Tudor Family: Parliament and the Crown

During the reign of the Tudor family in the 16^th century, the relationship between parliament and the crown underwent major changes. This is shown through the limits Parliament placed on the power of the crown; one example of these limits was the removal of the crown’s ability to make decisions unopposed. For centuries, the monarchy made all the important decisions on a national level, while parliament was nearly powerless, but in the 1500s, parliament “asserted successfully the right to discuss with entire freedom questions of policy, questions of administration, questions of religion, personal questions such as royal marriages, the right to petition the Crown, to exhibit grievances, to recommend measures, [and] to refuse measures submitted to them” (Ross). This switch completely changed how government in England worked; there could now be two sides to an argument, and the parliament could even better represent the will of the people, bringing England closed to a democratic government. In addition, Parliament also gained the ability to veto acts passed by the king, limiting the power of the king and holding him responsible to use his power wisely. It is debatable whether or not these changes would represent the best interest of the people, but any time power is taken from a monarchy and given to a larger group of people, the mass population of that country is better governed and represented. There are several answers to what changes in power were made in parliament during the Tudor’s rule, it is clear that “The Parliaments that met after 1529 represented a fundamental restructuring not only of that institution but of the state and its functions” (The History of Parliament). To conclude, during the 16^th century, parliament made changes in their relationship to the crown in order to limit the power of the king and better represent the people of England.