Henry,
the second son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Margaret Beaufort,
was born in Pembroke Castle in 1457. Margaret Beaufort was the great-granddaughter
of John of Gaunt and Henry Tudor was therefore considered the future
leader of the House of Lancaster. After the Lancasterians were defeated
at Tewkesbury in 1471, Henry was taken to Brittany for safety. Over
the next few years there were several Yorkist attempts on his life.
In August 1485, Henry Tudor,
the leader of the Lancastrians, arrived in Wales with 2, 000 of his
supporters. He also brought with him over 2, 000 mercenaries recruited
from French prisons. While in Wales, Henry also persuaded many skillful
longbowmen to join him in his fight against Richard III. By the time
Henry Tudor reached England the size of his army had grown to 5,000
men.
When Richard heard about
the arrival of Henry he marched his army to meet his rival for the
throne. On the way, Richard tried to recruit as many men as possible
to fight in his army, but by the time he reached Leicester
he only had an army of 6,000 men. The earl of Northumberland also
brought 3,000 men but his loyalty to Richard was in doubt.
Richard sent an order
to Lord Thomas Stanley and Sir William Stanley, two of the most powerful
men in England, to bring their 6, 000 soldiers to fight for the king.
Richard had been informed that Lord Stanley had already promised to
help Henry Tudor. In order to persuade him to change his mind, Richard
arranged for Lord Stanley's eldest son to be kidnapped.
On 21 August 1485, King
Richard's army positioned themselves on Ambien Hill, close to the
small village of Bosworth in Leicestershire.
Henry arrived the next day and took up a position facing Richard.
When the Stanley brothers arrived they did not join either of the
two armies. Instead, Lord Stanley went to the north of the battlefield
and Sir William to the south. The four armies now made up the four
sides of a square.
Without the support of
the Stanley brothers, Richard looked certain to be defeated. Richard
therefore gave orders for Lord Stanley's son to be brought to the
top of the hill. The king then sent a message to Lord Stanley threatening
to execute his son unless he immediately sent his troops to join the
king on Ambien Hill. Lord Stanley's reply was short: "Sire, I
have other sons."
Henry Tudor's forces now
charged King Richard's army. Although out-numbered, Richard's superior
position at the top of the hill enabled him to stop the rival forces
breaking through at first. When the situation began to deteriorate,
Richard called up his reserve forces led by the earl of Northumberland.
However, Northumberland, convinced that Richard was going to lose,
ignored the order.
Richard's advisers told
him that he must try to get away. Richard refused, claiming that he
could still obtain victory by killing Henry Tudor. He argued that
once the pretender to the throne was dead, his army would have no
reason to go on fighting.
A few of his close friends
agreed to accompany him on his mission. So that everyone knew who
he was, Richard put on his crown. After choosing an axe as his weapon,
Richard and a small group of men charged down the hill.
Henry's guards quickly
surrounded their leader. Before Richard could get to Henry, he was
knocked off his horse. Surrounded by the enemy, Richard continued
to fight until he was killed.
Tradition has it that
Richard's crown was found under a gorse bush. Lord Stanley, whose
intervention had proved so important, was given the honour of crowning
Henry VII the new king of England and Wales.
Henry
was determined that
the Tudor family should rule England and Wales for a long time. To
do this he needed to protect himself from those who had the power
to overthrow him. His first step was to marry Elizabeth
of York, a member of Richard Ill's family.
Henry was also worried
that England might be invaded by Spain, the most powerful country
in Europe. In 1488 Henry signed a treaty with King Ferdinand of Spain.
By this treaty Henry
VII agreed that his
eldest son, Arthur, should marry King Ferdinand's daughter, Catherine
of Aragon.
On 14 November 1501, Arthur,
who was just fifteen, married Catherine at St
Paul's Cathedral in London. Five months
later Arthur died of tuberculosis.
Henry VII was keen that England and Spain should remain united and
arranged for his other surviving son. Henry,
to marry Catherine. At that time, Christians believed it was wrong
for a man to marry his brother's wife. Henry VII therefore had to
gain special permission
from the Pope before the marriage could go ahead.
In 1503 Henry arranged
for his daughter, Margaret Tudor, to marry James IV of Scotland. This
created an alliance between the two countries which ultimately led
to the union of Scotland and England.
Henry VII died in 1509.
His personal fortune of £1.5 million illustrated the success
of his foreign policy and the commercial prosperity that England enjoyed
under his rule.
(1)
Polydore Vergil, English History (c.1530)
Richard,
because he expected victory, received Henry with great courage...
Henry's army... were now almost out of hope of victory, when William
Stanley with three thousand men came to the rescue... Richard's army
fled, and King Richard alone was killed fighting manfully in the thickest
press of his enemies.
(2)
The Croyland Chronicle (1485)
King Richard received many
mortal wounds and like a spirited and most courageous prince, fell
in battle on the field and not in flight.
(3)
John Rous, History of England (c. 1490)
King Richard, after receiving
many mortal wounds/ died a fearless and most courageous death, fighting
on the battlefield, not in flight. His body was found among the other
dead... and after suffering many humiliations, it was taken to Leicester
in an inhuman manner, with a rope around its neck.
(4)
Polydore Vergil, History of England (c. 1530)
Henry VII's
body was slender but well built and strong... His appearance was remarkably
attractive and his face was cheerful... his eyes were small and blue,
his teeth few, poor and blackish; his hair was thin and white; his
complexion sallow... his mind was brave and resolute and never, even
at the moments of greatest danger, deserted him... In government he
was shrewd... He was kind to his visitors... But all these virtues
were obscured in later life by greed.
(5)
John
Major, History of Greater Britain
(1520)
In every action of his
life Henry proved himself a man of good judgement; he showed much
wisdom in the suppression of rebellion, and he caused many nobles
to be beheaded; yet he was given too much to greed, for he raised
vast sums of money from merchants and other wealthy men.
(6)
Christopher Urswick was Henry VII's almoner. He has left this record
of a meeting between Henry VII and an astrologer, (c. 1509)
Henry had
been for some time in a declining state of health, and this encouraged
an astrologer to foretell his death, and that it would happen before
the end of the year... So the king sent for this man... The king gravely
asked him whether any future events could be foretold by the stars;
"Yes, Sir." "Come then," says the king, "tell
me where you are to be in the Christmas holidays that are now coming."
The man faltered at first, and then plainly confessed he could not
tell where. "Oh!" says the king, "I am a better astrologer
than you. I can tell where you will be - in the Tower of London."
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