... An Analysis of the Life of King Henry VII and the Origins of the Tudor Dynasty of England Paul Preston* ABSTRACT. This paper traces the lineage of the Tudor kings and the personal traits that helped shape the development of the dynasty. King Henry VII is the first English monarch I study. I chose to examine this king because his reputation as a great ruler of England has been well-established and he has been recognized as a historical figure by most scholars. However, there is a gap in our knowledge about his early life because many of the sources that we have about him come from the last decade of his reign. For example, the earliest biographical accounts of Henry VII are from the years 1513 to 1515, well after he came to the throne. Although not definitive, it appears that Henry VII was the son of Mary Tudor. Mary's father, John Beaufort, was either his cousin, Henry's uncle or his grandfather. The family of Henry VII may have had ties to the Bourchier family, another prominent Lancastrian family. It is very likely that Mary was related to John Beaufort and Henry VII through a female line because he was the son of a cousin (his mother was his aunt). However, we do not have enough evidence to support this claim. Another possibility is that Mary was the daughter of a Beaufort male relative, and Henry VII was the son of this person.1. LIFE OF HENRY VII HISTORICAL RECORD As the history of the Tudor dynasty (1485–1603) starts, the most important fact to recognize is that the succession of the English throne was contested. The subjection of the rebellious Yorkist and the restoration of the English monarchy by the royal party which declared itself the House of Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field are the two major events that shaped the development of the dynasty. Other historical events that affected the succession included the Lancastrian uprising, the Yorkist invasion, the deposition of Richard II and the dethronement of Richard III. Some of the notable events that affected the Tudor line of succession are listed below. 1. AD 1513-1515: The succession of Henry VII 1. AD 1485-1486: Yorkist Rebellion: King Edward IV and his brother Richard were imprisoned for a time. Edward was freed to fight in France and Richard was released from prison in the Tower of London. Edward died in the Battle of St. Albans, and Richard III was proclaimed king.
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