Henry VIII of England

NAME Henry VIII (Henry Tudor)

WHAT FAMOUS FOR  Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547 and is remembered above all for his six marriages and his dramatic break with the Roman Catholic Church. His decision to establish the Church of England with himself as its supreme head permanently reshaped the nation’s religious landscape. He is also known for dissolving the monasteries and redistributing their immense wealth, transforming English society in the process.

BIRTH Henry Tudor was born on June 28, 1491, at Greenwich Palace, the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND Henry came from the Welsh Tudor dynasty, established by his father Henry VII after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth.  He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. His elder brother was Arthur, Prince of Wales, who died of tuberculosis aged 15 in 1502, making Henry the heir. His siblings included two sisters, Margaret (who married James IV of Scotland) and Mary (who married Louis XII of France).

His mother died in 1503 at the age of 38, leaving Henry bereft at just 11 years old. 

CHILDHOOD As the "spare" rather than the heir, Henry spent his early years in a predominantly female household at Eltham Palace in southeast London with his mother and sisters, while Arthur was raised separately to rule.

Henry was known as a charming and loveable child. Raised in privilege, he learned to ride a horse from Greenwich to Westminster by the age of three. His household included personal servants, minstrels, and a court fool named John Goose. Like many royal children, he even had a whipping boy, punished on his behalf when he disobeyed—a vivid symbol of the royal distance from consequence.

After Arthur died, Henry's life changed drastically; his father, Henry VII, became notoriously protective, keeping the new heir under strict supervision and limiting his public appearances to ensure his safety. 

Portrait by Meynnart Wewyck, 1509

EDUCATION Henry received an exceptional humanist education from the finest tutors of the age. He became fluent in Latin and French and acquired some knowledge of Italian. His studies included theology, music, astronomy, mathematics, grammar, and poetry, giving him the intellectual grounding that later fuelled both his confidence and his combative personality. His scholarly training shaped the cultivated, forceful king he would become.

Unlike many monarchs of his time, Henry was a true intellectual who enjoyed theological debate and corresponded with leading scholars like Erasmus.

CAREER RECORD 1493 The young Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. 

1494 He was created Duke of York. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, though still a child.

1509 King of England, succeeding his father.

1521: Granted the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) by the Pope.

1533-1534: Broke with Rome; passed the Act of Supremacy.

1536 and 1539: Oversaw the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

1544: Captured Boulogne in Franc

APPEARANCE In his youth, Henry was an imposing figure—6 feet 2 inches tall, strikingly handsome, athletic, and energetic, with bright auburn-red hair and a well-kept beard.  He had a broad chest, muscular frame (42-inch chest, 32-35 inch waist), and fair skin that was described as glowing.

Following a jousting accident in 1536 that permanently injured his leg, Henry became unable to exercise but continued his lavish diet. He became morbidly obese, with a waist measurement expanding to 54 inches. He was bald, had a "moon-like" face, and required a wheelchair (called a "tramme") to move. He suffered from painful, ulcerated legs that would not heal.

Portrait of Henry VIII after Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1540–1547

FASHION Henry dressed with deliberate magnificence. His wardrobe favoured stuffed, slashed doublets that revealed fine white shirts beneath, embellished with jewels, gold embroidery, and meticulous needlework. His tight-fitting hose were laced to the doublet, creating a silhouette both striking and theatrical. His flamboyance was unmistakable—and often drew the ridicule of European courts less enamoured of his lavish tastes. (1)

CHARACTER Henry’s personality was complex and often contradictory. He could be magnetic—charming, witty, generous, and affable to those who pleased him. But he also possessed a ruthless streak and reacted with fury when opposed. His bluntness earned him the nickname “Bluff King Hal.” Later generations judged him harshly; Charles Dickens famously called him “a most intolerable ruffian, and a blot of blood and grease on the history of England,” and “plainly one of the most detestable villains that ever drew breath.”

SPEAKING VOICE Historical accounts of Henry's voice are contradictory. While his imposing physique might suggest a deep voice, some contemporary reports and modern historians suggest he had a "thin" or "high-pitched" voice, which he may have tried to modulate to sound more authoritative. Others describe it as a "soft, measured voice" that could become loud and commanding when he was angry. (2)

SENSE OF HUMOUR He was known for a boisterous sense of humour and enjoyed pageantry and practical jokes. However, his humour could be dangerous; courtiers had to be careful, as "fun with him... is like having fun with tamed lions—often it is harmless, but just as often there is fear of harm". (3)

His court bustled with jesters and musicians, and he himself composed songs and took delight in performance. 

RELATIONSHIPS Henry married six wives, remembered by the famous rhyme:

“Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.”

1. Catherine of Aragon – Henry VIII was not originally intended to be king. His father, Henry VII, planned for young Henry to become Archbishop of Canterbury, leaving the path to the throne to his elder brother, Arthur. Everything changed when Arthur died in 1502. Henry VII then arranged for Henry to marry Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, making her his first queen.

Henry and Catherine were married privately at Greenwich Palace on June 11, 1509, just before his coronation. 

Catherine of Aragon. Portrait by Lucas Horenbout, c. 1525

Catherine, devoted to her Franciscan Order duties, balanced piety with queenship. She gave Henry one surviving child, Princess Mary, and a baby boy who died at seven and a half weeks. Henry increasingly viewed the lack of a male heir as God’s punishment for marrying his brother’s widow. He separated from Catherine, sending her to Ampthill Castle and later Kimbolton Castle, where she lived austerely in a single room, fasting and wearing a hair shirt. She died on January 7, 1536, buried as Dowager Princess of Wales. Henry forbade both himself and Mary from attending her funeral.

2. Anne Boleyn- Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn before Archbishop Thomas Cranmer annulled his marriage to Catherine. In response, Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry. Anne gave birth to one daughter, Elizabeth, but no sons. Accused of treason, she was beheaded by a French swordsman in 1536.

3. Jane Seymour – Henry became engaged to Jane Seymour the day after Anne’s execution. They married on May 30, 1536. She gave birth to Prince Edward (later Edward VI) in 1537 but died shortly afterward from infection. She alone received a queen’s funeral and is the only wife buried beside Henry at Windsor.

4. Anne of Cleves – Recommended by Thomas Cromwell for diplomatic reasons, Anne disappointed Henry at their first meeting—he infamously called her a “Flanders Mare.” They married on January 6, 1540, but Henry claimed the marriage was not consummated and quickly annulled it. Anne received houses, including one in Sussex, and remained friendly with Henry. She outlived all of Henry’s wives, dying in 1557.

5. Catherine Howard – Young, lively, and a cousin of Anne Boleyn, Catherine married Henry on July 28, 1540, the same day Cromwell was executed. Her flirtations and a passionate letter to Thomas Culpeper sealed her fate. Imprisoned at Syon House, she was executed for adultery on February 13, 1542.

6. Catherine Parr – Well-educated and twice widowed, Catherine Parr married Henry on July 12, 1543. She helped reconcile Henry with daughters Mary and Elizabeth, restoring them to the line of succession. Her book Prayers or Meditations was the first published by an English queen under her own name. After Henry’s death, she married Thomas Seymour and died in 1548.

The "Jersey" portrait of Queen Catherine

Henry fathered three legitimate children who survived infancy—Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward—each of whom later reigned.

MONEY AND FAME Henry inherited a vast fortune from his father but spent it rapidly on wars, palaces, and lifestyle. He was one of the wealthiest monarchs in English history due to the seizure of monastic lands, yet he frequently faced financial difficulties due to his extravagance. In modern terms, his annual alcohol bill alone would be in the millions

FOOD AND DRINK Henry VIII’s court was famous for lavish and unusual meals. His ladies-in-waiting received two loaves and a joint of beef every morning. Peacocks were roasted and then re-dressed in their feathers to impress diners.

Henry himself ate two enormous meals a day, dining at 10:00 a.m. with up to 600 courtiers, and again at 4:00 p.m. He preferred strong English hop-less ale, and attempted unsuccessfully to ban continental hopped beer. Despite enjoying ale, he sometimes drank imported Belgian water, even sending his physician to Flanders to fetch it.

As he aged and grew heavier, his appetite only increased, while his physical condition declined drastically.

MUSIC AND ARTS  Henry VIII was exceptionally musical from childhood. At age ten, he could play the fife, harp, viola, and drums, and as an adult he played the virginals, lute, and organ. He collected 77 recorders and kept a personal ensemble of 58 musicians.

He composed love songs, masses, motets, and anthems in Latin. Among his works were the famous "Pastime with Good Company," the instrumental piece "Tander naken," “O My Hart,” and possibly “Greensleeves.” 

Music accompanied nearly all courtly activities except one—gambling, which required complete concentration.

He was a major patron of the arts, employing the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, whose portraits defined the visual image of the Tudors.

LITERATURE Henry was an author in his own right. His most famous work is the Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defence of the Seven Sacraments), written in 1521 to refute Martin Luther's attacks on the Catholic Church. This book earned him the title "Defender of the Faith" from the Pope. He also wrote poetry and many letters.

