HENRY 7th

• Henry 7th 1485-1509
• Born 1457 in Pembroke Castle in Wales
• Henry was 28 when crowned

Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was firstly by conquest when his followers beat those of Plantagenet King Richard 3rd at Bosworth Field and secondly by his linage via Owen Tudor, his Welsh grandfather and his illicit sexual liaison with Queen Katherine the widow of the most famous of Lancastrian Kings, Henry 5th.

Henry Tudor was born at the start of the Wars of the Roses and had to live in hiding in France until his late twenties to avoid being murdered by Yorkist Plantagenets or their thugs.

Immediately following his victory at Bosworth he married the Yorkist heiress, Edward 4th ‘s daughter, Elizabeth to consolidate the warring families and they lived in married bliss thence forth.

Almost immediately after his coronation he had to contend with uprisings from those who had greater rights to the throne than himself, 18 individuals in all. They were all eliminated quickly and ruthlessly. Indeed he set the trend for the whole of the Tudor period when more “troublesome” people were murdered per head of population than by Russia’s Stalin , the most gruesome killer of  the 20th century. He did however bring a much needed period of peace and stability to England after the Civil “Wars of the Roses” setting the climate for considerable economic and population growth. Indeed England has probably never had a more astute King and this coupled with his toughness and generosity was exactly what was needed at the time.

Henry was keen to support the new age of world exploration and discovery brought about by the powerful Muslim Ottomans blocking all Christian trade routes to the east. (China and the Spice Islands). He financed John Cabot (Italian Giovanni Caboto) and his son Sebastian to sail over the Atlantic to discover new lands for England so as not to be out done by Spain and Portugal who had also hired Italian seamen to look for new sea routes to China. They all found the Americas instead. In 1497 Cabot discovered  the rich cod fishing grounds off Newfoundland for England.

Henry and Elizabeth produced a number of healthy children, notably Henry 8th who separated England from the dominance of the Christian church in Rome and their daughter Margaret who he married to the Scottish King James 4th thus creating the linage for the Stuart line of James 6th of Scotland and 1st of England. 

Chronological events.

1457 Henry was born in Pembroke Castle, south Wales as grandson of Lancastrian Queen, Catherine de Valois and son of Margaret Beaufort, (descended from John of Gaunt). His father died before he was born.

1471 Henry aged 14 fled to Brittany, France, when Lancastrian King Henry 6th is murdered by Yorkist King Edward 4th making Welsh Henry next in line to the throne.

1483 Henry now aged 26 and supported by the duke of Buckingham and spurred on by the seizure of the throne by Richard 3rd lands in England but is forced to flee when overpowered by Richards men. At this point he vows to marry the 17 year old Yorkist princess Elizabeth to create a peace between the warring Lancashire and Yorkist English royal dynasties.

1485 Henry attempts another landing from Brittany this time at Milford Haven close to his birth place in south west Wales and marches towards Nottingham Castle the stronghold of Richard 3rd.  Close-by at Bosworth and with the belated help of Lord Stanley he defeats Richard to be crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on the 30th of October.

As promised Henry now 28 married the 19 year old Elizabeth of York and they begin one of the happiest English royal marriages of all time.

1486-96 This ten year period is remembered for continuous uprisings by Yorkists who considered they had more right to rule England than Henry. All were squashed but it should be noted that most pretenders used either Ireland or France from which to plan invasions and raise military support thus making the English permanently suspicious of these two neighbours.

1491 Henry makes a surprise invasion of France and so frightens the French King that Henry wins a huge annual tribute to add to his already improving country finances.

1496 Henry makes a similar rapid excursion into Scotland when James 4th supports the Yorkist pretender Perkin Warbeck.

1497 Henry marries off his eldest children to form a military alliance with Spain and Scotland against the natural enemy France.

Henry who claimed to be a descendant of the legendary British King, Arthur, named the eldest of his two sons Arthur.

1501 Henry arranged for Arthur to be married to the daughter of the most powerful royal family in Europe- Princess Katherine of Aragon, the daughter of the murderous royal couple King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. (Note Queen Isabella was also a descendant of John of Gaunt.) Arthur was then only 11 years old.

1502 Henry’s eldest daughter Margaret, he married to the Scottish King James 4th in thus creating the potential for the future union with the troublesome Scots.

1503 Prince Arthur aged 13 is now married to Katherine of Aragon but dies leaving her a widow in England. His brother Prince Henry is 12. (Prince Henry when 18, with the blessing of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella married their daughter Katherine 6 years later in 1509)

1503 Also in this year King Henry’s wife Elizabeth of York dies. Henry is devastated and lived out his remaining 6 years of kingship largely as a recluse.

Note

Henry, following the Battle of Bosworth and his subsequent marriage to Elizabeth of York became by far the biggest land owner in England and thus richer and more powerful than many of his predecessors. This allowed him to ignore parliament and run the country with only his few key advisors in his Privy Council. He was never a likable figure but was honest and shrewd and without question one of the most effective of all English Kings creating the stable environment after years of international and civil wars.