Theory and practice of monarchy, 1509-1745
What monarchs claimed and what they could actually do were often different things. Comparing theory with practice across two centuries reveals how English government really worked.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation
Key learning points
- • The theory of royal authority
- • The limits in practice
- • Parliament's growing role
- • Towards constitutional monarchy
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 25 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 25
Visual introductionPicture this
Theory and practice of monarchy, 1509-1745
What monarchs claimed and what they could actually do were often different things. Comparing theory with practice across two centuries reveals how English government really worked.
In a nutshell
Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation
What you already know
Part 2 of 25
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know the outline of the Reformation and the Civil Wars.
Key words
Part 3 of 25
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Prerogative
- Powers a monarch could use without Parliament.
- Court
- The household and political circle around the monarch.
- Patronage
- Granting offices and favours to secure loyalty.
- Constitutional monarchy
- Rule by a monarch whose powers are limited by law.
Reset break
Part 4 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 25
Learning cycle 1 of 2
What monarchs claimed
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 25
Learn
The theory of royal authority
Tudor and Stuart monarchs presented themselves as divinely appointed, and portraiture, ceremony and proclamations all reinforced the message. Royal supremacy over the Church after 1534 strengthened the claim further, since obedience to the Crown was now a religious duty as well as a legal one.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 25
Learn
The limits in practice
No monarch had a standing army or a police force, and tax needed consent. Government depended on unpaid local gentry as justices of the peace, so a policy that the gentry disliked was often simply not enforced. Patronage was therefore the real machinery of power: loyalty had to be bought with offices, land and honours.
Reset break
Part 8 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 25
Quick check
Part 10 of 25
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 25
Learning cycle 2 of 2
What monarchs could actually do
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
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Part 12 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 25
Learn
Parliament's growing role
Parliament began as an occasional event and became a regular institution. The Reformation was enacted through statute, which gave Parliament a role in the most fundamental change of the century. By the seventeenth century MPs argued that some matters required their consent, and the Civil Wars tested that claim to destruction.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 25
Learn
Towards constitutional monarchy
After 1688 the monarch could not suspend laws, keep a standing army in peacetime or tax without Parliament, and regular sessions became necessary because funding was granted for short periods. By 1745 Britain was governed by a monarch and Parliament together, with ministers who needed parliamentary support to survive.
Quick check
Part 15 of 25
Reset break
Part 16 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 25
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 25
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often assume a strong claim meant strong power. Enforcement depended on local cooperation.
- People often date limited monarchy to 1215. The decisive legal limits came after 1688.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 25
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 25
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Royal supremacy over the ____ after 1534 strengthened the claim further, since obedience to the Crown was now a religious duty as well as a legal one.
By 1745 ____ was governed by a monarch and Parliament together, with ministers who needed parliamentary support to survive.
Challenge round
Part 22 of 25
Game · Recall cards
Prerogative powers were those used...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 23 of 25
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Patronage means...
2. Royal portraiture was used to...
3. A monarch without a standing army had to...
4. Regular parliamentary sessions became necessary after 1688 because...
5. Constitutional monarchy means royal power is...
6. Comparing theory and practice is useful because it shows...
Mastery quiz
Part 24 of 25
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Theory and practice of monarchy, 1509-1745
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Prerogative powers were those used...
2. Local government relied mainly on...
3. The Reformation was enacted through...
4. After 1688, taxation required...
Lesson round-up
Part 25 of 25
Lesson round-up
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