Henry VII (1485-1509)

Henry VII became king of England in 1485. In that year he defeated king Richard the III, the last king of the House of York, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry VII was a member of the House of Lancaster and after he had won the throne, he married Elizabeth of York, who was a member of the other royal family. This way the war between the two royal houses of England (the Wars of the Roses) finally came to an end.

Henry’s real name was Henry Tudor. He was the first king of the Tudor-dynasty. The Tudor-family would govern England for the next century.

There is some doubt about whether Henry VII really had the right to become king. It so happened that the royal blood he inherited, came through the female line of his family. And, according to the rules at that time, this was not a valid bloodline. What is more, in 1407 a law was passed that stated that no one of the Beaufort family, from whom Henry VII descended, could ever claim the throne of England…