The title page of a printed edition of Henry VIII’s Assertio septem sacramentum

NATURE Henry created Hyde Park in 1536 by annexing land from Westminster Abbey to form a royal deer park. He prized outdoor recreation, hunting, and hawking, often spending long hours on horseback or roaming woodland estates.

One mishap occurred while hawking: Henry attempted to pole-vault a ditch, fell face-first into the mud, and nearly drowned. His passion for nature reduced only when age and obesity limited his ability to move.

PETS Henry VIII kept a variety of hunting animals and coursing dogs and believed that mastering the sport of coursing was essential training for a gentleman. His reign saw the crown appoint a “Keeper Chaste of the King’s Greyhounds.”

He also kept hawks, with elaborate aviaries and dedicated falconers. His love of these animals tied closely to his outdoor sportsmanship.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Henry VIII was one of the most athletic monarchs in European history in his youth. He jousted, hunted, practised archery, wrestled, and played real tennis. At the Field of the Cloth of Gold, he challenged King Francis I of France to a wrestling match but was swiftly thrown to the ground.

He excelled at archery; witnessing him shoot with his yeomen, observers said, “His Grace shotte as stronge and as greate a length as anie of his garde.” (4)

Henry kept racing stables at Greenwich and Windsor, employing four jockeys and introducing foreign horses into England. He adored cockfighting, adding a cockpit to Westminster Palace.

Henry gambled constantly—cards, dice, and wagers on sport. He even gambled away the bells of St Paul’s Cathedral.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Henry VIII’s interest in science was intertwined with statecraft and war. He studied fortification design, shipbuilding, and military logistics, commissioning innovations for the English navy, including heavily gunned warships like the Mary Rose.

Henry demonstrated a practical interest in medical science in his later years. Between 1540 and 1545, he had a handwritten Book of Medicines created for him containing nearly 200 recipes, some of which he devised himself, such as a poultice for his leg sores.

Mathematical precision appealed to him in sports as well—particularly in archery, horsemanship, and jousting, where exact measurement of distance, strength, and timing shaped elite performance. His court became a center for early Renaissance scientific exchange through imported books, instruments, and foreign craftsmen.

REIGN Henry became king on April 21, 1509, at the tender age of eighteen—an age when most young men are still trying to work out how to shave without causing structural damage to their chin. He had scarcely warmed the throne before he married Catherine of Aragon and, in a sort of medieval double-bill, the two were crowned together on June 24. From that moment he insisted on being called “Your Majesty,” a splendid upgrade from the slightly underwhelming “Your Highness,” which sounds faintly like something one might call a reasonably well-built cat.

In foreign affairs, Henry devoted himself to the noble art of trying to thump France, which had been something of a national hobby for centuries. His most flamboyant adventure came in June 1520, when he met Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold—a diplomatic summit so extravagantly over the top that even the Tudors, not known for restraint, must have wondered whether they’d gone too far. Francis I, unimpressed by Henry’s enthusiastic overuse of precious metals, is said to have sniffed, “His idea is to put a lot of gold in everything,” which, given the surroundings, was both accurate and hilariously understated.

The Field of the Cloth of Gold, circa 1545. Henry VIII on horseback approaches at bottom left.

Back home, Henry embarked on his most earth-shaking project: the English Reformation. Between 1536 and 1540, having severed ties with the Pope, he and his industrious chief minister Thomas Cromwell set about dissolving the monasteries. This was less a spiritual exercise and more a spectacularly efficient liquidation sale—800 religious houses stripped of land, treasure, and anything that wasn’t nailed down (and quite a few things that were). The proceeds helpfully plugged the yawning financial hole Henry had dug in pursuit of French glory.

In domestic matters, Henry also left his mark—sometimes quite literally. The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542 incorporated Wales into England’s legal and administrative system, a development that must have pleased the Welsh-born Tudor dynasty no end. Then, in 1541, he promoted himself to King of Ireland, a title he adopted with characteristic gusto, along with leadership of the newly created Church of Ireland. It was all part of Henry’s lifelong ambition to be in charge of absolutely everything, everywhere, at all times.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Henry VIII’s religious outlook was a complex mixture of traditional Catholic devotion and personal conviction. He was deeply interested in theology, convinced that he enjoyed a private line to God—what he believed was a “hotline to his heavenly Father.” Although he rejected certain aspects of medieval Catholic doctrine, such as purgatory, he remained personally a Catholic to the end of his life and could never accept the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone.

His most famous theological work was the 1521 treatise An Assertion of the Seven Sacraments, written against Martin Luther. In it, Henry defended the Catholic Church’s sacramental system—describing Luther as a “poisonous serpent” and a “wolf of hell.” Impressed by his argumentation, Pope Leo X awarded him the title “Defender of the Faith.”

Henry’s break with Rome was therefore political rather than doctrinal. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy declared that the king, not the pope, was head of the Church in England. This act transferred ecclesiastical authority and revenues directly to the crown, giving birth to what would become the Church of England.

His religious policy swung violently between conservatism and reform. In 1539, he issued the Six Articles, restoring several traditional Catholic positions and defining heresy. While Henry claimed the Articles were grounded in Scripture, they were in reality an uneasy mix of old Catholic theology and selective Protestant ideas.

Henry was also concerned with the effects of Scripture on ordinary people. Though he was an assiduous reader of the Bible, he believed his subjects were misusing it. In a speech to the House of Commons he lamented that the Word of God was being “disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled in every ale-house and tavern.” To curtail this, a 1543 law forbade the reading of the English Bible by women (other than noblewomen), servants, craftsmen, or labourers.

Henry’s religious conservatism hardened with age. Although he executed Catholics who denied his supremacy, he also burned Protestants who believed he had not reformed enough. Leading reformers fled abroad, and Henry died a Roman Catholic in belief—if not in obedience.

Despite his rigidity, Henry permitted his son Edward to be taught by committed Protestant tutors, influenced by his sixth wife, Catherine Parr. Edward would go on to rule as a staunch Protestant.

POLITICS  Henry VIII was one of the most consequential political rulers in English history. His assertion of royal supremacy permanently altered the balance of power between monarch, Church, and Parliament. The Act of Supremacy (1534) centralized unprecedented authority in the hands of the crown, while the subsequent Dissolution of the Monasteries enriched the crown and reshaped England’s social landscape.

Rome retaliated. Pope Paul III decreed slavery for Englishmen who supported the king, and finally excommunicated Henry on December 17, 1538—but Henry nevertheless retained overwhelming support from his subjects.

Henry presided over an authoritarian regime that used terror as an instrument of statecraft. Over his reign he ordered more than 17,000 executions, sweeping away opponents ranging from rebellious peasants to close confidants.

SCANDAL Henry VIII’s reign is inseparable from scandal. His break from the Catholic Church to marry Anne Boleyn was a massive, unprecedented scandal that created deep religious divisions in the kingdom. 

His marital affairs—six wives, two beheaded—were the pivot on which English history turned. His personal life was marred by accusations of adultery, annulments, brutal executions, and political purges masquerading as moral judgements.

His court was rife with gossip, factional warfare, and thinly veiled fear. Henry’s personal temper, once jovial, darkened considerably after his jousting accident in 1536, contributing to the increasingly paranoid and despotic atmosphere of his later reign.

MILITARY RECORD Henry VIII fancied himself a great warrior-king and aspired to the legacy of his hero, Henry V.  He led armies into France, winning the Battle of the Spurs in 1513 and capturing Boulogne in 1544. However, these campaigns were incredibly expensive and achieved few long-term strategic gains. Henry also oversaw the victory against the Scots at the Battle of Flodden (though he was in France at the time). 

After his rupture with Rome, Henry feared invasion from Catholic Europe. He ordered 20 forts to be built along the southern coast—massive artillery fortresses that revolutionised English coastal defence.

His greatest military achievement was establishing the Royal Navy, increasing the fleet size tenfold to over 40 ships, founding key dockyards (Deptford and Woolwich), and developing new ship designs capable of firing a full cannon broadside (e.g., the Mary Rose)

On July 19, 1545, Henry watched in horror as his prized flagship, the Mary Rose, suddenly heeled over and sank with roughly 500 men aboard. The wreck was salvaged in 1982 in one of the most ambitious maritime archaeological efforts ever undertaken.

The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Henry VIII began life as a tall, athletic, charismatic prince—excelled in jousting, hunting, tennis, and dancing. But his health catastrophically declined after a severe jousting accident on January 24, 1536, where he was unhorsed and struck by a lance. The fall reopened an earlier leg injury, leaving him with a permanent ulcerated wound that festered until his death. The chronic infection caused immense pain and limited mobility, contributing to his notorious obesity and volatile temper.

In his final years he suffered from bone sinuses, reeking ulcers, and swollen, infected legs that had to be dressed repeatedly each day. His weight soared to an estimated 28–30 stone (175–190 kg).

