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You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Tudor > Henry VII | The start of the Tudor dynasty
Considering he had a very tenuous claim to the throne, Henry VII would produce one of the most fascinating and well known of all the royal dynasties. We have all heard about his son with six wives and his grandchildren, particularly Bloody Mary and the Virgin Queen.
Born: 28th January 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Died: 21st April 1509 (aged 52), Richmond Palace, Surrey, England
Reign: 22nd August 1485 – 21st April 1509
Parents: Edmund Tudor 1st Earl of Richmond and Lady Margaret Beaufort
Predecessor: Richard III
Successor: Henry VIII (son)
Spouse: Elizabeth of York
Children: Arthur, Margaret Queen of Scots, Henry VIII King of England, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of France, Edmund Duke of Somerset
Royal House: Tudor (via Lancastrian claim)
Henry VII, also known as Henry Tudor, was born at Pembroke Castle in Wales on 28th January 1457. He’s the son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, both of whom were vaguely part of the royal line. Margaret was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Edward III, descended from the Lancastrian branch of House Plantagenet and his father, Edmund Tudor was the half-brother of Henry VI, from his mother’s second marriage to Owen Tudor. Henry’s claim to the throne was further supported by Owen’s links to the Tudors of Penmynydd. Even though the Tudors were not considered to be nobles in England, they were a prominent family in Wales. Edmund Tudor and his brother Jasper were both declared legitimate by parliament during their half-brother’s reign, Edmund became the Earl of Richmond and Jasper the Earl of Pembroke. Both Edmund and Jasper took part in the various battles in the War of the Roses fighting with the Lancastrians. Edmund was killed in battle three months before Henry’s birth, his mother, Margaret Beaufort was just 13 when she gave birth at Pembroke Castle under the protection of Jasper Tudor.
Image: Henry VII
Henry spent his earliest years in Pembroke with his mother and uncle Jasper, however when Edward IV defeated Henry VI and became king, the Earldom of Pembroke was passed on to William Herbert. Jasper went into exile on the continent, leaving Henry and Margaret under the guardianship of the Herberts, where they remained until Richard Neville betrayed Edward and restored Henry VI to the throne. Jasper returned to Wales and accompanied the young Henry to London where the pair became members of the king’s court. As the king’s nephew, the young Henry was likely being trained to become a page or noble, however this was short lived as Edward retook the throne, deposing Henry VI. Fearing for their lives as the last Lancastrians, Jasper and Henry fled to France, where they lived in exile under the protection of Francis II, the Duke of Brittany for the next 14 years.
While the York kings were on the throne, Margaret, who remained in England and remarried twice, both times to influential and powerful men, began actively promoting her son as an alternative to King Richard III, who was proving to be unpopular after usurping Edward V. With the support of his uncle Jasper and the Duke of Brittany, Henry Tudor began to amass an army. He soon gained support and funds from the French, the Scots and the Welsh, as well as several English lords who were against Richard’s reign. In 1457, Henry’s forces invaded England, meeting Richard’s on Bosworth Field, where Richard was killed, despite Henry having the smaller army. It is believed that Richard was betrayed by some of his most trusted men who changed sides and was overpowered by the strength of Henry’s support. Henry’s most powerful supporter was his step father, Baron Thomas Stanley, one of the most influential and wealthy men in England. The defeat of Richard III effectively ended the War of the Roses and ended the Plantagenet line. Prior to his invasion, Henry had pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and sister of Edward V, uniting the houses of York and Lancaster.
The day before the Battle of Bosworth, Henry declared himself to be king by right of conquest, which meant that legally, he could find anyone who fought for Richard guilty of treason. By doing this, he was able to seize lands and estates on his victory, eliminating potential rebels and financing his take over. Before his coronation, he married Elizabeth of York and had the Earl of Warwick, the ten year old son of the former Duke of Clarence, the oldest surviving male of the house of York, imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he remained for the rest of his life. Much like other usurpers, Henry’s reign was marred with paranoia. He was constantly on guard waiting for a plot to emerge against him, despite this, he spared Richard III’s nephew and named heir, John de la Pole and Margaret Plantagenet, a York heiress, who he made Countess of Salisbury.
Though his marriage to Elizabeth of York did strengthen his hold on the throne, particularly after he repealed the Act brought in by Richard declaring Edward IV’s children illegitimate, he was very aware of his tenuous claim. In fact, the Portuguese and Castillian royal families had better claims through the same line.
Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor were third cousins, both sharing a common ancestor in John of Gaunt and despite his merciful treatment of John de la Pole and planning advantageous marriages for Elizabeth’s sisters, Henry remained paranoid of a Plantagenet plot, likely exacerbated by his mother in law who was eventually removed to a nunnery because of her conspiring. Henry dealt with several plots against his reign, especially in the early years. He was betrayed by his allies, the Stafford brothers, and had difficulties in Ireland but the most prominent plots were those involving the missing princes in the tower, with young men claiming to be the lost prince Richard and declaring their right to the throne. One such person was Perkin Warbeck, who claimed that he had been smuggled out of England during the reign of Richard III and was raised in Belgium by his aunt, the Duchess of Burgundy. Warbeck was initially given comfortable lodgings and invited into the royal council but was eventually executed. Another pretender, Lambert Simnel claimed to the Earl of Warwick, who was under house arrest in the Tower of London. After confessing, Simnel was pardoned and given a job in the palace kitchens.
