Henry (Tudor) of England (1457 - 1509)

Born 28 Jan 1457 in Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (York) Tudor — married 18 Jan 1486 in Westminster, Middlesex, England

Descendants

Died 21 Apr 1509 at age 52 in Richmond Palace, Richmond, Surrey, England

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Biography

Henry VII (Tudor) of England is a member of the House of Tudor.

Henry VII (Tudor) of England was born in Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Henry VII (Tudor) of England is Notable.

Henry Tudor was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort. Edmund Tudor died on 3 November 1456, and Henry was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1456/7. ^[1] He inherited his father's title as the Earl of Richmond at birth. ^[2][3] He lived at Pembroke Castle under the care of his uncle Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, KG until 30 September 1461, when the castle was surrendered to Lords Herbert and Ferrers of Chartley. Henry lost the Earldom of Richmond before 12 August 1462 when he and his uncle fled to Brittany after the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471.^[1][2]

Origins

Henry's paternal grandparents were Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois and via his mother, he was the great-great-grandson of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.^[4][5][6][7]

Henry's claim to the English throne was tenuous at best. His mother descended from John of Gaunt's affair with Katherine Swynford. ^[4][6] Though their children born out of wedlock were legitimized by Parliament, all claims of this line were not valid until the direct male line of John of Gaunt became extinct.^[4][6][8]

Henry's paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, had married Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V and daughter to Charles VI of France. Their son Edmund, being the half brother of Henry VI, was created Earl of Richmond. He married Margaret Beaufort, only daughter of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp, Duchess of Somerset. Edmund died more than two months before their son Henry Tudor, was born.^[4][6][8][5]

Battle of Bosworth

Jasper and Henry sailed to join the uprising against Richard III in 1483 but were unable to land. On 25 Jan 1484 he was attainted in his absence.^[1][9] Despite these failed revolts and his Lancastrian connections, Henry eventually won the throne.^[9]

On 1 Aug 1485, Henry sailed from Harfleur, landing at Milford Haven. His forces defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485 and he seized the crown as Henry VII, King of England.^[10][11] He was crowned 30 October 1485 at Westminster Abbey.^[1][9][12] While Henry's claim to the throne was weak and possibly illegal,^[9] he dated his reign from the day before Bosworth.^[13]

In an act of attainder, Parliament declared that Richard of Gloucester was a traitor who usurped the throne and 'by great and continued deliberation, traitorously levied war against our said sovereign lord and his true subjects'.^[14]

Henry VII Coat of Arms

Marriage

On January 18, 1486, at Westminster, Henry married Elizabeth of York (b. 11 Feb 1466 Westminster Palace - d. 11 Feb 1503).^[15] She was the eldest daughter and heiress of Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydeville.^[16]

The marriage was an act to gain Yorkist support, and bring an end to civil war by uniting the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York.^[8] Elizabeth's coronation as Queen consort occurred on 25 Nov 1487, the day of the feast of St Catherine. Traveling from Greenwich to London where she was taken from the Tower to Westminster.^[17]

Elizabeth of York died in childbirth. She was buried in Westminster Abbey. ^[1]

Children

Henry VII & Elizabeth of York had eight children. Four of them died during their infancy or in youth.

1. Arthur (b. 20 Sep 1486 St Swithun’s Priory, Winchester - dvp. 02 Apr 1502 Ludlow Castle, co. Salop; buried in Worcester Cathedral, was Duke of Cornwall from birth.^[18] He was created, the Prince of Wales & Earl of Chester on 29 Nov 1489.^[19]

Arthur married Catherine of Aragon by proxy in Nov 1500. Their vows were renewed after Catherine's arrival in England. The wedding ceremony was performed at St. Paul's Cathedral, London 14 Nov 1501.^[20]

Infanta doña CATALINA de Aragón (b. 16 Dec 1485 - d. 7 Jan 1536), dau. of FERNANDO V of Aragon & Isabel I of Castile, later remarried to Henry VIII of England. She was born in Alcala de Henares and died at Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdonshire; and buried in Peterborough Cathedral.^[1]

2. Margaret (b. 28 Nov 1489 Westminster palace^[2] - d. 18 Oct 1541 Methven Castle, Perthshire; buried Carthusian Monastery of St John, Perth), Queen Regent of Scotland, died of palsy.^[21]

She married by proxy, then in attendance during her wedding ceremony at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh 8 Aug 1503, James IV of Scotland (b. 17 Mar 1473 - d. 09 Sep 1513 Battle of Flodden). He was the son of James III of Scotland and Margarethe of Denmark.

