H7 Character -
● Respected, efficient, intelligent and shrewd but not popular he also developed a reputation for
greed; miser king
● Understood court politics and did not trust anyone outside of a small group of people
● Margaret Beaufort his mother, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Oxford, John Morton, and Richard Fox were
his closest confidants
● Loved his wife Elizabeth of York but gave her no political influence
Approach to kingship -
● Involved himself in everything even details of day to day government
● Checked all account entries himself
● Liked to double-check information he was given
Aims -
● Maintain a strong hold on his throne and pass it on to his heis to do this he had to:
● Establish his right to the throne, by winning Bosworth he had right of conquest but his own claim
was weak
● Control the nobility, Wars of the Roses had been caused by overmighty nobles and a weak king
● Strengthen the Crown’s control of England
● To achieve his aims Henry had to build a financially strong crown
Claim to the throne -
● Claim weak because; through his mother and she was descended from a once illegitimate branch
of Lancastrians
● Several Yorkist better claims than H7 - Elizabeth of York the eldest daughter of Edward IV,
Edward / Earl of Warwick who was Edward IV’s and Richard III’s nephew by their brother George,
John / Edmund and Richard de la Pole nephews of Edward IV and Richard III by their sister
duchess of Suffolk
Legitimising his reign -
● Dated his reign to 21st August 1485 the day before the battle of Bosworth
● Meant he could declare all Yorkists traitors and try them for treason
● Crown could therefore take Yorkist property
Coronation -
● Coronation on 30th October 1485
● Highly symbols event that anointed him by God’s grace
● Coronation involved England’s nobles all taking a public oath of loyalty to him
Parliament -
● First convened parliament 7th November 1485
● The date is important because Henry made sure he had already been crowned meaning his
authority was not dependent on parliament
, Marriage -
● 18th January 1486 Henry married Elizabeth of York
● Significant because it united the warring families of Lancaster and York any descendent
would come from both houses
● A child would mean the Tudor legacy would live on after Henry
● Because he was already king, Henry made sure his authority was not linked to
Elizabeth’s heritage
Lambert Simnel -
● Pretended to be Edward, Earl of Warwick
● Welcomed in Ireland by Earl of Kildare and crowned king of England there
● Real Earl of Warwick alive a rebellion still erupted
● Rebels led by Earl of Lincoln fought Henry’s forces at Battle of Stoke 1487
● Several leading Yorkists killed and Simnel arrested
● Henry capitalised on the death of leading Yorkists and gained oaths of loyalties from other
yorkists
Perkin Warbeck -
● Pretended to be Richard Duke of York the younger son of Edward IV who disappeared in 1483
● Welcomed in France until Treaty of Etaples and later Burgundy
● 1497 Warbeck allied himself to James IV of Scotland
● Landed in England and tried to gain support
● Executed 1499 along with Edward, Earl of Warwick
● Henry abel to make useful foreign alliances as he dealt with Warbeck
Edmund de la Pole -
● Unlike others had a genuine claim to the throne
● Had grievances to Henry; lost some land to the Crown and had to pay a relief of £5000 and was
denoted from Duke to Earl
● Fled England for HRE 1501
● Henry arrested members of his family and friends
● 1506 Henry negotiated handing over of Edmund from HRE, agreed not to execute him
● De la pole stayed in the tower of london till he was executed 1513
Historian Jez Ross - Henry never in serious danger of losing his throne to either a rebellion or a
conspiracy, first those seeking the throne needed to be credible and viable alternatives to him, second
Henry had to be isolated and there needed to be enough domestic support for an invasion to ensure that i
did not look like a self-interested act of political speculation by either foreing powers or isolated English
malcontents.
