Henry VII Biography

Edmund Tudor, later father of Henry VII, is born to Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor.

Henry's father Edmund Tudor dies before his son's birth, leaving Margaret Beaufort pregnant with the future king.

Jasper Tudor assumes responsibility for the infant Henry and protects his dynastic interests during the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VII is born at Pembroke Castle, the son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort.

Yorkist forces take Pembroke Castle and the young Henry Tudor passes into the custody of William Herbert.

Edward IV places Henry Tudor under William Herbert's guardianship, bringing the Lancastrian child into a Yorkist household.

William Herbert's execution after the Battle of Edgecote ends the household arrangement that had governed Henry Tudor's childhood.

Becomes leader of the Lancastrians & forced into Brittany after the death of Henry VI

Francis II of Brittany grants Henry Tudor and Jasper Tudor refuge, beginning Henry's long continental exile.

A proposed handover of Henry Tudor to Edward IV fails, allowing him to remain under Breton protection.

Rebels opposing Richard III look to Henry Tudor as an alternative claimant during the failed Buckingham rising.

Buckingham dies in the west country & the invasion fails

Bad weather scatters Henry Tudor's invasion fleet, leaving only a small part of the force near Poole.

The Woodvilles invite Elizabeth Woodvilles son Henry Tudor to support Buckingham. Buckingham leads a rebellion in support of Henry Tudor, a descendent of John of Gaunt

Edward IV dies; Edward V is deposed and the two young princes later disappear from public view.

While in Brittany, Henry Tudor pledges to marry Elizabeth of York, attracting Yorkist opponents of Richard III.

At Rennes, Henry Tudor publicly promises to marry Elizabeth of York if he secures the English crown.

Pressure on Brittany from Richard III helps drive Henry Tudor into France, where he continues preparing a challenge for the throne.

Henry Tudor escapes to Paris

Henry Tudor is warned that Breton officials may hand him to Richard III and prepares to escape to France.

Parliament attaints selected supporters of Richard III, allowing the new crown to punish resistance and recover property.

Charles VIII permits Henry Tudor to obtain money, ships and troops for a renewed attempt to invade England.

Marches through Cardiff, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Lichfield & Tamworth before Bosworth. Invades England with troops supplied by the Duke of Brittany

Henry enters London as the victorious new king and begins establishing the machinery of Tudor government.

Henry's march through Wales attracts additional supporters before his army enters the English Midlands.

Henry establishes the Yeomen of the Guard as a permanent personal bodyguard following his seizure of the crown.

Marches toward Leicester, winning support on the way

Gathers his forces at Lichfield & threatens to cut Richard III off from London

Sets sail from Harfleur, his fleet carries 2,000 French mercenaries

Lands at Milford Haven with the support of Charles VIII of France

Henry Tudor reaches Shrewsbury as his invasion force advances toward Richard III's army.

Stays overnight at the Three Tuns. Marches from Lichfield to Tamworth where he is joined by John Savage

Henry VII joins up with Lord Stanley & his brother William Stanley

Henry dates his reign from 21 August, enabling the crown to treat men fighting for Richard III at Bosworth as traitors.

Henry's forces camp near White Moors before the final approach to Bosworth.

Richard III is killed during the fighting at Bosworth. Tradition holds that the recovered crown is presented to Henry Tudor after the battle.

Stanley intervention helps turn the battle. Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Bosworth and claims the English throne.

Has the Yorkist heir Edward Earl of Warwick put in the Tower of London

Crowned King of England, 1st Tudor monarch

The lower house has 296 members representng 37 counties & 111 boroughs

The opening day of the new Parliament

Henry's first Parliament repeals Titulus Regius, removing the statute that had declared Edward IV's children illegitimate.

Humphrey Stafford is removed from sanctuary, convicted of treason and executed after the failed rising.

Henry tours northern England to display royal authority and secure obedience in regions formerly associated with Richard III.

The right of sanctuary is restricted & later removed by Henry VIII

Unites the Houses of Lancaster & York. Marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV

Henry VII marries Elizabeth of York, uniting the Tudor claim with the senior Yorkist line.

Appoints a new Chancellor, Bishop Morton of Ely, later Archbishop of Canterbury

John Morton becomes one of Henry VII's most influential councillors and later serves as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Francis Lovell and the Stafford brothers launch the first armed Yorkist challenge to Henry VII's new regime.

A 3 year truce with Scotland is agreed

Prince Arthur, Henry VII's eldest son and heir, is born at Winchester.

Interest in the marriage between Catherine of Aragon & Arthur 1st takes place

Henry mobilises royal forces as the Simnel rebellion advances across northern England toward the Midlands.