Margaret & James had six children. James was slain in Northumberland and buried in Sheen Abbey, Surrey.^[21]

Margaret remarried to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus (b. 1490 d. Jan 1557 Tantallon Castle; bur. Abernethy), at Kinnoul Church on 6 Aug 1514 as his second wife. He was the son of George Douglas, Master of Angus, and Elizabeth Drummond. They divorced on 11 Mar 1527.^[21]

Margaret married for the third time before 2 Apr 1528 to Henry Stewart (b. 1495 x 1500), as his second wife. He was the son of Andrew Stewart, Lord Avondale, and Margaret Kennedy, and died soon after 10 Oct 1551. He was created Lord Methven on 17 Jul 1528. ^[1][21]

3. Henry (b. 28 Jun 1491 Greenwich Palace, co. Kent - d. 28 Jan 1547 Whitehall; bur. St George's Chapel, Windsor), suc. 22 Apr 1509 as Henry VIII.^[22]

4. Elizabeth, born 2 Jul 1492 at Eltham Palace, Kent, died 7 Oct or 14 Nov 1495, buried in Westminster Abbey.^[1][2]

5. Mary (b. 18 Mar 1496 Richmond Palace, Surrey or Westminster - d. [24/26] Jun 1533 Westhorpe Hall, Suffolk; bur. 22 Jul Abbey Church, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk). Her body was transferred to St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds. She was crowned Queen of France on 5 Nov 1514 at St Denis Cathedral, Paris.^[2][23]

Her first husband was Louis XII of France (b. Château de Blois 27 Jun 1462 - d. Hôtel royal des Tournelles, Paris 1 Jan 1515; bur. église de l'abbaye royale de Saint-Denis). Mary was his third wife. They married by contract, then by proxy [more than once], finally in person at Abbeville Cathedral, Somme 9 Oct 1514. Louis' was the son of Charles, Duc d'Orleans & his third wife Maria von Kleve.^[24]

Mary's second marriage to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk (b. 1484 - d. The Palace, Guildford, co. Surrey 22 Aug 1545; bur. St George’s Chapel, Windsor), took place in secret at the Chapel in the Palais de Cluny, Paris [4/20] Feb 1515 and 31 Mar 1515. They later wed publicly at Greyfriars Church, Greenwich Palace 13 May 1515. She was his third wife and had 3 children by this marriage. Suffolk's parents were William Brandon & his wife Elizabeth Bruyn.^[1][25]

6. Edmund (b. 21 Feb 1499 Greenwich Palace, co. Kent - d. 19 Jun 1500 Old Palace, Bishop’s Hatfield, co. Herts.; bur 22 Jun Westminster Abbey).^[1][2]

7. Edward (d.y.; bur. Westminster Abbey. ^[1]

8. Katherine (b. 02 Feb 1503 Tower of London - d. inf. 18 Feb 1503 Tower of London; bur. Westminster Abbey.^[1][2]

Death

Henry wrote his Will at the manor of Richmond on 31 Mar 1509/10. His Will was recorded on 10 Apr 1509 in Canterbury. He died at Richmond Palace, in Surrey on 21 April 1509.^[1][26] He was buried on 11 May 1509 at Westminster Abbey.^[27][28]

Tomb of Henry VII

(Royal Tombs of Medieval England)^[29] -- Henry VII planned his tomb well before he died. Henry had a dynastic point to make and was forced to give his monument early consideration because the most senior burial positions in the Confessor's Chapel at Westminster were occupied. In 1496 Henry had began the rebuilding of the chapel of St. Edward at Windsor for his tomb, but by 1504 had transferred his plans from Windsor to Westminster, when he founded a chantry there for himself, his wife, Elizabeth of York, his parents and ancestors. In 1506 Margaret Beaufort founded a Westminster chantry of her own. Henry VII's will of 1509 boasts his grandmother's twin royal status of being the wife of an English king (Henry V) and daughter of a French one (Charles VI) and cites her burial at Westminster as one reason why he wished to be buried there himself. Work on his chapel continued until Henry's death in 1509, with his will providing considerable funds for its completion. In 1507 Henry appears to have commissioned a new tomb featuring gilt effigies of himself and Elizabeth of York with a tomb-chest executed in black and white marble.^[26]

