Henry VII of England
Henry VII won the crown in battle, founded the Tudor dynasty, and restored royal finances and authority after thirty years of civil war. Born in Pembroke Castle in 1457, he was the posthumous son of Edmund Tudor and the thirteen-year-old Margaret Beaufort, whose Lancastrian descent through John of Gaunt gave him a claim that was distant and illegitimate in origin. He spent fourteen years in exile in Brittany and France from 1471, dependent on foreign protection while Yorkist agents sought him. He landed in Wales in August 1485 and defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field, where Richard was killed and the Stanleys decided the outcome by intervening late. He dated his reign from the day before the battle, so that those who had fought for Richard were technically traitors. He married Elizabeth of York in 1486, uniting the two houses, and used the combined red and white rose as his badge. He faced two serious impostures — Lambert Simnel, defeated at Stoke Field in 1487 and put to work in the royal kitchens, and Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be one of the princes in the Tower and was executed in 1499. His method of control was financial rather than military. He revived bonds and recognisances, binding nobles to enormous sums payable on misbehaviour, used the Council Learned in the Law and the prerogative courts, and pursued crown revenues personally, initialling account books himself. Empson and Dudley collected on his behalf and were executed by his son to popular satisfaction. He signed the Treaty of Medina del Campo, married his son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon, and married his daughter into Scotland. He died in 1509 leaving a full treasury.
- Lived: 1457 CE – 1509 CE
- Nationality: English
- Roles: king, head_of_state