Royal council -
● Advised Henry and helped him with day to day government
● Although 227 men listed it was a much smaller group that met
● John Morton and Reginald Bray were two important councillors
Council Learned in Law -
● Very unpopular
● Aim to pursue Henry’s feudal rights - various financial payments and soldiers owed to the
monarch for return to land he owned and distributed
● Respected, efficient, intelligent and shrewd but not popular he also developed a reputation for
greed; miser king
● Understood court politics and did not trust anyone outside of a small group of people
● Margaret Beaufort his mother, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Oxford, John Morton, and Richard Fox were
his closest confidants
● Loved his wife Elizabeth of York but gave her no political influence
Approach to kingship -
● Involved himself in everything even details of day to day government
● Checked all account entries himself
● Liked to double-check information he was given
Aims -
● Maintain a strong hold on his throne and pass it on to his heis to do this he had to:
● Establish his right to the throne, by winning Bosworth he had right of conquest but his own claim
was weak
● Control the nobility, Wars of the Roses had been caused by overmighty nobles and a weak king
● Strengthen the Crown’s control of England
● To achieve his aims Henry had to build a financially strong crown
Claim to the throne -
● Claim weak because; through his mother and she was descended from a once illegitimate branch
of Lancastrians
● Several Yorkist better claims than H7 - Elizabeth of York the eldest daughter of Edward IV,
Edward / Earl of Warwick who was Edward IV’s and Richard III’s nephew by their brother George,
John / Edmund and Richard de la Pole nephews of Edward IV and Richard III by their sister
duchess of Suffolk
Legitimising his reign -
● Dated his reign to 21st August 1485 the day before the battle of Bosworth
● Meant he could declare all Yorkists traitors and try them for treason
● Crown could therefore take Yorkist property
Coronation -
● Coronation on 30th October 1485
● Highly symbols event that anointed him by God’s grace
● Coronation involved England’s nobles all taking a public oath of loyalty to him
Parliament -
● First convened parliament 7th November 1485
● The date is important because Henry made sure he had already been crowned meaning his
authority was not dependent on parliament
, Marriage -
● 18th January 1486 Henry married Elizabeth of York
● Significant because it united the warring families of Lancaster and York any descendent
would come from both houses
● A child would mean the Tudor legacy would live on after Henry
● Because he was already king, Henry made sure his authority was not linked to
Elizabeth’s heritage
Lambert Simnel -
● Pretended to be Edward, Earl of Warwick
● Welcomed in Ireland by Earl of Kildare and crowned king of England there
● Real Earl of Warwick alive a rebellion still erupted
● Rebels led by Earl of Lincoln fought Henry’s forces at Battle of Stoke 1487
● Several leading Yorkists killed and Simnel arrested
● Henry capitalised on the death of leading Yorkists and gained oaths of loyalties from other
yorkists
Perkin Warbeck -
● Pretended to be Richard Duke of York the younger son of Edward IV who disappeared in 1483
● Welcomed in France until Treaty of Etaples and later Burgundy
● 1497 Warbeck allied himself to James IV of Scotland
● Landed in England and tried to gain support
● Executed 1499 along with Edward, Earl of Warwick
● Henry abel to make useful foreign alliances as he dealt with Warbeck
Edmund de la Pole -
● Unlike others had a genuine claim to the throne
● Had grievances to Henry; lost some land to the Crown and had to pay a relief of £5000 and was
denoted from Duke to Earl
● Fled England for HRE 1501
● Henry arrested members of his family and friends
● 1506 Henry negotiated handing over of Edmund from HRE, agreed not to execute him
● De la pole stayed in the tower of london till he was executed 1513
Historian Jez Ross - Henry never in serious danger of losing his throne to either a rebellion or a
conspiracy, first those seeking the throne needed to be credible and viable alternatives to him, second
Henry had to be isolated and there needed to be enough domestic support for an invasion to ensure that i
did not look like a self-interested act of political speculation by either foreing powers or isolated English
malcontents.
Royal council -
● Advised Henry and helped him with day to day government
● Although 227 men listed it was a much smaller group that met
● John Morton and Reginald Bray were two important councillors
Council Learned in Law -
● Very unpopular
● Aim to pursue Henry’s feudal rights - various financial payments and soldiers owed to the
monarch for return to land he owned and distributed