Henry died at Richmond on 21 April 1509. His new chapel, unfinished, was consecrated the day before in preparation for the burial. The king's coffin was taken to St. Paul's in London bearing a funeral effigy dressed in parliamentary robes with crown, scepter, and orb. The coffin lay beneath a canopy of cloth of gold with its carriage drawn by seven horses wearing funerary trappings accompanied by 330 torchbearers and with knights carrying royal and religious banners. The coffin was installed before St. Paul's high altar for the singing of Mass and then the coffin was returned to its carriage for the journey to Westminster. At Charing, the carriage was met by abbots of the various cathedrals and Westminster monks. Accompanied by a further 100 torchbearers the carriage continued to the west door of the abbey church, with the coffin being installed either before the high altar or in Henry's new chapel, that part not being recorded. Mass was sung and the coffin was interred.^[26][30]

The foundations of Henry's new chapel incorporated a large vault at the east end, and it was here that Henry and his wife Elizabeth of York were buried.

Henry's tomb was commissioned in 1512 and completed until around 1518. It has gilt-bronze effigies with a black and white marble tomb-chest. The effigies show the couple with hands clasped in prayer. The only sign of royal status being two gilt crowns were lost. Both are clearly portraits with Henry's effigy probably modeled on a death mask.

In 1867 the vault beneath the tomb was opened and found to contain three lead coffins. The coffins of Henry VII and James I (d.1625) were identified by inscriptions and a third coffin bearing a large cross but without inscription almost certainly being that of Elizabeth of York. ^[31]

Research Notes

• Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Margaret, Countess of Richmond Recumbent Effigies.^[32]
• Possible additional child

Roland de Velville (b. 1471 x 85 - d. 1535), a possible illegitimate son by a Breton woman, born while Henry exiled in Brittany. Constable of Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey 1509-1535.]

m. Agnes [Griffith] ferch Gwilym Fychan of Penrhyn, Chamberlain of North Wales & second wife Gwenllian ferch Iowerth ap David. Agnes died in 1542.^[1]