HOMES  Henry maintained numerous royal residences. He was born at Greenwich Palace and died at Whitehall Palace in London. His most famous residence, Hampton Court Palace, was rebuilt by Henry into the most modern and magnificent palace in the kingdom, featuring vast state apartments and the still-surviving Chapel Royal ceiling. Five of his queens lived there.

Henry’s household also featured some of the strangest royal traditions. He employed a “Groom of the Stool”, whose job—astonishingly—was to wipe the royal backside. The royal commode was upholstered in velvet and adorned with 2,000 gold pins.

TRAVEL Henry VIII travelled frequently between his palaces, hunting lodges, and political centres. His progresses through the countryside were immense undertakings, involving hundreds of carts and thousands of attendants. Abroad, he journeyed to Calais and met Francis I during the lavish Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, a spectacle designed to display Anglo-French splendour.

DEATH Henry VIII died at Whitehall Palace on January 28, 1547, aged 55. His declining health, gross obesity, and chronic leg ulcers hastened his end. His last recorded words were: “All is lost! Monks! Monks! Monks!”—perhaps recalling those he had dispossessed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

On the journey to Windsor, his coffin rested overnight at Syon Monastery, where it burst open due to gases from his decaying body. A bloody fluid spilled onto the floor, fulfilling a prophecy given twelve years earlier by the Franciscan friar William Peyto, who warned that dogs would lick Henry’s blood as they had King Ahab’s.

Henry was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, beside his beloved third wife, Jane Seymour. His sometimes-friend, sometimes-rival Francis I of France ordered a Requiem Mass at Notre Dame but died only two months later.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Henry has been portrayed countless times in film and TV, including:

Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Robert Shaw in A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Keith Michell in The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors (2007-2010)

Damian Lewis in Wolf Hall 

His marriages, ruthlessness, and larger-than-life persona make him a perennial figure in historical fiction.

ACHIEVEMENTS Creation of a permanent English navy

Construction of major coastal fortifications

Establishment of the Church of England

Dissolution of the monasteries, transforming England’s economy and landownership

Promotion of Renaissance culture, music, architecture, and education

Authored Assertion of the Seven Sacraments, earning the title Defender of the Faith (still used by British monarchs)

Despite his brutality, Henry VIII’s reign indelibly shaped the religious, political, and cultural identity of England, laying foundations that would influence the nation for centuries.

Main Source Encyclopaedia of Trivia. Other Sources: (1) A History Of Fashion by J. Anderson Black and Madge Garland (2) Murray and Blue (3) Historic Royal Sources  (4) The Observer 02/01/2000

Henry VII of England

NAME Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII of England

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Founder of the Tudor dynasty; victor at the Battle of Bosworth Field; the last English king to win his crown in battle; financial reformer who stabilised England after the Wars of the Roses.

BIRTH Henry VII was born on January 28, 1457 at Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The castle was located in the English-speaking portion of Pembrokeshire known as "Little England beyond Wales." His birth came nearly three months after his father's death, making him a posthumous child. His mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was only thirteen years old at the time of his birth.​

FAMILY BACKGROUND Henry's lineage was complex and his claim to the throne somewhat tenuous. His father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, was the half-brother of King Henry VI and a member of the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd. Edmund died on November 3, 1456, three months before Henry's birth, while imprisoned at Carmarthen Castle after being captured while fighting for Henry VI.​

His paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, was originally from Anglesey in Wales and had been a page in the court of King Henry V before rising to become one of the "Squires to the Body to the King" after military service at Agincourt. Owen Tudor secretly married Catherine of Valois, the widow of King Henry V, giving Henry VII a connection to the royal House of Valois of France.​

His mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (the third surviving son of King Edward III), through his liaison and later marriage to Katherine Swynford. The Beaufort line had been legitimised by Parliament but specifically barred from the succession—a bar Henry would later ignore. Margaret Beaufort was thus the "sole inheritrix of the Lancastrian claim to the throne."​ (1)

Through his father's family, Henry could trace descent from former Welsh royal families, connections reinforced when he married Elizabeth of York, herself a lineal descendant of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.​

CHILDHOOD Henry's early childhood was marked by instability and the shifting fortunes of civil war. After his father's death, the infant Henry and his young mother were protected by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, at Pembroke Castle.​

In 1461, when Edward IV became king after the Yorkist victory, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. Pembroke Castle was granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who assumed guardianship of both Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. Henry was raised in the Herbert household at Raglan Castle, where some historians suggest he had a Welsh-speaking nurse who taught him the language. During this period, Henry saw little of his mother, who remarried in 1464.​​

His circumstances changed dramatically in 1469 when William Herbert was executed following the Battle of Edgecote. In 1470, Henry VI briefly retook the throne, but in 1471, both Henry VI and his only son, Prince Edward, died. Suddenly, at just fourteen years old, Henry became the principal Lancastrian claimant to the throne—a position of extreme vulnerability.​

Recognising the danger, Jasper Tudor arranged for Henry to be sent to the continent for safety. They intended to sail to France but were blown off course by bad weather and landed in Brittany, where they would remain under the protection of Duke Francis II for fourteen years. Edward IV referred to Henry as "the imp" and "the only one left of Henry VI's brood," offering substantial rewards for his capture.​ (2)

Young Henry VII, by a French artist (Musée Calvet, Avignon)

EDUCATION Henry's education was unconventional due to his disrupted childhood and long exile. According to contemporary sources, Henry was "not devoid of scholarship" and possessed "a most pertinacious memory." (3)

During his time at Raglan Castle in the Herbert household, Henry received education befitting a nobleman, though not the formal preparation expected for a future king. His years in exile in Brittany and France meant he became fluent in French, the language of diplomacy and the aristocracy. Some evidence suggests he may have understood Welsh, particularly given his Welsh-speaking nurse and his later patronage of Welsh bards and harpists.​​

Henry VII recognised his own educational deficiencies upon becoming king and surrounded himself with competent advisors, including the learned Cardinal John Morton. He later became a patron of humanist scholars and Renaissance artists, following the example of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, who endowed colleges and promoted education. In 1492, he appointed Quentin Poulet, a Frenchman from Lille, as keeper of the Royal Library, demonstrating his interest in books and learning.​

CAREER RECORD 1457–1485 Earl of Richmond

1485-1509 King of England and Lord of Ireland. Founder of the Tudor Dynasty: He secured his position by defeating Richard III and subsequently united the houses of Lancaster and York through his marriage.

APPEARANCE The most detailed description of Henry VII's appearance comes from Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia (c.1513):

"His body was slender but well built and strong; his height above the average. His appearance was remarkably attractive and his face was cheerful, especially when speaking; his eyes were small and blue, his teeth few, poor and blackish; his hair was thin and white; his complexion sallow."​ (3)

By the time of his death, portraits and his funeral effigy (believed to have been created from a death mask) reveal a man who had become quite gaunt and emaciated. Unlike his son Henry VIII, who became famously obese, Henry VII remained lean throughout his life, likely of an ectomorphic build. His mother, Margaret Beaufort, was described as quite slender with a delicate bone structure, traits he appears to have inherited.​

Henry painted by an unknown Netherlandish artist, 1505

FASHION In contrast to his flamboyant son, Henry VIII, the elder Henry preferred a sober, practical, and less lavish style of dress, reflecting his personal character and his policy of thrift. His garments were of good quality but lacked excessive ornamentation, a contrast to the highly fashionable, padded silhouettes favored by the nobility of the time.

CHARACTER Extremely cautious, reserved, and methodical. Henry was a deeply intelligent and careful planner, known for his political prudence and meticulous attention to detail, particularly in financial matters. He was often perceived as cold and aloof, highly suspicious of the nobility, and intensely focused on maintaining order and solvency above all else. He was also a genuinely pious Catholic.

Polydore Vergil recorded that he was "amiable and high-spirited," "friendly if dignified in manner," and "extremely intelligent." (3)

His turbulent childhood appears to have shaped his character significantly. Historians have noted his remarkable resilience and mental fortitude, though some suggest he may have struggled with feelings of inadequacy or impostor syndrome given his tenuous claim to the throne.​

SPEAKING VOICE Henry was described as having a face that was "cheerful, especially when speaking," suggesting an engaging speaking manner. His "hospitality was splendidly generous" and he was "easy of access," indicating an approachable conversational style.​ (3)

Henry VII spoke fluent French, acquired during his fourteen years of exile in Brittany and France. He would have known Latin, the language of diplomacy, the Church, and official documents. Some modern media portrayals have given him a Welsh accent, which is plausible if he did not acquire a French accent during his exile.​​

SENSE OF HUMOUR Henry VII's personality was overwhelmingly serious, dedicated entirely to the business of kingship, peace, and financial security. Anecdotes often center on his political shrewdness rather than his wit.

His character was noted as "amiable and high-spirited" in his earlier years, though the tragedies of his later reign—the deaths of his son Arthur, his wife, and several children—undoubtedly darkened his temperament.​

Henry demonstrated political wit in his use of symbolism and propaganda, particularly in creating the Tudor Rose as a masterful piece of political messaging. 