Yorkist supporters crown Lambert Simnel in Dublin as Edward VI, presenting him as the imprisoned Earl of Warwick.

Simnel's supporters land in Lancashire with Irish troops and Flemish mercenaries before marching inland.

Lambert Simnel is captured after the Yorkist defeat at Stoke Field and is later taken into royal service.

Henry's army defeats the Yorkist rising built around Lambert Simnel; the Earl of Lincoln is killed.

Legislation strengthens the king's council in dealing with public disorder and powerful offenders.

Elizabeth of York is crowned Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey.

Henry prepares to support Brittany against expanding French pressure, linking military policy with English security interests.

English and Spanish diplomacy advances plans to marry Prince Arthur to Catherine of Aragon and bind the dynasties together.

Hopes for "ties of blood" between England & Spain. Congratulates Ferdinand II on his success against the Moors

So called because of its depiction of the monarch. Mints the 1st sovereign, worth 20 shillings

Henry VII introduces the gold sovereign, creating a prestigious high-value coin carrying royal imagery.

The new sovereign presents Henry VII as an established monarch and projects the authority of the Tudor dynasty.

Royal authority is restored in Yorkshire after the tax rebellion, preventing the unrest from becoming a broader dynastic challenge.

Parliament grants taxation to finance English intervention in Brittany against France.

Signs the anti-French Treaty of Redon with Brittany

Henry agrees to aid Brittany by the Treaty of Redon

Resistance to taxation for the Breton campaign develops into a serious rising in Yorkshire.

Anne of Brittany agrees to reimburse Henrys expenses. Anne of Brittany agrees to make no peace, truce or marriage with France without Henrys consent. 1st expedition to Brittany, 6000 troops are sent under Lord Daubeney

Henry VII & Maximilian I ally to assist the Bretons

The Treaty of Medina del Campo provides for the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon and establishes closer Anglo-Spanish cooperation.

Henry VII concludes the Treaty of Medina del Campo with Spain, strengthening the Anglo-Spanish alliance and arranging Arthur's marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

A tax-resistant crowd kills Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, while he attempts to enforce the king's financial demands.

Princess Margaret Tudor, Henry VII's eldest surviving daughter, is born.

Henry formally advances Arthur as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, strengthening the visible Tudor succession.

Prince Arthur is made a Knight of the Bath as Henry prepares the heir for greater ceremonial and political prominence.

Henry VII's daughter Margaret is baptised and named after her grandmother Margaret Beaufort.

Henry grants Pisa a role in the English wool trade, giving English merchants privileges in an important Italian market.

Prince Arthur is ceremonially invested as Prince of Wales at Westminster, confirming his status as heir apparent.

2nd expedition to Brittany, amity between Henry VII, Spain and Maximilian against France

Henry raises benevolences to help finance preparations for intervention against France.

Perkin Warbeck appears in Ireland claiming to be Richard, Duke of York, creating a new Yorkist threat to Henry.

Henry VII's second surviving son, the future Henry VIII, is born at Greenwich.

Anne of Brittany gives in & marries Charles VIII

A truce is signed between England & Scotland, a 5 yr peace

The French settlement provides Henry VII with continuing payments after the 1492 campaign.

Henry VII ends his French campaign after securing the settlement agreed at Etaples.

Henry's army threatens Boulogne during the French expedition that precedes the Peace of Etaples.

Charles VIII agrees financial payments to Henry VII and withdraws French support from Perkin Warbeck under the Etaples settlement.

Birth of Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York

Henry VII takes an army into northern France as pressure on Charles VIII before negotiating peace.

At Etaples Henry abandons wider claims in France while preserving English possession of Calais.

Under the Treaty of Etaples Henry VII renounces his claims to France, excluding Calais

Henry VII agrees peace with Charles VIII at Etaples, ending the English expedition in France.

Henry restricts trade with Burgundy after Margaret of Burgundy supports Perkin Warbeck and other Yorkist opponents.

English Merchant Adventurers are redirected away from Antwerp during the commercial dispute with Burgundy.

Margaret of Burgundy gives Perkin Warbeck political support, increasing the international danger posed by his claim.

Legislation associated with Poynings requires proposed Irish laws to receive prior approval from the English king and council.

Henry sends Sir Edward Poynings to Ireland to strengthen royal control after the island's involvement in Yorkist plots.

Sir William Stanley is arrested after evidence links the powerful courtier with support for Perkin Warbeck's claim.

The Council Learned develops as a mechanism for enforcing the king's feudal rights and strengthening Crown revenue.

William Stanley is executed for treason, showing Henry's willingness to act against former allies who threatened the succession.

