Henry VII’s legacy was based upon many things which earned him the tle of the ‘Miser
King’. These consisted of a shrewd a tude towards the crown's nancial posi on, a peaceful
as well as economical approach to foreign policy accompanied by a councillor form of
government. Although overall, Henry VIII did destroy some of his father’s legacy by his
approach towards the aforemen oned points, he did also remove some of the nega ve
aspects of his father’s reign.
One aspect which Henry VII changed from his father’s reign was the approach to nances.
Henry VII was renowned for his frugal a tude and lack of spending of royal revenue. As a
result, Henry VIII inherited £300,000 upon his father’s death, but this dissolved completely
a er the Ba le of Flodden in 1513. Also, Henry VII was known for his devious methods to
raise taxes such as u lising the council learned and his hatchet men Empson and Dudley to
raise nance. Therefore in order to distance himself from this, Henry VIII had the council
learned abolished by an act of parliament in 1501 whilst also execu ng Empson and Dudley.
Following on from this, Henry VIII sold o crown lands and crown proper es soon a er his
ascension at a discounted price, this meant that the crown had made losses on property -
something that would never be permi ed under Henry VII’s reign. This shows how Henry VIII
destroyed his father’s legacy in terms of nance and possessed a stark contrast in a tude to
his father’s. This ul mately meant that Henry VIII became desperate for nance later on in
his reign.
Henry VIII also di ered from his father in terms of his approach to governing the country. His
father was known for how assiduous he was in governing the country with the help of
councillors whom he trusted would help him make the correct decisions. This also meant
that Henry VII had a be er understanding of what was occurring within his kingdom. Henry
VIII did also possess a councillor form of government from 1509-1514, however he was less
involved then his father. This is because Henry VIII was said to have had a distaste for
government a airs and believed it to be below him and therefore he chose to delegate his
responsibili es so that he could spend more me par cipa ng in royal ac vi es such as
jous ng. Ul mately, this ‘Hands o ’ approach resulted in men such as Cromwell and Wolsey
domina ng the government, however this occurred past 1514. Although the main func on
of parliament (to grant revenue) was the same it can be argued that Henry VIII destroyed his
father’s legacy because Henry didn’t engage in governmental a airs nor share the same
work ethic his father possessed.
Henry VII also spent his reign focused on establishing his image as a warrior king, and thus
he destroyed his father’s legacy, who was circumspect when it came to issues rela ng peace
and foreign a airs. Henry VII understood that peace would maintain his nancial posi on
and that in comparison with great powers such as France and the Holy Roman Empire, that
England was weak and thus he saw no value from pursuing an aggressive foreign policy
campaign. However Henry VIII did not share the same views as his father demonstrated in
King’. These consisted of a shrewd a tude towards the crown's nancial posi on, a peaceful
as well as economical approach to foreign policy accompanied by a councillor form of
government. Although overall, Henry VIII did destroy some of his father’s legacy by his
approach towards the aforemen oned points, he did also remove some of the nega ve
aspects of his father’s reign.
One aspect which Henry VII changed from his father’s reign was the approach to nances.
Henry VII was renowned for his frugal a tude and lack of spending of royal revenue. As a
result, Henry VIII inherited £300,000 upon his father’s death, but this dissolved completely
a er the Ba le of Flodden in 1513. Also, Henry VII was known for his devious methods to
raise taxes such as u lising the council learned and his hatchet men Empson and Dudley to
raise nance. Therefore in order to distance himself from this, Henry VIII had the council
learned abolished by an act of parliament in 1501 whilst also execu ng Empson and Dudley.
Following on from this, Henry VIII sold o crown lands and crown proper es soon a er his
ascension at a discounted price, this meant that the crown had made losses on property -
something that would never be permi ed under Henry VII’s reign. This shows how Henry VIII
destroyed his father’s legacy in terms of nance and possessed a stark contrast in a tude to
his father’s. This ul mately meant that Henry VIII became desperate for nance later on in
his reign.
Henry VIII also di ered from his father in terms of his approach to governing the country. His
father was known for how assiduous he was in governing the country with the help of
councillors whom he trusted would help him make the correct decisions. This also meant
that Henry VII had a be er understanding of what was occurring within his kingdom. Henry
VIII did also possess a councillor form of government from 1509-1514, however he was less
involved then his father. This is because Henry VIII was said to have had a distaste for
government a airs and believed it to be below him and therefore he chose to delegate his
responsibili es so that he could spend more me par cipa ng in royal ac vi es such as
jous ng. Ul mately, this ‘Hands o ’ approach resulted in men such as Cromwell and Wolsey
domina ng the government, however this occurred past 1514. Although the main func on
of parliament (to grant revenue) was the same it can be argued that Henry VIII destroyed his
father’s legacy because Henry didn’t engage in governmental a airs nor share the same
work ethic his father possessed.
Henry VII also spent his reign focused on establishing his image as a warrior king, and thus
he destroyed his father’s legacy, who was circumspect when it came to issues rela ng peace
and foreign a airs. Henry VII understood that peace would maintain his nancial posi on
and that in comparison with great powers such as France and the Holy Roman Empire, that
England was weak and thus he saw no value from pursuing an aggressive foreign policy
campaign. However Henry VIII did not share the same views as his father demonstrated in