RELATIONSHIPS Henry VII married Elizabeth of York on January 18, 1486 at Westminster Abbey, five months after Bosworth. Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and the marriage united the Houses of Lancaster and York. One court poet noted “great gladness filled all the kingdom” to see the warring houses united. Their marriage appears to have been remarkably successful and loving, despite its political origins.​ (4)

Portrait of Elizabeth, attributed to Meynnart Wewyck

Elizabeth gave birth to seven children, four of whom survived infancy:​ Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486-1502), Margaret (1489-1541), later Queen of Scotland, Henry (1491-1547), later Henry VIII, Mary (1496-1533), later briefly queen of France through her marriage to King Louis XII, Elizabeth (1492-1495, died in infancy), Edmund (1499-1500, died in infancy), Catherine (1503, died shortly after birth; Elizabeth died in childbirth). Henry was meticulous in arranging politically advantageous marriages for his children.

Elizabeth of York died on February 11, 1503, her 37th birthday, from complications following Catherine's birth. Henry was devastated; upon receiving news of her death, he "privily departed to a solitary place to pass his sorrows and would no man should resort to him." He never remarried, despite considering it for diplomatic purposes.​ (4)

Remarkably for a medieval king, Henry VII has no recorded mistresses or illegitimate children during his marriage. Some historians have proposed he may have fathered an illegitimate child, Roland de Velville, during his years in exile, but evidence is inconclusive.​

Henry was exceptionally close to his mother, Margaret Beaufort, who remained his trusted advisor throughout his reign. She was present at his deathbed and served as chief executor of his will.​

MONEY AND FAME During his 24-year reign, Henry VII replenished both the country’s treasury and his own coffers through taxes and fines that were deeply unpopular but undeniably effective.  When he seized the throne, the royal exchequer was all but empty after decades of civil war. Yet, as his biographer Stanley B. Chrimes observed, Henry “became solvent quite early in the reign and was able to secure some considerable surplus annually during his later years.” (5)

His success was built on a series of shrewd—and often resented—financial strategies. These included the rigorous improvement of tax collection across all levels of society, the introduction of protective tariffs on imports, the widespread use of bonds and recognizances to enforce loyalty, and the deployment of the Council Learned in the Law, a specialised tribunal tasked with collecting outstanding debts owed to the crown.

Henry introduced England’s first £1 coin in 1489, a symbolic show of strength meant to impress Europe with the rise of the new Tudor dynasty. In 1491 he went even further, extracting £48,000 in “loving contributions” from his subjects despite the practice having been outlawed seven years earlier. This blend of fiscal creativity and coercion became a hallmark of his rule.

His most notorious financial enforcers were Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, whose aggressive methods made them the public face of Tudor oppression. Their unpopularity was so great that Henry VIII, eager to win favour early in his reign, ordered their executions. 

Henry VII (centre), with his advisors Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley

By the time Henry VII died, he had accumulated a remarkable personal fortune—around £180,000, mostly in jewels and precious plate—secured carefully within his treasury. Yet despite the stability he brought to England’s finances, his reputation for avarice has lingered. The historian Polydore Vergil remarked that Henry’s later virtues were “obscured... by avarice,” calling it a vice bad enough in a private man, but “in a monarch indeed... the worst vice.” (3)

FOOD AND DRINK Specific details about Henry VII's personal dietary preferences are not extensively documented. However, we know that Tudor royal dining was elaborate and served as a display of monarchical power.​  Henry VII's dental problems—his teeth described as "few, poor and blackish"—may have affected his eating in later years. His general leanness throughout life suggests he was not an excessive eater, unlike his son Henry VIII who became notorious for his appetite.​

MUSIC AND ARTS Henry VII was a significant patron of music and the arts, using cultural patronage to enhance royal prestige and legitimacy. He maintained the Chapel Royal, continuing the tradition of royal religious music that would flourish under subsequent Tudor monarchs.​ The Chapel Royal under the Tudors would later employ great composers including Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, and Henry Purcell.​​

Notably, when Elizabeth of York died, "the only thing that could calm Henry was the sound of the Welsh harp." He personally paid for the funeral of one of his Welsh harpists, demonstrating genuine affection for music. 

 His architectural patronage included the magnificent Henry VII Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey, considered "the last great work of medieval English architecture."​

LITERATURE Henry VII valued learning and literature. His support for literature and learning took several forms:​

In 1492, Henry appointed Quentin Poulet as keeper of the Royal Library. The library contained numerous instructional manuscripts on kingship, demonstrating the belief that princes needed comprehensive knowledge of ancient history to learn lessons "of wisdom, virtue and knightly conduct."​ (7)

Henry's reign coincided with the growth of English printing. William Caxton had established England's first printing press at Westminster in 1476, and both Henry and his mother Margaret Beaufort were patrons of printed works. Henry mainly received printed book dedications from men who already had his patronage.​

Henry commissioned Polydore Vergil, an Italian philosopher and chronicler, to write Anglica Historia (c.1505), a new history of England that would present the Tudor dynasty favourably. Francis Bacon later wrote The Historie of the Reigne of King Henry The Seventh (1622), which became the standard work on Henry VII for centuries.​

NATURE Henry's interest in nature was primarily functional, revolving around the royal forests and parks managed for hunting and timber.

Henry VII revived "Swainmotes" (forest courts) for several forests and held Forest Eyres in some of them. He made unauthorised hunting in private forests a felony punishable by death if the offense was committed at night. The royal forests remained important reserves for game animals, protected by forest law.​

The area that would become Richmond Park was known as the Manor of Sheen until Henry VII changed the name to Richmond around 1501, to reflect his title as Earl of Richmond. This area would later become one of London's most important royal parks.​

Henry's main connection to nature came through hunting—the preeminent recreational pastime of medieval aristocracy. While specific details of his personal hunting activities are limited, he would have participated in the traditional royal sports of his era, including deer hunting and hawking.​

PETS The greyhound was particularly significant to Henry VII and the Tudor dynasty. The greyhound was a symbol of the Beaufort family (Henry's mother's line) and became known as the Greyhound of Richmond when Henry VI granted a white greyhound to Edmund Tudor, Henry VII's father.​

Henry VII used the greyhound as one of his heraldic supporters, alongside the Welsh dragon. These symbols can be seen carved into the stone of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, where Henry's master mason created "the most lavish display of worldly pomp to be found anywhere in English Gothic." Richard III had used boars in these positions, which Henry VII changed to greyhounds upon taking the throne.​

The greyhound represented loyalty and honour, and continued to be used as a royal beast throughout the Tudor period. Evidence suggests the greyhound may have been seen as a symbol of luck and support for Henry VII, particularly in times of battle.​

King Henry VII's Coat of Arms

HOBBIES AND SPORTS While Henry VII is less associated with vigorous physical pursuits than his athletic son, hunting was an expected royal activity. He transformed Baynard's Castle into a royal palace and developed Richmond Palace with grounds suitable for sport.​

Falconry was a major pursuit for medieval nobility. Henry would have had access to the royal mews and participated in hawking, the "sport of kings." 

Henry was genuinely fond of music, particularly Welsh harp music, which could calm him during times of distress.​

SCIENCE AND MATHS Henry VII's reign saw England's entry into the Age of Exploration, demonstrating royal interest in geography and navigation.

On March 5, 1496, Henry VII granted letters patent to John Cabot, a Venetian navigator, authorising him "to sail to all parts, regions and coasts of the eastern, western and northern sea... to seek and discover all the islands, countries, regions, or provinces of pagans in whatever part of the world."​ Cabot's 1497 voyage reached the coast of North America, the earliest known European exploration of coastal North America under English commission. 

In February 1498, Henry granted Cabot second letters patent authorising a larger expedition. Henry continued supporting Bristol-based exploration, granting rewards to explorers like William Weston and Hugh Eliot.​

Henry VII was keen on the development of artillery. The archaeological survey of the Bosworth battlefield uncovered "the largest group of cannonballs ever found on a medieval battlefield"—34 lead shot of various calibres—indicating the use of artillery in the battle that won Henry his crown.​

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Henry VII was a devout Catholic whose faith shaped both his private life and his public kingship. Contemporary accounts describe a monarch who “daily participated with great piety in religious services,” presenting himself as a ruler whose authority was inseparable from his religious devotion. He was deeply influenced by his mother Margaret Beaufort’s intense piety.. (3)

Henry’s personal religious practices were extensive and often discreet. He was praised as “the most ardent supporter of our faith,” and he frequently gave secret alms to priests he deemed worthy, asking them to pray for his salvation. He showed a particular affinity for the Observant Franciscans, the stricter, reform-minded branch of the order. Henry founded several Observant friaries, including one located next to his beloved Richmond Palace, effectively embedding their spiritual presence into the heart of his royal household. (3)

Under Henry’s rule, the Catholic Church remained the central institution of English life. With around eight thousand parish churches across the realm, it functioned as “the bedrock of spirituality, morality, culture and socio-economic existence.” Rome exercised relatively little direct interference in English ecclesiastical affairs, leaving Henry free to preserve his royal prerogatives while maintaining a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with the papacy. This relationship proved crucial: Henry secured papal backing before the Battle of Bosworth and later obtained dispensations for dynastically significant marriages, including his own to Elizabeth of York, despite their being related within prohibited degrees. (9)

Henry’s religious patronage was both sincere and politically astute. His most enduring legacy is the Henry VII Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey, commissioned in 1502 as a grand shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Originally conceived as a monument to Henry VI—whose canonisation Henry championed—it ultimately became the king’s own burial place. The chapel stands today as one of the masterpieces of Tudor architecture and a lasting testament to the depth of Henry VII’s faith.