Some historians claim that Henry was involved in the murder of Edward V and prince Richard who were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard III and disappeared. Common consensus is that Richard orchestrated their deaths, but Henry has been implicated as certain actions of his could only have been plausible if he knew for certain that the princes were dead and it would certainly go a little way to explaining his complicated relationship with his mother in law, Elizabeth Woodville. Despite knowing that he had declared her children illegitimate, kidnapped her two youngest, executed her brother and eldest son and tried to marry her daught, Elizabeth, went on to reconcile with Richard III. She did offer her support to Henry when he first came to the throne, but often publically went against him, even though it put her remaining children in danger.
Outside of plots and paranoia, Henry was a relatively successful king, especially considering that he had no personal experience with estate management or financial administration and had not been in England for 14 years, having fled to the continent as a child. Despite this, he introduced financial stability to England, keeping the same advisors throughout his reign and running a frugal household. He improved the collection of taxes and introduced imperial weights, as well as having a strong foreign policy. He aimed to maintain peace with the rest of Europe, particularly France who had been his allies in his campaign against Richard III. He was one of the first European monarchs to acknowledge a unified Spain and concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Scotland, the first treaty between the two countries for over 200 years. One way in which he secured these alliances is through betrothals to his children. His oldest son, the Prince of Wales and heir apparent, Arthur, was married to Catherine of Aragon, heiress to Spain and Castille and his daughter Margaret, was married to King James IV of Scotland.
While it is not unusual for royal children to be used to form alliances with other nations, Henry’s relationship with his family was rather unusual for the time. His marriage with Elizabeth of York was said to have been a happy one and the pair publicly displayed affection and concern for each other. Before her death, Henry was known to be a doting father and husband, preferring to keep the children close by and being actively involved in their lives. The pair did experience personal loss, losing several children in infancy and then in 1502, the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales. Arthur died suddenly at Ludlow Castle, where he had moved with his new bride, Catherine of Aragon to start his own household. It is believed that he succumbed to the Sweating Sickness, a mystery illness that struck England at random and disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Records at the time show that Henry openly sobbed at the news of Arthur’s death and later in the year when his wife Elizabeth passed, shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone. Historians say this proved that he was a loving husband and family man and that he was devastated by Elizabeth’s death. Losing her and Arthur certainly had a profound effect on him and his behaviour changed in the months after. Aside from his wife and children, Henry was especially close to his mother, who remained with him and had her own royal apartments, which were usually reserved for the queen. She had a huge influence on Henry’s reign and was his most trusted advisor, often pulling political strings behind the scenes.
Following the death of Arthur, Catherine of Aragon remained in England. Her family had not yet finalised the payment of her dowry, which they decided not to do now she was to no longer be queen of England. Henry and and his mother Margaret, were still keen to maintain an alliance with Spain, but changing politics in Europe meant that Catherine was a less coveted prize than she had been before. Reports have said that Henry considered taking Catherine for his own wife, but this wasn’t something that was given much serious thought and he remained devoted to Elizabeth. It is noted that unlike other kings at the time, he was not known to have a mistress and he chose not to remarry. Instead, he sought special dispensation from the pope to allow Catherine to marry his remaining son, also Henry, who became the Prince of Wales on the death of Arthur. Catherine insisted that she and Arthur had not consummated their marriage and permission was given, however, as Prince Henry was too young to marry, the wedding didn’t happen in the king’s lifetime.
Though Henry was notably inexperienced, he has been described as an able and active administrator. When he came to the throne, England was heavily in debt, but on his death, the royal treasury was full. Sadly, Henry VIII was not as frugal as his father and the coffers didn’t remain full for long. One of the main criticisms of Henry’s reign, other than his constant paranoia was his centralisation of the government, choosing to base himself and rule from London unlike previous kings who had allowed for smaller local authorities to have more power. Henry is also credited with the creation of the Court of the Star Chamber, a closed court that was answerable to no one but him.
Henry VII died of tuberculosis at Richmond Palace on 21st April 1509, as requested, he was buried in the chapel he commissioned at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife, Elizabeth. Their son Henry ascended the throne as Henry VIII. As well as having one of the most famous sons in history, Henry and Elizabeth’s other children also went on to be hugely influential throughout Europe, their oldest daughter Margaret married the King of Scotland, later becoming Queen of Scotland and Regent of Scotland. Their youngest daughter Mary went on to become Queen of France. Overall, Henry VII was said to be amiable, high spirited and extremely intelligent, though historians have said that he had noticeably bad teeth and fair hair. His mother outlived him by two months and remains one of the most powerful and influential women of her time.
Bath Abbey, Bath
Was designed and built by Henry VII’s Secretary
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Leicestershire
The site of the battle where Henry defeated Richard III.
Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset
Henry is known to have stayed here while visiting Somerset.
Kingston Lacy, Dorset
The childhood home of Margaret Beaufort
National Portrait Gallery, London
A portrait of Henry, along with his son, the future king and wife, painted by Hans Holbein can be found here.
Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire
Birthplace of Henry VII
Piel Castle, Cumbria
Lambert Simnel stayed here during his brief rebellion against Henry when he was claiming to be the Earl of Warwick and the rightful king. Henry, seeing Simnel as a pawn, pardoned him and gave him a job in the palace kitchen.
Richmond Palace, London
Henry had the palace built and named after one of his estates in Yorkshire.
Royal Naval College, London
The college sits on what was once Greenwich Palace which Henry had rebuilt in the early 1500s. His son Henry was born here and it was an important royal residence during the Tudor period.
Westminster Abbey
Henry is laid to rest here and was the first monarch to be buried in a vault under the floor rather than in a tomb.
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