Henry VII & Richard III
Uploaded by u.s.s. sheffield on Jun 27, 2001
Richard the Third had just recently become King of England. But he did not know that soon he would not
Henry Tudor was from Wales. His surname was really spelt ‘Tewdwr.’ It was changed to the English way though when he became King of England.
Henry was too to France by his Uncle Jasper in 1471, fourteen years before the Battle of Bosworth. His uncle took him to Brittany. There, Henry learnt a lot. He learnt about warfare, treachery and betrayal. He also learned about court politics and how to keep supporters. This helped Henry very much with the Battle of Bosworth.
Henry landed at Milford haven in South Wales. He had about two thousand soldiers with him. He marched all through Wales and the Midlands. When he got to the battle site he had around five thousand troops. He had gained more than three thousand on his journey.
The battle was fought up on a hill at Bosworth. At the battle site there was a third army. It was small and led by Lord William Stanley. It did not know what side to join.
Henry started the battle by moving up the hill and charging at Richard. Stanley decided which side to join. It would be Henry’s. He hit on the rear of Richards army causing the Kings forces to run. Richard fell from his horse in the rush and was eventually killed.
As the battle ended, Stanley found the Kings crown hanging on a thorn bush. Lord Stanley crowned Henry the King of England.
Henry then married Edward the IV’S daughter Elizabeth. This united both of the families together.
The battle of Bosworth wasn’t any old battle. It was very important in history. The Lancastrian, Henry Tudor defeated the Yorkist, Richard the third at the battle of Bosworth field in 1485 and became King Henry VII. We all know that, but the important thing is that it marked the end of the civil wars known as – THE WAR OF THE ROSES.
It had been fought between two leading houses called Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose). The Tudor rose was red and white showing the union of the two houses in the new dynasty.