REIGN Henry’s early “career,” if we can call it that, was less a march toward greatness than an extended exercise in not getting killed. For most of his youth he lived abroad in a sort of long-term, high-stakes gap year, dodging Yorkist armies and hoping England might eventually want him back. His political life didn’t truly begin until August 7, 1485, when he landed at Mill Bay in Pembrokeshire with about 2,000 French mercenaries and a collection of English exiles who, one suspects, had nothing better to do.

What followed was one of the more astonishing recruitment drives in British history. Henry marched through Wales, picking up supporters like a rolling snowball—albeit one convinced it was the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy. Welsh nobles, ever fond of a good destiny, rallied to him enthusiastically. The whole venture came to a head at Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485, where Henry’s comparatively modest force of roughly 5,000–8,000 men faced Richard III’s much beefier 10,000–15,000. The battle swung decisively when the Stanleys—masters of the art of strategic dithering—finally chose a side and charged in on Henry’s behalf just as Richard was attempting the rather personal tactic of galloping straight at Henry himself.

Having survived both exile and England’s last great medieval slugfest, Henry VII was crowned on October 30, 1485, at Westminster Abbey. His nearly 24-year reign (1485–1509) was surprisingly calm by the standards of someone whose résumé had previously consisted of “professional fugitive.”

He consolidated power with the patience and precision of someone who’d learned the hard way never to trust a family tree. Strategic marriages, careful alliances, and an unblinking approach to royal authority steadily stripped away potential threats.

Henry restored England’s finances with almost suspicious diligence, implementing prudent fiscal reforms, enforcing taxation, and strengthening the Court of Star Chamber—an institution that sounded friendly but absolutely wasn’t.

Diplomatically, Henry played a shrewd long game. He secured high-value marriages—most famously pairing his son Arthur with Catherine of Aragon and his daughter Margaret with James IV of Scotland—laying foundations for both peace and future dynastic drama.

He put down rebellions with brisk efficiency, dispatching Lambert Simnel in 1487 and then enduring Perkin Warbeck, who impersonated royalty with such persistence between 1491 and 1499 that he practically deserved a title just for effort.

And, not to be overlooked, Henry dipped a cautious toe into the age of exploration. In 1496 he granted John Cabot the patent that led to the first English foray into North America—a small administrative flourish that would, in time, lead to rather large consequences.

For a man who began with little more than a dubious claim and excellent survival instincts, Henry VII turned out to be remarkably good at the whole “king” business.

POLITICS Henry VII emerged from the Wars of the Roses as a shrewd and disciplined political operator, determined to bind a fractured kingdom back together. After decades of civil war, his first priority was consolidating royal authority—and he approached it with a mixture of caution, calculation, and quiet ruthlessness.

Henry governed with the help of roughly 200 councillors drawn from both Lancastrian and Yorkist backgrounds. These men convened in the Court of Star Chamber at Westminster Palace, an institution formally established in 1487. Designed to enforce the law against the great and powerful, the Star Chamber offered a way to hold unruly nobles accountable when traditional courts might have balked. It quickly became an essential tool for curbing aristocratic independence.

Another, more notorious instrument of power was the Council Learned in the Law. Led by prominent figures such as Reynold Bray, Richard Empson, and Edmund Dudley, this tribunal focused on preserving and expanding the king’s revenue. Its officials aggressively enforced bonds and recognizances—financial penalties that kept nobles firmly in line. The Council was efficient, lucrative, and widely hated, a reminder that Henry valued obedience above popularity.

Financial control was at the heart of his political strategy. The king maintained stability by placing nobles under heavy monetary obligations, levying fines, and pressing legal charges when necessary. This created a system in which loyalty was not merely encouraged but financially ensured. While it produced order, it also left a lingering climate of resentment.

Because his claim to the throne was relatively weak, succession was a constant anxiety. Henry cleverly backdated the start of his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth, making all who fought for Richard III technically traitors. His marriage to Elizabeth of York united the warring houses, symbolically healing the realm, and he named his firstborn son Arthur—a deliberate echo of mythical British kingship meant to strengthen Tudor legitimacy.

Parliament played a meaningful role during the early years of the reign, meeting frequently while Cardinal Morton was alive. After Morton’s death in 1500, however, Henry summoned Parliament only once. By then he had achieved enough stability and authority to govern without regular parliamentary involvement, a sign of just how thoroughly he had centralised power.

SCANDAL Henry VII's reign was marked by several scandals, primarily involving pretenders to the throne:

Lambert Simnel (1487): Barely a year after Bosworth, a boy named Lambert Simnel was presented as Edward, Earl of Warwick, Richard III's nephew. Despite the real Earl being imprisoned in the Tower, Simnel gathered support in Ireland and was actually crowned "King Edward VI" in Dublin. Henry defeated the rebels at the Battle of Stoke Field, but rather than execute the boy, put him to work in the royal kitchens—a rare display of mercy.​

Perkin Warbeck (1491-1499): A more dangerous threat, Warbeck claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York—one of the "Princes in the Tower." For eight years, Warbeck troubled Henry, gaining support from foreign powers including Burgundy, Scotland, and the Holy Roman Empire. The conspiracy implicated even Henry's own chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, who was executed for treason. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497, confessed to being an impostor from Tournai, and was executed in 1499 after an attempted escape.​

Financial extortion scandal: Henry's aggressive tax collectors, Empson and Dudley, created a "regime of terror where nobles were frequently fined, faced trumped up charges, or placed under huge financial bonds." Their methods were so unpopular that their execution by Henry VIII was a major "popularity earner" for the new king.​

MILITARY RECORD Henry VII's military experience was remarkably limited before Bosworth. The Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485 was considered the first military battle of Henry Tudor's career.​

When Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and standard-bearer of the rival House of Lancaster, landed at Milford Haven in Wales, Richard III moved quickly to intercept him. Their forces met at Bosworth Field, near the village of Market Bosworth, about twelve miles west of Leicester—an unassuming patch of Leicestershire countryside destined to become one of the most famous battlefields in English history.

Local Leicester lore adds a touch of ominous theatre to Richard’s departure. Tradition holds that the king consulted a seer before riding out. She warned him, “Where your spur should strike on the ride into battle, your head shall be broken on the return.” Richard is also said to have celebrated Mass at St James’ Church before heading to the field where he would make his last stand.

Richard held the advantage at the outset. He commanded between 11,000 and 12,000 men and occupied the high ground on Ambion Hill. Henry Tudor’s force was smaller—around 5,000 to 7,000—but the wild card was Lord Stanley, whose 5,000-strong contingent waited to the north. When the Stanleys chose to side with Henry, the shift collapsed Richard’s prospects in an instant.

As desertions thinned his ranks, Richard’s companions pleaded with him to flee, but he refused. He launched a furious, last-ditch charge aimed directly at Henry. Unhorsed in a marsh, surrounded, and struck down by Welsh pikemen, Richard fought to the end. As he fell, mortally wounded, his crown was retrieved and placed on Henry Tudor’s head—an improvised coronation on the battlefield.

Richard III would be the final English king to die in combat. His body, slung ignominiously over a horse, was carried back to Leicester. In a grim fulfilment of the seer’s prophecy, his spur had struck the stone of Bow Bridge on his way out; on his return, his head struck the same spot and split open. Some accounts claim his naked body was dragged through the streets before being buried at Greyfriars Church. His horse at Bosworth, according to tradition, was named White Surrey.

Henry’s victory ended Plantagenet rule. By marrying Elizabeth of York, he united the warring houses and secured the Tudor succession as Henry VII. Richard’s fall at Bosworth is often seen as the symbolic end of the Middle Ages.

Interestingly, the name “Battle of Bosworth Field” didn’t become standard until about 1510. Before then, it was known as Redemore—“the place of the reeds”—as well as Brownheath or Sandeford. (11)

Battle of Bosworth Field. Wikipedia Commons

In 1487, Henry's forces defeated the Lambert Simnel rebellion at the Battle of Stoke Field in what is sometimes called the last battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry launched a brief invasion of France in 1492, aimed at coercing the French into a favourable peace treaty rather than serious conquest. The resulting Treaty of Étaples brought him £149,000 (paid in instalments) and ended French support for Perkin Warbeck.​​

Henry effectively avoided large-scale foreign wars, preferring diplomacy (e.g., the Treaty of Etaples with France) and alliances. Polydore Vergil noted that Henry was "most fortunate in war, although he was constitutionally more inclined to peace than to war."​ (3)

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Henry VII’s health declined markedly in his final years, a stark contrast to the vigorous young man he had once been. Early descriptions portray him as “slender but well built and strong,” and he remained lean throughout his life—very unlike his son, Henry VIII, who developed a famously heavy physique. But behind Henry VII’s wiry frame, a catalogue of chronic ailments gradually took hold.

