King Henry VII | Children, Wife & Legacy

The Birth of a King

King Henry VII of England ruled England from 1485 until his death in 1509. His son, Henry VIII, would become an infamous wife beheader, but his granddaughter Elizabeth would become one of the greatest queens ever beloved by the country. Let's take a closer look at the timeline and family trees leading to these events.

Henry Tudor, the boy who would become king, was born in dark circumstances. His mother, Margaret Beaufort, was only thirteen years old, and his father died three months before his son's birth while participating in a rebellion against the king.

At the time of his birth, England was engaged in a civil war between two powerful families both descended by King Edward III, known as the War of the Roses. The name comes from the sigils of the two houses being roses: the red rose of House of Lancaster and the white rose of House of York.

Henry Tudor's path to the throne was a twisted one. His mother, Margaret, was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third son of King Edward III.

With the death of Edward III, the throne would pass to his grandson, Richard II, the oldest son of Edward's oldest son. Richard II ruled for nearly 22 years; however, pressure from the French and from powerful nobles in England would eventually cost him his throne. Richard was deposed and imprisoned by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt.

After Richard II died in captivity, Henry declared himself Henry IV, King of England. Henry's succession to the throne was not unchallenged; the second son of King Edward III had also produced children who could have claimed the throne. However, these cousins were children while Henry IV was an adult with several male heirs that could inherit the throne. Henry gained the throne, but claims about his legitimacy would continue to plague his descendants, and his young cousins would establish themselves as his political opponents, the House of York.

After Henry IV died, his son, Henry V, took the throne, but tragically died unexpectedly. His son, who became known as Henry VI, was only nine months old when he was crowned king of England. England was ruled throughout Henry's childhood by a council. Henry VI had a difficult reign and was deposed twice. After his second removal, the descendants of the House of York took the throne, but they too would have difficulty holding on to political power.

Rise to Power

Young Henry Tudor spent much of his youth in exile in France with his mother and his uncle; however, things changed in 1483. Richard III had seized the throne after his older brother King Edward IV died. He imprisoned his nephews in the Tower of London, where they later perished as well. The imprisonment and death of the two boys led to upheaval and political dissent in England, giving Henry the opportunity of a lifetime.

Henry swept to victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, defeating Richard III. He declared himself the legitimate heir of the long-dead King Edward III and was crowned King Henry VII in 1485 — the last English king to claim his throne through battle. In 1486, he married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV and older sister of the poor princes who had died in the Tower, cementing his claim to the throne of England.

As king, Henry restored political order after the long years of upheaval during the War of the Roses. He took for his sigil a new symbol, the Tudor Rose, in which the white rose of the House of York, his wife's family, and the red rose of the House of Lancaster, for his own family, were combined as one flower.