• Lundy, D. The Peerage

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Charles Cawley. Medieval Lands Database. England, Kings 1066-1603. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20Kings%201066-1603.htm#_Toc21106803. Accessed June 28, 2016.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Griffiths, Ralph Alan; Thomas, Roger S. 'The Making of the Tudor Dynasty', New York : St. Martin's Press, 1985. archive.org, accessed 7 Jan 2020.
3. ↑ "Henry VI: November 1459," in Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry and Rosemary Horrox (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005), British History Online, accessed January 7, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval/november-1459.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} DAVIES, C. S. L. "Tudor: What's in a Name?" History 97, no. 1 (325) (2012): 24-42. Accessed January 11, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24429363.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Tomaini, Thea. The Corpse as Text: Disinterment and Antiquarian Enquiry, 1700-1900. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK; Rochester, NY, USA: Boydell & Brewer, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2021. doi:10.7722/j.ctt1kgqsnv. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3817121
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Griffiths, R. A. "Henry Tudor: The Training of a King." Huntington Library Quarterly 49, no. 3 (1986): 197-218. Accessed January 11, 2021. doi:10.2307/3817121. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24429363
7. ↑ See genealogical table for the House of York and Wikipedia: Henry VII of England.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Luminarium.org
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Flood, Victoria. "Henry Tudor and Lancastrian Prophecy in Wales." Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 34 (2014): 67-86. Accessed January 11, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24640154
10. ↑ Inscriptions, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Westminster Abbey. Accessed 13 September 2023.
11. ↑ Sources, Page 6, English Heritage Battlefield (PDF) Report: Bosworth 1485 via Official list entry for Battle of Bosworth (Field) 1485. Historic England. Accessed 13 September 2023.
12. ↑ "Henry VII: November 1485," in Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry and Rosemary Horrox (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005), British History Online, accessed May 31, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval/november-1485.
13. ↑ Rolls of Parliament, vol 6, p. 276, col. 1, line 27: (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000014729249&seq=286). Hathitrust.org. Accessed 18 September 2023.
14. ↑ Parliamentary Record DATE: November 1485. AUTHOR: King and council. TEXT: “Rotuli Parliamentarium,” ed. J. Strachey, 6 vols. (London, 1767-83), VI, p. 176. (English; spelling modernized.) Google Books Online.
15. ↑ "Close Rolls, Henry VII: 1486," in Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: Volume 2, 1500-1509, ed. R A Latham (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1963), 89. British History Online, accessed January 13, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-close-rolls/hen7/vol2/p89.
16. ↑ Weir, Alison. Elizabeth of York: The First Tudor Queen. United Kingdom: Jonathan Cape, 2013.
17. ↑ "Henry VII: November 1487," in Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry and Rosemary Horrox (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005), British History Online, accessed January 11, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval/november-1487.
18. ↑ "Historical Memoranda of John Stowe: The baptism of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII," in Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles with Historical Memoranda by John Stowe, ed. James Gairdner (London: Camden Society, 1880), 104-105. British History Online, accessed January 7, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol28/pp104-105.
19. ↑ "Henry VII: January 1489," in Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry and Rosemary Horrox (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005), British History Online, accessed January 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval/january-1489.
20. ↑ "Spain: 1501," in Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 1, 1485-1509, ed. G A Bergenroth (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1862), 253-265. British History Online, accessed January 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol1/pp253-265.
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3} Richard Glen Eaves. 'Margaret (Margaret Tudor). Published online: 23 September 2004. Accessed 14 2021. oxforddnb.com https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/18052
22. ↑ Edward Walford. "Greenwich," in Old and New London: Volume 6, (London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878), 164-176. British History Online, accessed December 13, 2020, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol6/pp164-176.
23. ↑ Fisher, Celia. "The Queen and the Artichoke: A Study of the Portraits of Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon." The British Art Journal 3, no. 2 (2002): 20-27. Accessed January 15, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41614374.
24. ↑ Armstrong, Elizabeth. "J.B. MONZETTI'S CONSOLATION FOR MARY TUDOR, QUEEN OF FRANCE: A LITTLE KNOWN EDITION OF HENRI [I] ESTIENNE." Bibliothèque D'Humanisme Et Renaissance 64, no. 2 (2002): 251-70. Accessed January 15, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20680441.
25. ↑ Harris, Barbara J. "Power, Profit, and Passion: Mary Tudor, Charles Brandon, and the Arranged Marriage in Early Tudor England." Feminist Studies 15, no. 1 (1989): 59-88. Accessed January 15, 2021. doi:10.2307/3177818.
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1 26.2} "Henry VIII: April 1509," in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1, 1509-1514, ed. J S Brewer (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1920), 1-8. British History Online, accessed January 7, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol1/pp1-8.
27. ↑ "Plate 122: Henry VII's Chapel. Tomb of Henry VII," in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London, Volume 1, Westminster Abbey, (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1924), 122. British History Online, accessed June 14, 2022, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/london/vol1/plate-122.
28. ↑ "Henry VIII: May 1509, 1-14," in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1, 1509-1514, ed. J S Brewer (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1920), 8-24. British History Online, accessed January 7, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol1/pp8-24.
29. ↑ Duffy, Mark. Royal Tombs of Medieval England. United Kingdom: History Press Limited, 2003. pp. 277-289
30. ↑ 'Henry VIII: May 1509, 1-14', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1, 1509-1514, ed. J S Brewer (London, 1920), pp. 8-24. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol1/pp8-24 [accessed 16 January 2021].
31. ↑ (note: more information about other parts of his bio and reign at Luminarium and Britannia)
32. ↑ "Plate 200: Recumbent Effigies-Heads in Profile. Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Margaret, Countess of Richmond," in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London, Volume 1, Westminster Abbey, (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1924), 200. British History Online, accessed January 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/london/vol1/plate-200.

See also:

• "The Chronicle of the Grey Friars: Henry VII," in Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London Camden Society Old Series: Volume 53, ed. J G Nichols (London: Camden Society, 1852), 24-29. British History Online, accessed June 14, 2022, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol53/pp24-29. (Henricus Septimus Rex)

• Wikipedia: Henry VII of England

• Wikidata: Item Q675493, en:Wikipedia

• Find A Grave: Memorial #1963

• Cokayne, G.E. (2000). The Complete Peerage, II, p 45

• Weir, A. (1999). Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, p. 149, 151. London: The Bodley Head.

• Richardson, D. (2013). Royal Ancestry, 5, pp. 206-211

• Weisberger, M. (2020, 22 May). Death mask of King Henry VII is brought to astonishing life in a digital restoration. Live Science. Web.

• "Bosworth," in Luminarium.org.

• Royal.UK: Henry VII (r. 1485-1509)