How did Henry Tudor become king of England?

The Tudors – Henry VII, 1485-1509

In this course, Dr Sean Cunningham (The National Archives) explores the reign of Henry VII through eight key questions: (1) How did Henry Tudor become king of England?; (2) Did Henry rely too heavily on his friends for support?; (3) How secure was Henry’s throne by 1500?; (4) To what extent was the period 1502-3 a turning point in Henry’s reign?; (5) How useful were bonds and recognizances in keeping Henry VII on the throne?; (6) Did Henry VII fail as king of England?; (7) Was Henry VII a miser?; and (8) How innovative was Henry VII?

How did Henry Tudor become king of England?

In this module, we track Henry’s path from a relative unknown to becoming king of England in 1485, focusing in particular on: (i) Henry’s royal ancestry: his relation to John of Gaunt via his mother and to Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V, via his father; (ii) his early life in the Herbert household, and his mother’s marriages to Sir Henry Stafford (1458-71) and Thomas Stanley (1472-1504); (iii) the political tumult of the 1470s; (iv) the extent to which Henry’s political fortunes change with the premature death of Edward IV in 1483 and the accession of Richard III; (v) the unpopularity of Richard’s rule and the creation of a court in exile in Brittany, centred on Henry; (vi) Henry’s return to England in 1485 and his defeat of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field; and (vii) the threats facing Henry in 1485.