His eyesight began failing in his thirties, prompting him to try an array of herbal remedies—fennel water, rosewater, and celandine—but none brought improvement. His dental health was equally troubling. Contemporary observers described his teeth as “few, poor and blackish,” a detail that suggests years of discomfort. Gout also plagued him, and he likely suffered from long-term respiratory damage, possibly emphysema. By the end of his life, he showed clear signs of tuberculosis, which is now considered the most probable cause of his terminal illness.

Henry’s health worsened significantly in late 1508. He withdrew to Richmond Palace in February 1509, and by March he had largely stopped eating, and on April20,  he summoned his confessor to administer last rites. He died the following day after a prolonged final struggle lasting twenty-seven hours.

His funeral effigy—believed to be modelled from a death mask—presents a haunting final image: a king who appeared gaunt, hollowed, and profoundly worn down by years of pain and illness.

Tomb effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, by Pietro Torrigiano, Westminster Abbey

HOMES Henry VII occupied and developed several significant residences:

Richmond Palace: His primary residence, rebuilt after the former Palace of Sheen was destroyed by fire in 1497. Henry renamed it Richmond after his earldom and transformed it into a magnificent Tudor palace with innovative "stacked" lodging arrangements derived from Continental models. A friary of Observant Franciscans was founded adjacent to the palace. Both Henry VII and his granddaughter Elizabeth I died here.​

Baynard's Castle: A London residence of symbolic significance, as this house had been granted to Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, in 1453. Henry "transformed the fortified mansion into a royal palace at the start of the 16th century—adding a series of towers."​ 

Greenwich Palace: A preferred residence where Henry often spent Christmas.​

Windsor Castle: Continued as a royal residence, though less associated with Henry VII than later Tudors.​

TRAVEL Henry VII’s travel experiences were defined less by royal pageantry and more by the extraordinary circumstances of his long exile. After the Lancastrian collapse in 1471, the young Henry fled Wales with his uncle Jasper Tudor, hoping to reach the safety of France. Instead, storms blew their ship off course and forced them to land in Brittany—a twist of fate that would shape the next fourteen years of his life. He lived largely under the protection of Duke Francis II of Brittany, moving between various Breton households and châteaux, always under the shadow of Yorkist demands for his extradition. When Brittany’s political situation grew unstable, Henry was quietly moved to France, where he received support from the French court for his eventual attempt to reclaim the English crown.

That attempt began when he sailed from France on August 1, 1485. He landed at Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire, a week later and marched through Wales, gathering supporters in a symbolic homecoming that culminated in his victory at the Battle of Bosworth. This march—half military campaign, half personal odyssey—became the defining journey of his life.

As king, Henry VII travelled far less dramatically. His movements were generally confined to royal progresses between his palaces in London and the Thames Valley, along with appearances at major ceremonies and sessions of Parliament. Even during the 1492 expedition to France, he avoided the front-line involvement that characterised later warrior kings.

DEATH Henry VII died on April 21, 1509 at Richmond Palace, aged 52.​ His final illness was likely tuberculosis, following years of declining health including failing eyesight, dental problems, gout, and respiratory issues. He stopped receiving visitors on state business after moving to Richmond in February 1509 and seems to have undergone a steady decline.​

On April 20, Henry summoned his confessor to administer last rites. He died surrounded by clerics including Bishop Richard Fox, ushers, members of his household, and three doctors.​

News of Henry's death was kept secret for two days until April 23, when seventeen-year-old Henry was proclaimed Henry VIII. This secrecy ensured a smooth transition of government, given continuing concerns about Yorkist plots.​

Henry's funeral service was held at St Paul's Cathedral on May 10, 1509, with Bishop Fisher delivering an hour-long oration. The following day, May 11, 1509, he was buried beside Elizabeth of York in the Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey—the magnificent chapel he had commissioned himself.​

The Latin inscription surrounding his tomb reads as a testament to the king who had requested his funeral be performed without "dampnable pompe and oterageous superfluities." King James I was later buried in the same vault.​

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Henry VII has been portrayed numerous times in popular culture, though less frequently than his more dramatic son:

(1)Television: James Maxwell in The Shadow of the Tower (BBC, 1972) in a 13-episode series devoted to his reign​

John Woodnutt in The Six Wives of Henry VIII (BBC, 1970)​

Peter Benson in The Black Adder (1983)​

Jacob Collins-Levy in The White Princess (2017)​

Hennie Scott and Jerome Willis in An Age of Kings (BBC, 1960)​

(2) Film: Stanley Baker in Richard III (1955) with Laurence Olivier​

Dominic West in Richard III (1995) with Ian McKellen​

Aidan Quinn in Looking for Richard (1996) with Al Pacino​

(3) Documentary: Henry VII: Winter King (2013)—documentary based on Thomas Penn's book​

(4) Literature: Featured as a character in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III​

Hero of Jean Stubbs' historical novel An Unknown Welshman (1972)​

Appears in multiple Philippa Gregory novels including The Red Queen, The White Princess, and The White Queen​

As one commentator noted: "We have never had any piece of media solely dedicated to Henry VII's story. He is always the side character of his predecessor and successor's [stories]."​ (14)

ACHIEVEMENTS Founded the Tudor dynasty.

Ended the Wars of the Roses.

Rebuilt royal finances.

Established long-lasting administrative reforms.

Strengthened England’s international standing.

United York and Lancaster through marriage.

Introduced the first £1 coin.

Created a stable platform for the Renaissance-era flowering under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Sources: (1) Dictionary of Welsh Biography (2) History Learning Site (3) Tudorhistory.org (4) History Extra (5) The Collector (6) London Tickets (7) Melanievtaylor.co.uk (8) Battlefields Hub (9) Yellowboxhistory (10) Rotten Books (11) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (12) Henry VIII Houses (13) Exploring London (14) Reddit

Henry VI of England

NAME Henry VI of England and (disputed) King of France.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR The pious, gentle king whose troubled reign saw the collapse of English power in France, intermittent bouts of mental illness, and the eruption of the Wars of the Roses. Founder of King’s College, Cambridge, and Eton College.

BIRTH Henry was born on December 6, 1421 at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, on the feast of St. Nicholas, patron saint of children. He was baptised by Archbishop Henry Chichele, with his godparents being his uncle John, Duke of Bedford; his great-uncle Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester; and Jacqueline, Countess of Holland. The timing of his birth on St. Nicholas's feast day later influenced his educational foundations, as a school for poor scholars would honor this connection.​

FAMILY BACKGROUND Henry VI was the only child of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France. His father was the legendary warrior king who won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and secured the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, which made Henry V regent of France and his heirs successors to the French crown.​

His mother Catherine was just twenty years old when widowed and was viewed with considerable suspicion by English nobles as the daughter of the French king. She was prevented from playing a full role in her son's upbringing but later remarried in secret to Owen Tudor, a Welsh courtier, and had two sons by him—Edmund and Jasper Tudor. Henry later gave his half-brothers earldoms, and Edmund's son would become King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty.​

Through his mother, Henry inherited a troubling legacy: his grandfather Charles VI of France suffered from severe mental illness, sometimes believing himself made of glass or attacking members of his entourage. This genetic inheritance would later manifest in Henry's own mental breakdowns. 

His father Henry V died of dysentery at age thirty-five at Vincennes, France, in August 1422, never having met his nine-month-old son.​

CHILDHOOD Henry's childhood was marked by the unique circumstance of being a crowned king from infancy. On September 1, 1422, the day after his father's death, he became King of England, and on October 21, 1422, King of France upon Charles VI's death. He presided at his first parliament in November 1423, carried in by his retinue; the tale is told that the baby "skreeked" so much on the journey that the party had to pause, continuing the next day when Henry was "merry of cheer."​ (1)

His uncles, John, Duke of Bedford (Regent of France), and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (Protector of England), dominated his minority and engaged in fierce rivalry with the King's great-uncle, Cardinal Henry Beaufort.

Henry remained under his mother's care initially, though Catherine was marginalized due to suspicions about her French loyalties. On November 18, 1423, the infant Henry was brought from Windsor and shown to the assembled Parliament at Westminster. In January 1424, Joan Astley was appointed his nurse with a salary of £40 per year, and in February 1424, Dame Alice Butler was selected to attend his person, with license "to chastise us reasonably from time to time."​ (2)

EDUCATION Henry VI received an excellent education befitting a future king of two realms. From 1428, his principal tutor was Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, who was instructed to "generally nourish [Henry] and draw him to virtues and the eschewing of vices...laying before him mirrors and examples of times past."​ (3)

For the period 1430–1432, Henry was also tutored by the physician John Somerset, whose duties were "to tutor the young king as well as preserv[e] his health." Somerset remained within the royal household until early 1451 when the Commons petitioned for his removal because of his alleged "dangerous and subversive influence over Henry VI."​

Henry proved an intelligent and precocious student with a particular passion for studying religion and the humanities, which later influenced his kingship as a devoted Christian and pacifist. He received several lavishly illuminated volumes to aid his education, including a beautiful prayerbook presented to him on Christmas Eve 1430 by his aunt Anne, Duchess of Bedford. 

