510 | | Henry VIII becomes king of England and marries Katherine of Aragon |
| 1516 | | Queen Katherine gives birth to Mary Tudor |
| 1517 | | Martin Luther begins Reformation at Wittenberg, Germany |
| 1533 | | Henry VIII divorces Katherine of Aragon and marries Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII breaks with the Roman Catholic Church
Queen Anne gives birth to Elizabeth Tudor (Sept. 7) |
| 1536 | | Queen Anne is executed |
| 1537 | | Queen Jane Seymour gives birth to Edward Tudor |
| 1547 | | King Henry VIII dies
Edward VI becomes king |
| 1553 | | King Edward VI dies
Mary Tudor becomes queen and restores Catholicism |
| 1554 | | Elizabeth is imprisoned
Queen Mary I weds King Philip II of Spain |
| 1558 | | Queen Mary I dies
Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen |
| 1568 | | Mary Queen of Scots takes refuge in England |
| 1569-71 | | Northern Rebellion in Yorkshire is suppressed |
| 1570 | | Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth from the Roman Catholic Church |
| 1572 | | Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, is executed for his role in the Ridolfi Plot
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre kills over 100,000 Protestants in France |
| 1577-80 | | Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe |
| 1584 | | Sir Walter Raleigh establishes the colony of "Virginia," named for the Virgin Queen |
| 1586 | | The Babington Plot, a conspiracy involving Mary Queen of Scots and her page Anthony Babington, is revealed |
| 1587 | | Mary Queen of Scots is executed |
| 1588 | | The English navy and foul weather defeat Philip II's Spanish Armada |
| 1594 | | William Shakespeare and others form the Lord Chamberlain's Men |
| 1601 | | Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, leads a rebellion and is executed |
| 1603 | | Queen Elizabeth I dies (Mar. 24)
James VI of Scotland becomes King James I of England |