An act strengthens procedures against corrupt juries, giving royal justices additional means to challenge suspect verdicts.

Henry VII expands administrative work by local justices of the peace, including supervision of weights, measures and public order.

James IV supports the claims of the English pretender Perkin Warbeck

Perkin Warbeck attempts a landing in Kent, but local resistance prevents him establishing a secure English foothold.

Princess Elizabeth, young daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, dies at Eltham.

The restored Anglo-Burgundian settlement fixes commercial conditions and gives English merchants renewed access to Low Countries markets.

Henry's commercial policy seeks to improve English cloth exports and reduce damaging restrictions on overseas trade.

Henry supports Bishop John Alcock's conversion of St Radegund's former priory into Jesus College, Cambridge.

The Magnus Intercursus restores regulated trade with the Low Countries and establishes reciprocal commercial privileges.

Henry refuses to treat Iberian papal claims as preventing English-sponsored voyages into newly explored Atlantic regions.

James IV invades northern England in support of Perkin Warbeck, exposing Henry to a combined dynastic and Scottish threat.

Henry uses diplomacy with Burgundy to restore favourable conditions for English merchants after the trade dispute.

English exploration continues despite the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing overseas spheres between Spain and Portugal.

The settlement with Burgundy removes a major source of foreign support for Perkin Warbeck and forces him to seek another base.

Henry VII grants John Cabot and his sons authority to seek unknown lands under the English flag.

Princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, is born at Richmond.

Henry joins a wider European alliance intended to restrain French power and protect English diplomatic interests.

Membership of the Holy League aligns England with Ferdinand, Maximilian and Pope Alexander VI against Charles VIII.

Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank emerge as principal leaders of the Cornish protest against royal taxation.

The Cornish army reaches the outskirts of London, forcing Henry to concentrate a large royal force against it.

James Tuchet, Lord Audley, joins the Cornish rising as the rebel army moves east toward London.

15,000 rebels march via Exeter, Salisbury & Winchester to Kent

A tax commissioner is killed at Taunton

New financial demands for a campaign against Scotland intensify resentment in Cornwall and help trigger open rebellion.

Warbeck leaves his supporters when he learns that Henry's troops are closing on the rebel force.

Supporters in Cornwall proclaim Warbeck as Richard IV while he gathers a larger force around his claim.

Perkin Warbeck seeks sanctuary at Beaulieu and is taken into Henry VII's custody.

Henry VII backs Cabot's Bristol voyage across the Atlantic.

John Cabot leaves Bristol in the Matthew on a westward voyage sponsored under Henry VII's patent.

Henry's royal army defeats the Cornish rebels at the Battle of Blackheath, also known as Deptford Bridge.

Royal forces overwhelm the Cornish army at Blackheath and capture the principal rebel leaders.

The Cornish rebels are supported by the House of York pretender Perkin Warbeck. Cornwall rebels against taxes to defend England against the Scottish invasion forces

Henry VII ratifies the marriage between Prince Arthur & Catherine of Aragon

Cabot reaches land across the North Atlantic and claims the discovery for the English crown.

Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed after the defeat of the Cornish rebellion.

Lord Audley is beheaded for his leadership role in the Cornish rebellion against Henry's taxation.

John Cabot returns to Bristol after his successful Atlantic voyage and receives recognition from Henry VII.

Perkin Warbeck lands in Cornwall with a small force and tries to exploit recent hostility toward Henry's taxation.

Warbeck's Cornish force attacks Exeter but fails to secure the city as royal forces approach.

Henry VII concludes a truce with Scotland by the Peace of Ayton

A fire destroys much of Sheen Palace, prompting Henry to rebuild the residence that becomes Richmond Palace.

Rebuilds the royal palace at Greenwich as a Tudor residence.

Negotiations advance for Princess Margaret Tudor to marry James IV of Scotland, strengthening a dynastic route to peace.

Perkin Warbeck escapes royal supervision, renewing concern that the pretender could revive opposition to Henry.

Warbeck is recaptured after his escape and is transferred to the Tower of London under stricter confinement.

Establishes peace with Scotland

Renews the Truce of Ayton with Scotland

A plot involving Perkin Warbeck and Edward, Earl of Warwick, is uncovered while both are prisoners in the Tower.

Prince Edmund, another son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, is born at Greenwich.

Perkin Warbeck is executed at Tyburn after years of challenging Henry VII's claim to the throne.

Edward, Earl of Warwick, a senior Yorkist claimant, is executed after being convicted of treason.

Has Baynards Castle rebuilt for state occassions

Henry removes the royal court from plague-affected London and spends time away from the capital.

