Henry VII was born at Pembroke Palace, in Wales, on January 28, 1457 to Edmund Tudor, the Earl of Richmond and Lady Margaret Beaufort.
The Family History of Henry VII
Henry’s paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor had been a court page during the reign of Henry V. He had distinguished himself at Agincourt during the height of the Hundred Years’ War and became a Squire to the Body of the King. Primary sources claim that Owen Tudor secretly married Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V, following the King’s sudden death. Among their many children was Henry’s father, Edmund Tudor.
Henry’s claim to the English crown originated with his mother. Henry’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort was a member of the House of Beaufort and the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, the founder of the House of Lancaster, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Katherine Swynford had been Gaunt’s mistress for more than 25 years. By the time they got married in 1396, Katherine Swynford had already given birth to four children, including Henry’s grandfather, John Beaufort. As a result, Henry’s claim to the Crown was tenuous at best, as it came through a woman and by illegitimate descent.
In 1397, Richard II legitimized the children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford through the issuing of letters patent. In 1407, Henry IV issued further letters patent, restoring the legitimacy of his half-siblings, but excluding them from the succession at the same time. However, the legalities of Henry’s actions were somewhat redundant as the Beauforts had previously been declared legitimate by an act of Parliament.
The Early Life of Henry VII
Despite this, by 1483, Henry VII was the senior male claimant from the House of Lancaster for the English Crown, as a result of the death of Henry VI, along with the death of his son, Edward, the Prince of Wales and other members of his extended family. Henry took advantage of his Welsh ancestry, attracting military and political support, and securing safe passage through Wales for his army before the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry came from an old Anglesey family that claimed descent from the last native king of the Britions. Despite court propaganda, Henry’s connection to the Welsh nobility was tenuous at best. Henry was several generations removed from the seneschal of the King of Deheubarth, in South Wales. Henry was more directly descended from Tudur ap Goronwy, who had aristocratic land rights. However, his sons sided with Owain Glyndwr during his uprising. After Owain Glyndwr’s rebellion was crushed, one of Tudur’s sons was put to death and the family land reverted to the Crown. At the same time, Henry’s great-grandfather found employment with the Bishop of Bangor. Among Owen Tudor’s children was Henry’s father, who eventually married Catherine of Valois, after being taken in by Henry V. Despite his convoluted lineage, Welsh minstrels claimed that Henry was Y Mab Darogan, the Son of Prophesy, who would free the Welsh people from English oppression.
In 1456, Henry’s father, Edmund Tudor was captured fighting for Henry VI in south Wales against the House of York. He later died at Carmarthen Castle three months before Henry was born. Following the death of his father, Henry and his mother were left in the care of Edmund’s younger brother and Henry’s uncle, the Earl of Pembroke. When Edward IV became King of England in 1461, the Earl of Pembroke was forced into exile. Pembroke Castle and the Earldom of Pembroke were awarded to the Yorkist sympathizer William Herbert, who continued to care for Henry and his mother.
Henry continued to live at Pembroke Castle until 1469, after the Earl of Warwick defected to the House of Lancaster. Not long afterward, William Herbert was captured by the Lancastrians and put to death. In 1470, Henry VI resumed the kingship. Not long afterward, Henry’s uncle, Jasper Tudor, the former Earl of Pembroke, returned to England and brought his nephew to court. In 1471, Edward IV became the King of England and Henry was forced into exile. Henry would spend the next 14 years living in exile in Brittany.
The Rise of Henry VII
By 1483, Henry’s mother was actively promoting her son as an alternative to Richard III, despite the fact that she was married to a Yorkist lord.
On December 25, 1483, Henry promised to marry Elizabeth of York, the oldest daughter of Edward IV. Elizabeth had also become Edward’s heiress following the disappearance Edward V and the Duke of York, the so-called Princes in the Tower.
After receiving money and troops from the Duke of Brittany, Henry tried to invade England. However, his invasion failed and his primary supporter, the Duke of Buckingham was put to death. Following this, Richard III tried to have Henry extradited. In response, Henry fled to France, where he was welcomed at the court of the French King, who supplied him with troops and equipment for a second invasion of England.
Around the same time, Henry also formed an alliance with the Woodvilles, who had been in-laws of Edward IV. Henry sailed for England with a small French and Scottish force, landing in Mill Bay in Pembrokeshire. Not long after arriving in England, Henry was joined by his uncle, the Earl of Oxford. Upon receiving the news that Henry had landed in England, the Welsh quickly declared their support for Henry and he raised an army of 5,000 men.
Henry VII and the Death of Richard III
Henry’s best chance of seizing the Crown was to engage Richard and defeat him quickly before he could summon his reserve troops in Nottingham and Leicester. Additionally Richard only needed to avoid being killed in order to retain the Crown. Despite the fact that he was out numbered, Henry’s Lancastrian army won a decisive victory over Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Primary sources claim that Henry’s victory was due, at least in part, to the fact that several of Richard’s key allies, such as the Earl of Northumberland and William and Thomas Stanely, switched sides or withdrew from the battlefield, severely reducing the size of Richard’s army. The death of Richard III at Bosworth Field marked the end of the War of the Roses, the fall of the House of Plantagenet, and the last time an English King would die in combat. In spite of his victory, which paved the way for the rise of the House of Tudor, Henry VII continued to face problems during his reign.
Sources
Ashley, Mike. British Kings and Queens. Robinson: London.1998.
Terry Long - I hold degrees in history and journalism. In addition to my contributions to Suite 101, I have also written for the Brampton Bulletin, the ...
Join the Conversation