Henry IV had confirmed Richard IIs legitimation (1397) of the children of this union but had specifically excluded the Beauforts from any claim to the throne (1407). From 1527 Henry pursued what became known as "the King's great matter": his divorce from Catherine. : (April 25, 1883. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until her death on February 11th, 1503. More wrote that this King is loved and compared Henrys accession to the coming of a new season, a new spring following a winter of repression. (We certainly can, and do, decide what sort of king Henry was based on what he had his government get up to, however.). [51], Henry VII was one of the first European monarchs to recognise the importance of the newly united Spanish kingdom; he concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo, by which his son Arthur, Prince of Wales, was married to Catherine of Aragon. Author of, Assistant Master and Professor of History, Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. The money so extracted added to the King's personal fortune rather than being used for the stated purpose. [12], Henry lived in the Herbert household until 1469, when Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"), went over to the Lancastrians. [17] Now supported by Francis II's prime minister, Pierre Landais, Richard III attempted to extradite Henry from Brittany, but Henry escaped to France. [33], In 1490, a young Fleming, Perkin Warbeck, appeared and claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, the younger of the "Princes in the Tower". He attained the throne when his forces, supported by France, Scotland, and Wales, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.[a]. He was the founder of the Tudor dynasty, and his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville brought together the too sides that were facing off during the Wars of the Roses (the Lancasters and the Yorks) basically uniting the two houses into a single family. Several of Richard's key allies, such as Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, and also Lord Stanley and his brother William, crucially switched sides or left the battlefield. 1509. Scapegoats were needed for Henry VIIs reign, people to blame for the old regime, so Edmund Dudley was imprisoned and executed on trumped up charges. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "King Henry VII" redirects here. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Accordingly, he arranged a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. Henry had only been accepted as King because the Princes in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV, were dead, so when Yorkist exiles groomed Perkin Warbeck to pose as one of the princes and raised an army it was a huge threat. Henry VII, grown rich from Morton's Fork and other squeezes, was far from a bumpkin trying to break into the royal circles of western Europe--he was being courted, and he knew very well to play Castile (Hapsburg) and Aragon off against one another after Isabella died (and Catherine might very well have been packed off home to marry someone else, it was common). No. It was propaganda to spread the message that he was the rightful King. [59][60][61], He was content to allow the nobles their regional influence if they were loyal to him. According to John M. Currin, the treaty redefined Anglo-Breton relations. Henry VII (28 January 1457 21 April 1509) was King of England from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. Henry VII - History Learning Site Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. Henry was building a myth, the idea that he and his family were the true royal blood of England. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. Before taking the throne, he was known as Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond. Henry VII was born on 28 January 1457 at Pembroke Castle, in the English-speaking portion of Pembrokeshire known as Little England beyond Wales. Henry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. Penn pointed out that for over half a century no king had passed on the crown without turmoil and Henry knew that what had happened to Richard could happen to him. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. He took care not to address the baronage or summon Parliament until after his coronation, which took place in Westminster Abbey on 30 October 1485. Henry VII | Biography & Facts | Britannica ), The Reign of Henry VII. Henry attained the throne when his forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. By the way, dont forget that Ian Mortimers Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is on tonight on BBC2 at 9pm. Prince Arthur was born just eight months after his parents marriage, at Winchester, the seat of King Arthurs Camelot. Indeed he was born in winter, on January 28th 1457, in Pembroke Castle, in Wales and that is one of the reasons why the Welsh dragon always formed part of his insignia. Having established his claim to be king in his own right, he married Elizabeth of York on January 18, 1486. It's difficult to get a handle on Henry VII. [2] His father died three months before his birth. Pembroke Castle, and later the Earldom of Pembroke, were granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who also assumed the guardianship of Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. They were also in charge of various administrative duties, such as the checking of weights and measures. There's a lot of cloak-and-dagger stuff here, something Henry and certain of his counselors seemed especially skilled at, and it was those parts that I particularly enjoyed. [45], Henry VII established the pound avoirdupois as a standard of weight; it later became part of the Imperial[46] and customary systems of units. It is a sobering reflection for professional historians that the apparently unpromising territory of Henry's reign has recently produced two memorable books, both of them written outside their ranks: this one, and Ann Wroe's biography of the pretender, Perkin (2003), a longer work on a shorter subject. - and that was only about 50% of the book, it was only about 50% interesting to me. Henry VII Facts, Information & Biography - Tudor Monarchs - English History Henry started a new policy to recover Guyenne and other lost Plantagenet claims in France. What did the people of England think of Henry VIII? - eNotes.com The king's own death seven years later had to be kept secret until his nervous entourage had ensured the succession. Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England Hed achieved the impossible, hed risen from refugee to King of England. These laws were used shrewdly in levying fines upon those that he perceived as threats. [44] Following Henry VII's death, Henry VIII executed Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, his two most hated tax collectors, on trumped-up charges of treason. I picked this audiobook up because it was narrated by Simon Vance. It is not known precisely where Cabot landed, but he was eventually rewarded with a pension from the king; it is presumed that Cabot perished at sea after a later unsuccessful expedition. Penn showed a genealogical roll that had belonged to the de la Pole family which showed Henry VI being the end of the Lancastrian line and the Yorkist line continuing on to Richard III. [36] However, he spared Warwick's elder sister Margaret, who survived until 1541 when she was executed by Henry VIII. He was the last king of England to win . An ally of Henry's, Viscount Jean du Qulennec[fr], soon arrived, bringing news that Francis had recovered, and in the confusion Henry was able to flee to a monastery. Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. Today is Shrove Tuesday time for pancakes! Penn ended the programme by visiting the tombs of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in Henrys chapel at Westminster Abbey, a chapel that remains at the heart of political life. [68] In 1505 he was sufficiently interested in a potential marriage to Joanna of Naples that he sent ambassadors to Naples to report on the 27-year-old Joanna's physical suitability. Henry spared Richard's nephew and designated heir, John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, and made the Yorkist heiress Margaret Plantagenet Countess of Salisbury suo jure. The country was in a perpetual state of emergency and Henrys subjects were scared and resentful. Musings on History - Henry VII - Learn for Pleasure [37], For most of Henry VII's reign Edward Story was Bishop of Chichester. In 1502 the death of his heir Arthur left the dynasty's prospects with Arthur's 10-year-old brother, Henry. When the Lancastrian cause crashed to disaster at the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471), Jasper took the boy out of the country and sought refuge in the duchy of Brittany. Henry VII: Winter King was aired last night on BBC2 and was the latest programme in BBC2s Tudor Court Season. Henry was the only child of Edmund Tudor , Earl of Richmond , and Margaret Beaufort . Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses. For inheriting an unstable throne, holding it for 25 year and leaving England relatively stable, Henry VII deserves his own biography and a lot more credit. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497 and executed. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Years of instability, factionalism and his predecessors' penchant for war had seen royal finances severely battered. Henry then consolidated his reign with magnificent architecture, an opulent household and money. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, had clambered to the top of the heap--a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. [citation needed], Henry also made some political capital out of his Welsh ancestry in attracting military support and safeguarding his army's passage through Wales on its way to the Battle of Bosworth. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Penn went on to show Henry VIIs wax funeral effigy, which I saw on my recent trip to London, and which shows his fine-boned features and his crooked eye, but also a face bearing the signs of stress and illness. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. The dispute eventually paid off for Henry. He had brought the country to the brink of dynastic ambition, but not quite, so his closest advisers kept his death secret until St Georges Day, the annual meeting of the Order of the Garter. The devastated King became so ill that he was close to death, but then he recovered and Penn explains that when he took control once more, he was remorseless. [citation needed] Henry also formed an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (14931519) and persuaded Pope Innocent VIII to issue a papal bull of excommunication against all pretenders to Henry's throne. [34], When the King's agents searched the property of William Stanley (Chamberlain of the Household, with direct access to Henry VII) they found a bag of coins amounting to around 10,000 and a collar of livery with Yorkist garnishings. His father, Henry VII, was a cold, calculating man (he wasn't called "the Winter King" for nothing), a greedy monarch who during his last years on the throne had squeezed every last drop. Celebrating the release of The Colour of Bone A London Charnel House. It was a fantastic programme and I highly recommend Thomas Penns book on Henry VII Winter King. Their main aim was money. Henry VII: The Winter King. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. It took Henry, who in any case needed to marry her if the expected issue was to solve the succession problem, some six years to achieve their joint purpose. Henry VII is known for successfully ending the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and for founding the Tudor dynasty. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. I thought the way he controled the nobility was fascinating - keeping them in check as well a raising vast sums of money at the same time. Henry VII was born in Pembroke Castle , Wales, on January 28 th, 1457. Stephens, "affords some illustrations of the avaricious and parsimonious character of the king". Quite ambitious in nature, Thomas Penn attempts to write a portrait of Henry VII and his reign. [79], Amiable and high-spirited, Henry was friendly if dignified in manner, and it was clear that he was extremely intelligent. The Merchant Adventurers, the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from Antwerp to Calais. [41] Henry also increased wealth by acquiring land through the act of resumption of 1486 which had been delayed as he focused on defence of the Church, his person and his realm. The usurpation of Richard III (1483), however, split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. The usual courts and justice system were totally circumvented, and there was no chance of appeal other than purchasing extremely high priced royal pardons. Yet Henry's techniques of power went beyond the needs of surveillance and survival. His second son, also called Henry, inherited the throne and became . They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. I'm not giving this a star rating because I suspect it's me at fault not the book. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV; and the coalition of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued, helped by French support, since Richard III talked of invading France. Doubtless the plotters were encouraged by the deaths of Henrys sons in 1500 and 1502 and of his wife in 1503. February 7 Sir Francis Bryan loses an eye and Henry VIII has a new love, An interview with historical novelist Sandra Byrd, Henry VIII and His Six Wives event open for registration. [29] Henry secured his crown principally by dividing and undermining the power of the nobility, especially through the aggressive use of bonds and recognisances to secure loyalty. [64] This made Henry VII's second son, Henry, Duke of York, heir apparent to the throne. Get help and learn more about the design. [32], Next, in 1487, Yorkists led by Lincoln rebelled in support of Lambert Simnel, a boy they claimed to be Edward of Warwick (who was actually a prisoner in the Tower). Amateur historians Bertram Fields and Sir Clements Markham have claimed that he may have been involved in the murder of the Princes in the Tower, as the repeal of Titulus Regius gave the Princes a stronger claim to the throne than his own. It was no easy feat. The rebellion was defeated and Lincoln killed at the Battle of Stoke. Martin Luther 95 thesis. Read all Directors Giulia Clark Stuart Elliott Writers Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? - AnswersAll The future Henry VIII, in contrast,. He was the only child of Lady Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond. I had an idea Henry VII was a force for stability; in fact he was a terrifying kleptocrat, abusing the law with arbitrary fines and imprisonment, scheming to effectively steal entire estates and wring every penny out of subjects as well as impose political control through financial means. Their chief task was to see that the laws of the country were obeyed in their area. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. What are the differences between Henry VII and Henry VIII? $14.97 1 Used from $14.96 3 New from $14.97. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. [77][78] His mother died two months later on 29 June 1509. Henry was also worried by the treason of Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the eldest surviving son of Edward IVs sister Elizabeth, who fled to the Netherlands (1499) and was supported by Maximilian. The treaty marks a shift from neutrality over the French invasion of Brittany to active intervention against it. Henry VII was king of England from 1485 to 1509. Penn notes something else about the paeans on the son's accession: later in the Tudor period, apologists for the regime would remember Henry VII as the restorer of national peace and unity, but in 1509 it was the king's death, not his rule, that was held to have ended a long era of dark instability. After winning the throne of England, he wed Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of the dead Yorkist king Edward IV. Henry Tudor is a familiar name to students of English history, especially the military side of it. I would read more by this author. He paid very close attention to detail, and instead of spending lavishly he concentrated on raising new revenues. The rebels were defeated (June 1487) in a hard-fought battle at Stoke (East Stoke, near Newark in Nottinghamshire), where the doubtful loyalty of some of the royal troops was reminiscent of Richard IIIs difficulties at Bosworth. It was not until 1506, when he imprisoned Suffolk in the Tower of London, that Henry could at last feel safe. [58], Henry's principal problem was to restore royal authority in a realm recovering from the Wars of the Roses. To say the least, Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England is quite an interesting read. The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. Henry marries Catherine of Aragon. On the debit side, he may have looked a little delicate as he suffered from poor health. [citation needed], Henry honoured his pledge of December 1483 to marry Elizabeth of York and the wedding took place in 1486 at Westminster Abbey. MP3 CD. His claim to the throne was tenuous and permanently contested. In many ways, it highlights that Henry VIII was a feckless inheritor of the tools of Machiavellian power, but had no idea to what productive end to put them. Supported at one time or another by France, by Maximilian I of Austria, regent of the Netherlands (Holy Roman emperor from 1493), by James IV of Scotland, and by powerful men in both Ireland and England, Perkin three times invaded England before he was captured at Beaulieu in Hampshire in 1497. From his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, to his secret death and the succession of his son Henry VIII, the film reveals the ruthless tactics . [19] He marched toward England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. How did a precariously enthroned ruler, lacking a police force or a standing army, manage to run roughshod over the law? [13] When Warwick restored Henry VI in 1470, Jasper Tudor returned from exile and brought Henry to court. He was, said Penn, a man who never knew a moments peace during his reign. [6] Henry IV's action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it weakened Henry's claim.