Henry VIII begins the process of gathering in the wealth of England's monasteries

Christian III seizes the wealth of Danish churches and monasteries, before turning his attention to those of Norway

Henry VIII's queen, Anne Boleyn, is beheaded in the Tower of London on unsubstantiated charges of adultery

Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour, eleven days after the execution of Anne Boleyn

Jane Seymour gives birth to Henry VIII's long-awaited male heir (the future Edward VI)

Jane Seymour dies twelve days after giving birth to Henry VIII's heir, the future Edward VI

Suleiman I takes Buda (now Budapest), and by 1547 the Turks occupy almost the whole of Hungary

A one-week-old Scottish infant, daughter of James V, inherits the throne as Mary Queen of Scots

Humayun, driven west into Afghanistan by Sher Shah, loses his family's new inheritance in India

On the death of Henry VIII his 10-year-old son becomes king of England as Edward VI

Ivan IV is crowned tsar of Russia and becomes known as Ivan the Terrible

The Mongols, increasingly dominated by their neighbours in Manchuria, submit to them and are accepted by the Manchus as vassals

Mary I succeeds to the English throne, and devotes her energies to the restoration of the Catholic faith

Mary I causes grave offence in England by her marriage to the Catholic heir to the king of Spain

The Peace of Augsburg achieves a compromise which for a while solves the religious tensions deriving from the Reformation

Civil war within India enables Humayun to win a battle at Sirhind and recover the Mughal throne

Charles V abdicates, handing the Netherlands and Spain to his son Philip and the title of Holy Roman emperor to his brother Ferdinand

Humayun dies and Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, inherits the throne at the age of thirteen

The division by Charles V of his territories means that there are now two Habsburg empires, Austrian and Spanish

Elizabeth I succeeds peacefully to the throne of England, after the turmoil of Mary's Catholic reign

Mary Queen of Scots marries the heir to the French throne, who a year later succeeds as Francis II

With its strong French connection, the Scottish royal name of Stewart begins to be spelt Stuart (there being no 'w' in native French words)

A year after Mary has become queen of France, her husband Francis II dies

Mary Queen of Scots returns from France to Edinburgh, and to an inevitable clash with John Knox

Mary Queen of Scots marries her Catholic cousin, Henry Darnley