William the Conqueror wanted to know exactly what he had in England. He spent people all around the country, asking many questions, and they made a big book called the Domesday Book. The book showed how much farming land there was in England and how many animals. We know a lot about life in Norman England because of the Domesday Book.
In 1348, a terrible illness called The Black Death came to England. Only about four million people lived in England at that time, but in two years, nearly one-and-a-half million of them died.
From 1455-1485, there were terrible between people who wanted the kings of country to be from different families, and many more people died. Finally, in 1485, Henry Tudor became the first Tudor king of England, King Henry the seventh.
Some of the Tudor kings and queens are now very famous in England’s history. Henry the Eighth, who became the king in 1509, lived some of the time at the Tower of London, but he had other beautiful places in and around London, including the Palace of Westminster and Hampton Court. He and the people around him lived very well. They wore the best clothes and wonderful food, and at the palaces there was always dancing, sport, poetry and music. Henry enjoyed life, and he drank and ate too much. When he became the king, he as a sporty, good-looking young man, but later he became so fat he could not walk!