He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. [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. [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. These bonds were enforced by the Council Learned in the Law, a council of legal advisers who were only answerable to the King. On 7th August 1485, he dropped anchor at Mill Bay, Milford Haven, and when he reached the beach he prayed Judge me, O Lord, and favour my cause. The odds were stacked against him in his quest to take the throne of England. Here is a rundown of the programme for those who missed it. So 4 stars. His claim to the throne was tenuous and permanently contested. 7.1 59min 2013 16+. 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. Happy St Davids Day! However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. Two themes of his book preside: the permanent vulnerability of Henry's regime, and his ruthless methods of rule. Thus, the two warring houses were joined in marriage. Consultant editor for the. "King Henry VII" redirects here. [5], The descent of Henry's mother, Margaret, through the legitimised House of Beaufort bolstered Henry's claim to the English throne. Thomas Penns Winter King in a brilliant mash-up of gothic horror and political biography. Henry VII is also known as Henry Tudor. 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. $14.97 1 Used from $14.96 3 New from $14.97. 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. 4. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth of York. People saw him as being like a traditional king and hoped that his reign would bring positive change. Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, Englanddied January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509-47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. The research was thorough and it was presented well and kept me engaged. Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. However, King Henry the VIII was much more self-centered as most of his spending was inappropriate and did not benefit England much. 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. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. He cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV. This is why he named the book the "Winter King". Before Henry VIII, English kings were addressed as "Your Grace" or "Your Highness.". Henry VII, also called (145785) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (14851509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. With Elizabeth's death, the possibilities for such family indulgences greatly diminished. [79], Amiable and high-spirited, Henry was friendly if dignified in manner, and it was clear that he was extremely intelligent. She was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (fourth son of Edward III), and his third wife Katherine Swynford. It was presented by historian Thomas Penn, author of Winter King and was an excellent examination of the King who, as Penn pointed out, tend to be eclipsed by Richard III, the glamour and notoriety of Henry VIII and the charisma of Elizabeth I. Until the death of his wife, the evidence is clear from these accounting books that Henry was a more doting father and husband than was widely known and there is evidence that his outwardly austere personality belied a devotion to his family. Elizabeth did get pregnant, but then went into premature labour. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.[a]. [58], Henry's principal problem was to restore royal authority in a realm recovering from the Wars of the Roses. (HIST003) Persecutions, Populations and Politics: Early Modern Britain 1550-1750, (HIST004) Country, Colonies and Culture: Early Modern Britain 1550-1750, (HIST006) The Stuart Court: History Politics and Culture, (HIST010) The Tudors: History, Culture and Religion, (HIST011) The English Country House: History, Architecture and Landscape, (HIST018) The Changing English Countryside, 20th Century Musicals: A Celebration of Song and Dance on the Silver Screen and the Stage. In my never-ending quest to read possibly every single published book on the Tudor monarchy, I spied this little gem a few weeks ago and picked it up. Many of the entries show a man who loosened his purse strings generously for his wife and children, and not just on necessities: in spring 1491 he spent a great amount of gold on a lute for his daughter Mary; the following year he spent money on a lion for Elizabeth's menagerie. Some of them have more to say than Penn about the constructive sides of the reign, which developed the state-building methods of his Yorkist predecessors. In 1501, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, coups . The Lancastrian Henry and his Yorkist wife Elizabeth strove to reconcile the factions, but unreconciled Yorkists, to whom he was no more than a usurper, harassed his reign. Even if the king outfaced his enemies in his lifetime, would they not forestall a Tudor succession? I found this really interesting, but Im a history nut. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. This meant that Henry had been the rightful King in the battle and that Richard had been the usurper, and those who supported him had been traitors. But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The treaty marks a shift from neutrality over the French invasion of Brittany to active intervention against it. He rewrote history by backdating his reign to 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth Field. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. Interesting look at the founder of the Tudor dynesty. As his mother was only 14 when he was born and soon married again, Henry was brought up by his uncle Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke. Henry VII, also called (1457-85) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (1485-1509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. Four different kinds of cryptocurrencies you should know. By 1500, Henry felt safer and things were looking good. Dydd Gyl Dewi Hapus! Omissions? Most often asked questions related to bitcoin. An easy read? 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. Up to a point, he succeeded. I am glad to say that I think it does, for it concentrates on the reign, and court, of Henry VII, giving a different slant to the well known story. He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. I really enjoyed it. This book is a nonfiction look at King Henry the VII. Based on the terms of the accord, Henry sent 6000 troops to fight (at the expense of Brittany) under the command of Lord Daubeney. Though this was not achieved during his reign, the marriage eventually led to the union of the English and Scottish crowns under Margaret's great-grandson, James VI and I, following the death of Henry's granddaughter Elizabeth I. of course, a large proportion of my opinion is probably due to the fact that i knew a lot about henry vii already, and Penn tried to create quite a thrilling/mysterious feel, which is all well and good if you don't already know how everything plays out. 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. 1845. 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. The money so extracted added to the King's personal fortune rather than being used for the stated purpose. 'Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520,' a painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek. [11] When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. Stanley was accused of supporting Warbeck's cause, arrested and later executed. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. He likens the beginning of Henry VIII's reign to a metaphorical spring, a second coming of sorts because Henry VIII seemed to be the opposite of his father. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. Stanleys betrayal led to a complete security overhaul and his privy chamber going into lockdown. At the same time, Flemish merchants were ejected from England. Thomas Penn's Winter King is not really a biography of Henry VII, and more a study of what he was directing his government to do in his name. This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses which had brought instability to England. Henry was devastated. His dynasty was hanging by a thread and all his hopes had to rest on his youngest son, Henry, and Elizabeth of York producing another son, a spare. Its restoration by the Magnus Intercursus was very much to England's benefit in removing taxation for English merchants and significantly increasing England's wealth. Loyalty was ensured, and the nobility was effectively neuteredand Henry became the richest monarch in Europe. [citation needed], In 1506, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller Emery d'Amboise asked Henry VII to become the protector and patron of the Order, as he had an interest in the crusade. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII. [37], For most of Henry VII's reign Edward Story was Bishop of Chichester. Backdating Henry's Reign. What old December's bareness every where! Hidden under the floor in St George's Chapel in Windsor, England where thousands of people walk every day, a forgotten tomb lies. Henry showed remarkable clemency to the surviving rebels: he pardoned Kildare and the other Irish nobles, and he made the boy, Simnel, a servant in the royal kitchen where he was in charge of roasting meats on a spit. Henry marries Catherine of Aragon. Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. Shakespeare, drawn to the colour on either side of the reign, skipped it. He had gone from a refugee landing on an isolated beach in Wales to being a great king. 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. And yet this time removed was summer's time, The teeming autumn, big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burden of the prime, Like widow'd wombs after their lords . It was propaganda to spread the message that he was the rightful King. Edward, Earl of Warwick, the ten-year-old son of Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, was the senior surviving male of the House of York. The rest, as we say, is history; Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor had arrived out of nowhere and avenged the death of the little princes in the tower, although there is some debate as to who was actually responsible for their murder. After the Holy Roman Emperor . The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. [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. Its inhabitant was once one of England's most exuberant kings, yet his resting place was only re-discovered in 1813. There are an awful lot of books written about the Tudor era, both fiction and non-fiction, so you have to ask whether this book adds anything new. [citation needed] Following the example of Edward IV, Henry VII created a Council of Wales and the Marches for his son Arthur, which was intended to govern Wales and the Marches, Cheshire and Cornwall. How did a precariously enthroned ruler, lacking a police force or a standing army, manage to run roughshod over the law? [54], Henry VII was much enriched by trading alum, which was used in the wool and cloth trades as a chemical fixative for dyeing fabrics. Henrys Chamber Accounts show payment to strangers and people across the sea, who appear to have been part of a network of spies and informers who kept an eye on potential troublemakers and alerted the King. 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). England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and countercoups. [20] He amassed an army of about 5,0006,000 soldiers. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Detailed Information. "[73] Further compounding Henry's distress, his older daughter Margaret had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland and within months of her mother's death she had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . All the information is from Thomas Penn. He made huge gobs of money binding his subjects to him with loyalty bonds. Hed achieved the impossible, hed risen from refugee to King of England. Through luck, guile, and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, emerged as rulerbut as a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne, he remained a usurper and false king to many, and his hold on power was precarious. [26] Henry married Elizabeth of York with the hope of uniting the Yorkist and Lancastrian sides of the Plantagenet dynastic disputes, and he was largely successful. By the way, dont forget that Ian Mortimers Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is on tonight on BBC2 at 9pm. [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. The 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. (1): (April 24, 1883. [citation needed], Henry honoured his pledge of December 1483 to marry Elizabeth of York and the wedding took place in 1486 at Westminster Abbey. Henry VIII Books Exploring the Best Books on Englands Most Infamous King, 18 February 1516 The birth of Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He had to pay a 500 fine to save himself, to buy a pardon for the crime. Bacon wanted the future Charles I to learn from Henry's reign, but the financial methods that would provoke fatal opposition to Charles look pale beside the exactions levied by Henry from often innocent subjects, who were denied legal process or threatened with trumped-up prosecutions and had to buy their freedom (though at moments of apparently impending death the king would repent of his methods and have the jails cleared and pardons issued). There were some sections I had to skim because I didn't feel they were relevant to the storyline, but mostly I was hooked into this very complex King. 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. The rebellion began in Ireland, where the historically Yorkist nobility, headed by the powerful Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, proclaimed Simnel king and provided troops for his invasion of England. Yorkist malcontents had strength in the north of England and in Ireland and had a powerful ally in Richard IIIs sister Margaret, dowager duchess of Burgundy. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. The rebellion was defeated and Lincoln killed at the Battle of Stoke. His host was Francis, the Duke of Brittany, who saw Henry Tudor as a pawn in the game between Edward VI and the King of France. However, as France was becoming more concerned with the Italian Wars, the French were happy to agree to the Treaty of Etaples. He spent his entire reign fixated on eliminating or disarming his enemies, and stabilizing England after the bloody, seemingly endless War of the Roses. The reigns of his three predecessors were interrupted or foreshortened. Thank you for subscribing. They were third cousins, as both were great-great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt. 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.