Prince Edmund dies in infancy, reducing the number of surviving male children in the Tudor royal family.

Henry's court stages elaborate celebrations and tournaments in London for the marriage of Arthur and Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VII meets Catherine of Aragon at Dogmersfield after her arrival in England to marry Prince Arthur.

Prince Arthur marries Catherine of Aragon at St Paul's Cathedral, completing the dynastic marriage planned with Spain.

Henry's Scottish diplomacy develops into the first sustained Anglo-Scottish peace settlement for generations.

England and Scotland negotiate a lasting settlement intended to replace repeated border truces with a durable peace.

Prince Arthur dies at Ludlow Castle, leaving Henry VII's younger son Henry as heir to the throne.

Arthur's death makes Henry, Duke of York, the surviving male heir to Henry VII.

News of Arthur's death leaves Prince Henry as Henry VII's only surviving son and heir.

James Tyrrell is executed for treason during Henry's reign and is later associated with claims about the Princes in the Tower.

Edmund de la Pole is proclaimed an outlaw as Henry acts against another Yorkist claimant living abroad.

Concluded between Henry VII & James IV

William Warham becomes Archbishop of Canterbury and emerges as a senior figure in Henry VII's government and church.

The foundation stone of Henry VII's Lady Chapel is laid at Westminster Abbey as a major royal religious and dynastic project.

Queen Elizabeth of York dies following childbirth, leaving Henry VII a widower.

Henry's daughter Margaret Tudor marries James IV of Scotland, giving dynastic substance to the Anglo-Scottish peace.

A new silver shilling carries a more realistic profile of Henry VII, marking an important development in English royal coinage.

Henry's final Parliament strengthens restrictions on noble livery and maintenance, reinforcing royal control over private followings.

Henry VII's final Parliament strengthens restrictions on unlawful retaining by noble households.

Henry's seventh and final Parliament opens at Westminster and deals with finance, law and control of retaining.

After Arthur's death, Henry VII formally creates his surviving son Henry Prince of Wales.

Richard Empson becomes increasingly prominent in enforcing the king's financial and feudal rights during the later reign.

Henry grants a royal charter for Christ's College, Cambridge, supporting the educational foundation promoted by Margaret Beaufort.

The planned marriage between Prince Henry and Catherine of Aragon is postponed amid disagreement over the unpaid Spanish dowry.

Henry VII secures custody of Yorkist claimant Edmund de la Pole after negotiations with Philip of Burgundy.

The Treaty of Windsor strengthens Henry's relations with Philip of Burgundy and links diplomacy with commercial concessions.

Negotiations linked to the Burgundian settlement include a proposed marriage between the widowed Henry VII and Margaret of Austria.

Henry uses Philip of Burgundy's unexpected stay in England to negotiate the exceptionally favourable Malus Intercursus.

Storms force Philip of Burgundy and Joanna of Castile to land in England, giving Henry unexpected diplomatic leverage.

Henry and Philip of Burgundy conclude a treaty strengthening political cooperation and placing pressure on France.

A further Windsor agreement develops the alliance between England, Burgundy and Habsburg interests.

Edmund de la Pole is imprisoned after Philip of Burgundy surrenders the Yorkist claimant to Henry VII.

Henry secures exceptionally favourable proposed trading terms from Philip of Burgundy during the latter's enforced stay in England.

George Neville, Lord Bergavenny, receives an enormous fine for illegal retaining, illustrating Henry's late-reign financial enforcement.

After Philip of Burgundy's death, Anglo-Burgundian trade terms move back toward the earlier Magnus Intercursus settlement.

Thomas Wolsey enters Henry VII's royal service as a chaplain, beginning his rise within Tudor government.

Henry VII signs a marriage Treaty between his daughter Mary & Archduke Charles

The Cornish settlement confirms special protections for tin workers and strengthens the role of the stannary institutions.

Henry issues a Charter of Pardon that strengthens the legal privileges of the Cornish stannaries after the earlier rebellion.

Near the end of his life, Henry grants a general pardon covering many offences committed before 10 April.

By the end of Henry VII's reign, justices of the peace are central to local enforcement and royal administration.

Late-reign legislation continues to strengthen royal control of law enforcement and local government.

A seriously ill Henry VII makes his final will, signalling that the end of the reign is approaching.

Henry VII dies at Richmond Palace after ruling England since 1485.

Henry VII's death leaves the throne to his seventeen-year-old son, who succeeds as Henry VIII.

Henrys death is announced at his court at Richmond Palace

Henry VII is buried beside Elizabeth of York in the Lady Chapel he had founded at Westminster Abbey.