Today is a famous day for anyone who is a fan of this time period, as it’s when the Tudor Dynasty actually began. It is also, on a personal note, the day my husband and I had our first date in 2005. So it’s easily remembered.
Okay, so today is the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the day when Henry Tudor, after living half his life in exile in Brittany, managed to build an army and defeat Richard III despite Richard outnumbering his army over 2 to 1. He then was crowned Henry VII, father to Henry VIII. I’m not going to try to go into the Battle here because that’s just impossible in a minute or two, but the deciding factor was Henry’s stepfather, Lord Stanley, who remained neutral until the very end, throwing his large force behind Henry. Legend says that he’s the one who placed the crown upon Henry’s head after Richard was killed.
Henry soon married Elizabeth of York, the eldest York Princess, uniting the houses of Lancaster and York. Though at the time, many disaffected Yorkists saw this as just one more battle in the long series of wars we now call the Wars of the Roses, and Henry Tudor had to fight off several rebellions and pretenders. When his son Henry VIII inherited the throne in 1509 it was the first bloodless transfer of power in well over half a century, longer than pretty much anyone alive would remember.
The Tudor Dynasty born today on the battlefield at Bosworth.
That’s your Tudor Minute. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Five Fun Facts about the Battle of Bosworth Field
Three Contemporary Accounts of Bosworth Field
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Tudorholic! Collection
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.