King of England (14851509), born at Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, SW Wales, UK. Henry's claim to the English throne was traced back tenuously through his father, Edmund Tudor, the younger son of Catherine of France and of her clerk to the wardrobe, the Welshman Owen Tudor. Through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, Henry claimed descent from Edward III's son, John of Gaunt, and Katherine Swynford. Known as Duke of Richmond before his accession, he was the founder of the Tudor dynasty. After the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury (1471), Henry was taken to Brittany, where several Yorkist attempts on his life and liberty were frustrated. In 1485 he landed unopposed at Milford Haven, and defeated Richard III at Bosworth. As king, his policy was to restore peace and prosperity to the country, and this was helped by his marriage of reconciliation with Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV. He was also noted for the efficiency of his financial and administrative policies. He firmly dealt with Yorkist plots, such as that led by Perkin Warbeck. Peace was concluded with France, and the marriage of his heir, Prince Arthur, to Catherine of Aragón cemented an alliance with Spain. He was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII.
| Henry VII | ||
|---|---|---|
| King of England, Lord of Ireland | ||
| Reign | August 22, 1485 - April 21, 1509 | |
| Coronation | October 30, 1485 | |
| Born | January 28, 1457 | |
| Pembroke Castle | ||
| Died | April 21, 1509 | |
| Richmond Palace | ||
| Buried | Westminster Abbey | |
| Predecessor | Richard III | |
| Successor | Henry VIII | |
| Consort | Elizabeth of York (1466-1503) | |
| Issue |
Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486-1502) Margaret Tudor (1489-1541) Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) Elizabeth Tudor (1492-1495) Mary Tudor ( 1496-1533) Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset (1499-1500) Katherine Tudor (1503-1503) |
|
| Royal House | Tudor | |
| Father | Edmund Tudor (c. 1430-1456) | |
| Mother | Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509) | |
Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the founder and first patriarch of the Tudor dynasty.
Early Life
Henry was born in Pembroke Castle, Wales, in 1457, the only son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort. His father died two months before he was born, which meant that the young Henry spent much of his early life with his uncle, Jasper Tudor. With the return of Edward IV to the throne in 1461, Henry was forced to flee to Brittany, where he was to spend most of the next fourteen years. After the failure of the revolt of his second cousin, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, in 1483, Henry Tudor became the leading Lancastrian contender for the throne of England. With money and supplies borrowed from his host, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, Henry made an unsuccessful attempt to land in England but turned back after encountering Richard III's (1483–85) forces on the Dorset coast.
Rise to the throne
Having gained the support of the in-laws of the late Yorkist King Edward IV, he landed with a largely French and Scottish force in Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire, and marched into England, accompanied by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, and the experienced John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford.
Though outnumbered, Henry was aware that this was his only chance to seize the throne.
The first of Henry's concerns on attaining the throne was the question of establishing the strength and supremacy of his rule.
Henry's first action was to declare himself king retroactive to the day before the battle, thus ensuring that anyone who had fought against him would be guilty of treason. Edward's elder sister, Margaret Pole, who had the next best claim on the throne, inherited her father's earldom of Salisbury and survived well into the next century (until she fell victim to a bill of attainder for treason too, under Henry VIII).
Economic and diplomatic policies
Henry VII was a fiscally prudent monarch who restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer (Edward IV's treasury had been emptied by his wife's Woodville relations after his death and before the accession of Richard III) by introducing efficiently ruthless mechanisms of taxation.
Henry VII's policy was both to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. He (Henry) had been under the financial and physical protection of the French throne or its vassals for most of his career as a pretender prior to his ascending to the throne of England.
Henry VII was one of the first European monarchs to recognise the importance of the newly-united Spanish kingdom and thus concluded the Treaty of Medina Del Campo in 1489, by which his son, Arthur Tudor, was married to Catherine of Aragon. He also formed an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire, under the emperor Maximilian I (1493–1519) and perusaded Pope Innocent VIII to issue a Bull of Excommunication against all pretenders to Henry's throne.
Law Enforcement and Justices of Peace
Henry's principal problem was, indeed, to restore royal authority in a realm still recovering from the disorders of the Wars of the Roses.
Henry VII used Justices of Peace on a large, nationwide scale.
Despite this, Henry was keen to constrain their power and influence, applying the same principles to the Justices of Peace as he did to the nobility.
By 1509 Justices of Peace were the key enforcers of law and order for Henry VII.
Later years
In 1502, fate dealt Henry VII a double blow from which he never fully recovered: His heir, the recently-married Arthur, died in an epidemic at Ludlow Castle and was followed only a few months later by Henry VII's queen, in childbirth. On his death in 1509, he was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (1509–47).
Marriage and Issue
Henry and Elizabeth's children are:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur, Prince of Wales | September 20, 1486 | April 2, 1502 | Married Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536) in 1501. |
| Margaret Tudor, Princess of England | November 28, 1489 | October 18, 1541 | Married (1) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) in 1503. |
| Henry VIII, King of England | June 28, 1491 | January 28, 1547 | Married (1) Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536) in 1509. |
| Elizabeth Tudor, Princess of England | July 2, 1492 | September 14, 1495 | Died young. |
| Mary Tudor, Princess of England | March 18, 1496 | June 25, 1533 | Married (1) Louis XII, King of France (1462 - 1515) in 1514. |
| Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset | February 21, 1499 | June 19, 1500 | Died young. |
| Edward Tudor, Prince of England | Unknown | Unknown | Edward Tudor. However, this name is listed in official records as a child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. |
| Katherine Tudor, Princess of England | February 2, 1503 | February 2, 1503 | Died young. |
Descendants
Henry VII's elder daughter Margaret was married first to James IV of Scotland (1488–1513), and their son became James V of Scotland (1513–42), whose daughter became Mary, Queen of Scots. By means of this marriage, Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. Henry VII's other surviving daughter, Mary, first married the elderly King Louis XII of France (1498–1515) and then, when he died after only about 1 year of marriage, she married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk without her brother's (now King Henry VIII) permission. Their daughter Frances married Henry Grey, and her children included Lady Jane Grey, in whose name her parents and in-laws tried to seize the throne after Edward VI of England (1547–53) died.
King Henry VII is buried at Westminster Abbey. Caroline Steinsberg (2000) The Son of Prophecy: Henry Tudor's Road to Bosworth (1985) by David Rees (ISBN 0-85159-005-5) is a discussion of how Henry's return to Wales was regarded by some as the fulfillment of a Messianic prophecy.
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