Henry was described as "clearly very erudite, learned, and educated" and "committed himself to study and academic pursuits." His educational interests shaped his greatest lasting achievements—the founding of educational institutions that continue to flourish today.​ (4)

CAREER RECORD Reigned as King of England: 1422–1461, 1470–1471.

Disputed King of France: 1422–1453, though by his 1431 coronation, much of France had been reclaimed by Joan of Arc and the French armies.

APPEARANCE Contemporary accounts describe Henry VI as having a gentle, passive appearance that reflected his character.  He was often described as pale, thin, and melancholy-looking. Chroniclers emphasised his saintly, non-martial bearing.

John Blacman, Henry's chaplain, recorded that Henry often appeared "wont almost at every moment to raise his eyes heavenward like a denizen of heaven or one rapt, being for the time not conscious of himself or those about him, as if he were a man in a trance, or on the verge of heaven." His supporters perceived this introspective behavior as a sign of holiness rather than illness.​ (3)

When Henry's remains were exhumed in 1910, they revealed a dismembered skeleton with some bones still bearing grave wax. Hair was found still attached to the skull, described as "brown in colour, save in one place where it was much darker and apparently matted with blood," suggesting evidence of a violent death.​ (5)

Illuminated miniature of Henry VI of England

FASHION Henry VI was notably indifferent to royal splendor in his dress, in sharp contrast to the magnificence expected of medieval monarchs. Contemporary John Blacman recorded that Henry was criticized within his lifetime for his lack of grandeur in clothes and often dressed simply "like a farmer."​ 

The National Portrait Gallery's analysis of Henry's portrait revealed that he wore a blue tunic, an unusual choice for a king in the fifteenth century. Blue was "principally a colour worn by working people and young apprentices, and it faded quickly." This confirmed contemporary accounts about his physical appearance and preference for modest attire, reinforcing the image of a king who rejected ostentation.​ (6)

Henry's simplicity in dress reflected his broader asceticism and rejection of worldly grandeur. While other monarchs used magnificent clothing as symbols of power and authority, Henry dressed in a manner that emphasized his religious devotion over his royal status.

CHARACTER Henry VI is consistently described as pious, meek, gentle, kind, charitable, and chaste. He was genuinely devoted to religion and peace, to the point that he was viewed as wholly unsuited for the demands of medieval kingship. He was docile and lacked the will and ruthlessness needed to control his powerful magnates, which contributed to political instability. He was better suited for a religious life, with some historians suggesting he would have been happier as a monk or bishop

Tudor historian Polydore Vergil described Henry as "a man of mild and plain-dealing disposition who preferred peace before war, quietness before troubles, honesty before utility and leisure before business...there was not in this world a more honest and a more holy creature." He possessed "honest shamed-facedness, modesty, innocency and perfect patience."​

Henry was noted for being extravagant, credulous, over-merciful and compassionate to those at fault. In 1438, his own council protested at his granting pardons without any regard to the type of crime committed. His excessive clemency was seen as a failure of royal duty.​

SPEAKING VOICE Henry's most notable characteristic was his tendency to remain completely unresponsive for extended periods, particularly during his mental breakdowns. During council meetings, he demonstrated a pronounced silence that troubled his advisors, and his "willingness to forgive and accommodation of his political adversaries" stemmed partly from his reluctance to speak decisively.​ (3)

SENSE OF HUMOUR Henry VI's serious, devotional nature and his periodic mental incapacity left little room in the historical record for observations about humor or levity.

Chroniclers noted that his greatest oaths consisted of mild phrases like "forsooth and forsooth" and an occasional "St. John," and nothing roused Henry to profanity.

RELATIONSHIPS Henry married Margaret of Anjou on April 22, 1445 at Titchfield Abbey. Margaret was the daughter of René I of Anjou, titular King of Naples, and was fifteen years old at the time of their marriage; Henry was twenty-three. The marriage was arranged as part of peace negotiations with France, with William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, standing proxy for the king during the formal betrothal on  May 24, 1444 at Tours.​

Below shows the marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou as depicted in a miniature from an illustrated manuscript of Vigilles de Charles VII by Martial d'Auvergne

Margaret came with a remarkably small dowry of 20,000 francs and the unrealized claim to territories in Mallorca and Menorca. The marriage required the controversial secret cession of Maine to France. Margaret was strong-willed and ambitious, described as "a great and strong laboured woman who spares no pain to sue her things to an intent and conclusion to her power." She was much the opposite of Henry, ready to take decisions and lead, and he was happy to be led by her.​

The couple had one child, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, born on October 13, 1453. Edward's birth came during Henry's first mental breakdown, and the king didn't respond to his arrival. Parliament confirmed Edward as Prince of Wales on March 15, 1454. Edward spent most of his life with his mother and grew into a martial young man; a Milanese ambassador in 1467 wrote that he "already talks of nothing but cutting off heads or making war." Edward was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4,  1471, aged seventeen.​ (9)

Contemporary accounts indicate Henry was noticeably uncomfortable around women at court and displayed an aversion to any degree of sensuality or flirtation. He reportedly showed extreme modesty regarding physical matters generally.​

MONEY AND FAME Henry VI was notoriously poor at managing finances, and his excessive generosity with patronage critically weakened the crown. By November 1449, royal debts had reached the staggering sum of £372,000, announced to a shocked Parliament.​

The king had a tendency to issue generous land grants that steadily eroded his income from crown lands over time. His household staff was supposedly limited to 53 knights and esquires, but by 1451 it had swelled to over 300. Henry's financial profligacy meant that by 1450, his government was reduced to mortgaging its future income to meet current debts.​

Henry achieved considerable posthumous renown as a holy figure. Following his death, 174 documented "wonders" were attributed to Henry VI between 1471 and 1500. Pilgrims traveled from as far as Calais, Cornwall, and Northumberland to his burial places. Henry VII campaigned vigorously for his step-uncle's canonization, obtaining a papal bull in 1494 permitting reburial and authorizing investigation of the recorded miracles, though the process stalled during Henry VIII's break with Rome.​

FOOD AND DRINK Henry followed simple, monk-like routines rather than extravagant feasting. Contemporary accounts emphasize that Henry endured "hunger, thirst, mocking, abuse and other hardships in his life" as part of his saintly conduct. (7)

MUSIC AND ARTS Henry VI was a significant patron of religious music and architecture. His educational foundations at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge included provisions for choirs and religious music. King's College was founded with a stipulation for a choir composed of ten secular chaplains, six lay clerks, and sixteen choristers who were to sing daily Matins, Mass, and Vespers.​

Henry's architectural patronage represented his most visible artistic legacy. He continued a career of architectural patronage started by his father, with King's College Chapel and Eton College Chapel representing magnificent examples of late Gothic or Perpendicular-style architecture. King's College Chapel, with its famous fan vaulting, remains one of England's finest medieval buildings. Henry also completed his father's foundation of Syon Abbey.​

LITERATURE The young King was the recipient of several lavishly illuminated volumes to aid his education, including a beautiful prayerbook presented to him on Christmas Eve 1430 by his aunt the Duchess of Bedford. His personal preference was for religious tomes and the historical writings of English priests

Henry became the subject of literature himself, most notably in William Shakespeare's trilogy Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3, believed to have been written around 1591. Shakespeare's portrayal emphasizes Henry's piety and unsuitability for kingship, though notably it does not mention the king's madness—considered a politically advisable omission to avoid offending Elizabeth I, whose family descended from Henry's Lancastrian line.​

NATURE Henry spent time at his hunting lodge at Clarendon Palace outside Salisbury, where in the summer of 1453 he suffered his first major mental breakdown. The bucolic setting suggests some appreciation for countryside retreats, though Henry notably did not share his father's martial enthusiasm for hunting.​ His temperament leaned toward cloistered environments.

PETS Records confirm Henry had a falcon and hawk for the aristocratic sport of falconry, but he preferred reading over active hunting.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Unlike his warrior father Henry V, the younger Henry showed no enthusiasm for hunting, jousting, or other aristocratic pastimes typical of medieval kings. His primary interests lay in religious devotions, educational foundations, and charitable works.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Henry VI's interests were predominantly religious and humanistic rather than scientific or mathematical. His educational foundations focused on theology, classical languages, and law rather than natural philosophy or mathematics.

