How the Tudors Came to Power

Henry VII's Struggle for the Crown which Ended the Wars of the Roses

Nov 24, 2008

The rise to power of a Welshman who had only a weak claim to the throne, but ended the Wars of the Roses and started one of the most famous dynasties in history.

Difficult Birth

When Henry Tudor was born at Pembroke Castle on the 28th of January 1459 his future looked far from promising. His mother, Margaret Beaufort, was only thirteen when she gave birth, thereby permanently damaging her body. His father, Edmund Tudor, had died two months before the birth after a feud with a local magnate. Margaret had therefore sought refuge with Edmund's brother Jasper at Pembroke.

Family

Edmund Tudor was the oldest son of Owen (or Owain) Tudor and Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V and mother to king Henry VI, and it was this connection to the crown that earned Edmund the title Earl of Richmond, whilst his brother Jasper became the Earl of Pembroke. Henry VI was a Lancastrian, and Jasper stayed loyal to his king and family, but when the Yorkist Edward IV came to the throne in 1471, Jasper had to flee to Brittany for safety, and he took his young nephew Henry with him, to keep safe the only remaining Lancastrian claimant for the throne.

Claim to the Throne

Henry derived this claim from his mother, who was a distant relation to John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster. But as a Welshman (although he was officially only a quarter Welsh through his paternal grandfather, he was considered a Welshman and lived the first fourteen years of his life in Wales) he was heavily influenced by the Welsh bards and their genealogies and prophetic poetry, and he also argued his claim to the throne through his lineage of the old British kings, going as far back as King Cadwallader in the 8th century.

In Brittany, Henry gathered his Lancastrian supporters around him, but as long as the strong Edward IV would be on the throne, Henry's claim was too weak and any attempt to usurp the crown doomed to fail. But when Edward died in 1483 and was succeeded by his brother Richard, possibilities opened up for Henry. Richard III was an unpopular king, due mainly to the rumours that he had killed his nephews to claim to the throne for himself (the famous Princes in the Tower). In December Henry pledged in Rennes Cathedral that once (not if!) he was king, he would marry the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth, thereby uniting the roses of York and Lancaster and ending the Wars of the Roses.

Henry's first attempt to return to England and attack Richard was in 1483 after an invitation of the Duke of Buckingham, but when his ship approached the English coast, Henry realised the trap set by Richard, whose soldiers were pretending to be Buckinham's men, and he sailed back.

Henry's second attempt was supported by the French king, who was happy to weaken the English regime, who gave Henry ships and soldiers to fight Richard. But the 2000 French soldiers would not be enough to defeat Richards troops: Henry would need more soldiers.

Henry's strategic landing place was at Mill Bay (Milford Haven) in Wales, where he was hoping to gain the support of his countrymen with the prophetic poetry and his descendance from the old British kings. Henry marched through Wales, slowly increasing his troops. Many Welshmen came to his aide, but by the time Henry reached Bosworth in Leicestershire on the 22nd of August 1485 he was heavily outnumbered by Richards army.

Battle of Bosworth

Henry seemed set to fail, but when the battle began, two English noblemen, Thomas and William Stanley (who was married to Henry's mother Margaret) changed sides and joined Henry and his Lancastrian troops. Although the outcome of the battle was still far from decided, Richard was shocked and chose to ride out and decide the battle by killing Henry himself. But just before he could get to Henry, Richard was killed by Henry's men. Henry was proclaimed king Henry VII on the field, and Richards crown was placed on his head.

As promised, Henry married Elisabeth of York. Although his reign was weak at first - he had to fight off several rebellions, the most famous ones the Perkin Warbeck and Lamert Simnel revolts - but he did manage to end the Wars of the Roses and stabilise the country. Henry's oldest son, named Arthur after the mythical Welsh king, died before his father, so when Henry VII died in 1509 the Tudor dynasty was continued by his other son, Henry VIII.

The copyright of the article How the Tudors Came to Power in Tudor History is owned by Stefanie Van Stokkom. Permission to republish How the Tudors Came to Power in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.