Descendants of the Stuarts

Vm PREFACE.
that he gladly remedied this informality by espousing
the lineal heiress, Elizabeth of York ; although even
this measure failed to allay the dynastic heats which
had raged with such inveteracy ; and the rebellions
of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck prove how
far the Yorkists were from being satisfied with the
union of the rival Red and White Roses.
Henry the Eighth, as the lineal heir, with an
undisputed title, was more fortunate. The war in
which this sovereign engaged with Erance may be
termed the second national one since the accession
of the Conqueror.
The reign of Edward the Sixth was, on the whole,
prosperous ; although the desperate attempts made
by his guardians to woo for him the beauteous
Mary of Scotland, engendered a short-Kved contest
with the northern kingdom.
Mary the Eirst's royalty was disturbed by dynastic
disputes, consequent on the pretensions advanced by
Lady Jane Grey, the Protestant parliamentary heiress,
to the throne ; claims which, although partially sym-
pathized with, were ultimately negatived by the
nation.
Elizabeth's sway, like her sister's, was agitated
by the pretensions of a cousin competitor ; and, like
her, she triumphed over her rival, the innocent Mary
falling a victim to her jealousy. Contrary to the
policy of her predecessors, Elizabeth lived in amity
with ErancCj her attention being wholly engrossed
by the hostility evinced towards her by Spain. The