However, the educational curriculum at his foundations would have included some mathematical instruction as part of the medieval quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). King's College, Cambridge was intended to produce theologians and lawyers trained in scholastic methods that incorporated logical reasoning.​

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Henry VI was profoundly devout and pious, practicing the Devotio Moderna, a movement for religious reform that advocated humility, obedience, and inner devotion. He spent time meditating on the sufferings of Christ and staying in monasteries

Theology represented the central intellectual and spiritual focus of his life. His chaplain John Blacman portrayed him as someone who "saw the world as a place of brief sojourn in which to do good, to learn courtesy and to seek God."​ (7)

The king's foundations reflected his theological priorities. Eton College was conceived as "the first pledge of his devotion to God," and King's College was intended to produce clergy and canon lawyers for service to Church and state. All Souls College, Oxford was founded partly as a memorial chapel where fellows would pray for souls of those who had fallen in the French wars.​

REIGN Henry VI’s reign divides rather neatly into a series of episodes, each one more improbable than the last—rather like a miniseries written by someone who keeps losing the script and making up new characters as they go.

Minority Rule (1422–1437) Henry became king at the age of nine months, which is remarkable when you consider that most nine-month-olds are still learning which end of a spoon goes where. The government, understandably, was left to a regency council, with the Duke of Bedford trying to hold on to France while the Duke of Gloucester managed England and quarrelled incessantly with Cardinal Beaufort. Their bickering was so constant you get the impression the English government functioned largely by accident.

In 1431, the English decided it would be splendid to have their baby monarch crowned King of France, On December 16th, they trundled young Henry to Notre-Dame de Paris, where his great-uncle, Henry Beaufort, seized the opportunity not only to perform the coronation but to celebrate part of the Mass as well. This annoyed the Bishop of Paris immensely—there are few things medieval bishops took more seriously than correct liturgical turf.

A mid-15th-century depiction of Henry being crowned King of France at Notre-Dame de Paris 

Personal Rule Begins (1437) At the age of fifteen, Henry declared himself ready to rule, making him the youngest English king since the Norman Conquest to take personal charge. And he really did throw himself into it, signing petitions and warrants with the enthusiasm of someone who has just discovered stationery.

The Suffolk Years (1437–1450) This period might be subtitled “The Rise and Fall of William de la Pole.” Suffolk became Henry’s chief adviser and seemed to have a near-exclusive lease on government decision-making. Among his accomplishments were negotiating Henry’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou in 1445 and handing over the valuable territory of Maine to France—a move about as popular in England as giving away Cornwall would be today.

When England lost Normandy in 1450, the public decided they had had quite enough of Suffolk, and he was murdered. This, it must be said, did little to improve the general mood.

Crisis and Mental Collapse (1450–1461) By now England was losing France at frightening speed, the royal finances were collapsing under a debt of £372,000 (a stupendous sum in the fifteenth century), and the populace rose in Jack Cade’s Rebellion to complain about absolutely everything. Then, in August 1453, Henry suffered a complete mental collapse and became catatonic for roughly eighteen months.

With the king unresponsive and the government essentially melting, Richard, Duke of York, was appointed Lord Protector—an arrangement that was never going to end tidily.

First Deposition (1461) After a series of hard defeats, culminating in the snow-whipped slaughter at Towton in March 1461, Henry was officially deposed by Edward, Earl of March, who became Edward IV. Henry fled north with Margaret, beginning an extended period of exile that was probably not the restful sort.

Readeption (1470–1471) Then came the astonishing twist. Through a spectacular realignment of loyalties—chiefly the unlikely partnership of Margaret of Anjou and her former enemy, the Earl of Warwick—Henry was briefly restored to the throne in 1470.

This second reign lasted only about six months, more of a brief historical cameo really, before Edward IV returned, took back the crown, and brought the whole saga to its grim conclusion.

POLITICS Henry VI's political record was largely one of ineffectiveness and failure. He was unable to govern effectively due to his personality and later, his mental illness. His decisions often alienated powerful factions, leading to a breakdown of law and order and fueling civil strife. His poor political judgment in relying on incompetent or greedy favorites (like Suffolk and Somerset) and his refusal to acknowledge the political necessity of the Duke of York's position directly contributed to the Cade rebellion of 1450 and the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455. 

SCANDAL The major scandals of Henry's reign stemmed from political failures rather than personal misconduct:

The Secret Cession of Maine: In 1445, Henry secretly promised to surrender the strategically important territory of Maine to France as part of his marriage negotiations, confirming this promise in writing at his wife's entreaty. When the English eventually learned of this betrayal, it caused outrage.​

Suffolk's Dominance and Fall: The Duke of Suffolk's unchallenged control over the king and his suspected responsibility for England's failures in France led to his impeachment in 1450. Accusations included conspiracy to destroy Henry and put Suffolk's own son on the throne. Suffolk was murdered at sea while traveling into exile.​

Questions about Prince Edward's Paternity: Rumors circulated questioning whether Henry VI was truly the father of Edward of Westminster, born in 1453. Margaret of Anjou's favorites, Edmund Beaufort and James Butler, were both suspected of having an affair with her. However, Henry accepted Edward as his son.​

Financial Catastrophe: The revelation in 1449 that royal debts had reached £372,000—a staggering sum—scandalized Parliament and contributed to the regime's collapse.​

MILITARY RECORD Henry VI is notable as the first English king who did not actively engage in warfare. His reign saw the complete loss of English possessions in France, reversing all his father's conquests:

Loss of Normandy (1449–1450): Charles VII invaded Normandy and systematically drove out English forces, culminating in the crushing defeat at the Battle of Formigny on April 15, 1450, where the small English field army was "overwhelmed" and fought "until virtually the last man."​ (7)

Loss of Gascony (1451–1453): By 1453, the only English-held territory on the continent was Calais. The loss of Bordeaux in August 1453 ended centuries of English rule in Aquitaine.​

In the Wars of the Roses, Henry was a figurehead; the Lancastrian military effort was led by his wife, Margaret of Anjou. He was captured and imprisoned multiple times. [=

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Henry VI suffered from severe mental illness, most likely inherited from his maternal grandfather Charles VI of France. His first major breakdown occurred in August 1453 at Clarendon Palace, when he "slumped like a sack into a catatonic stupor, his eyes downcast, apparently unable or unwilling to speak or move."​ (10)

This episode lasted approximately 17 to 18 months. During this time, Henry was completely unaware of his surroundings and failed even to respond to the birth of his son Edward in October 1453. He recovered in early 1455, but experienced at least one further breakdown later in his reign.​

By the early 1460s, Henry's bouts of madness were so severe that he was apparently laughing and singing while the Second Battle of St Albans raged.

Historians have debated the nature of Henry's illness. Most conclude he probably suffered from catatonic schizophrenia, a rare and severe mental disorder characterized by extreme disturbances in movement and behavior, including inability to speak, lack of voluntary movement, and stupor. Some historians, including Lauren Johnson, suggest he may have suffered from profound depression rather than schizophrenia.​

Symptoms noted by contemporaries included periods of silence, perceived simplicity and naivety, tiredness, discomfort around women, reported lack of passion, and a pallid appearance. Beyond his mental health challenges, Henry appears to have been physically fit in his youth. 

HOMES Henry VI's principal residences included:

Windsor Castle: Henry was born at Windsor Castle on 6 December 1421 and maintained strong connections to it throughout his life. It was his favorite residence, and he deliberately sited Eton College nearby so he could oversee its development.​

Westminster Palace: The seat of government and Parliament, where Henry conducted official business and held his coronation in 1429.​

Tower of London: Henry was imprisoned here following his captures by Yorkist forces in 1465 and again in 1471. He died in the Tower, traditionally said to have been murdered in the Wakefield Tower, though the official guidebook suggests he was more likely imprisoned in the Lanthorn Tower where the King's lodgings were located.​

TRAVEL Henry VI's most significant journey was his voyage to France for his coronation as King of France. On April 23, 1430, aged eight, Henry embarked from Dover accompanied by Cardinal Beaufort, the Duke of Bedford, and numerous bishops.​

Henry traveled to Paris, entering the city on December 4, 1431 with a glittering procession including twenty-five trumpeters and a guard of between two and three thousand men. He visited the Basilica of St Denis, burial place of French kings and proceeded to Notre-Dame Cathedral for his coronation.​

Following his coronation at Notre-Dame on December 16, 1431, Henry remained in France for some time before returning to England. This French sojourn represented Henry's longest and most significant foreign travel.​

After the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, Henry spent periods in Scotland during his exile following the Yorkist victory at Towton in 1461. His wife Margaret traveled to France to seek support, and Henry himself lived in obscurity before his capture in 1465.​

DEATH Henry VI died on the night of May 21, 1471 in the Tower of London, almost certainly murdered on the orders of Edward IV. The official Yorkist account claimed he died "of pure displeasure and melancholy" upon hearing of the Yorkist victory at Tewkesbury and the death of his son. However, contemporaries and historians have universally rejected this explanation.​

The Milanese ambassador summarized the general understanding: "King Edward has not chosen to have the custody of King Henry any longer...he has caused King Henry to be secretly assassinated in the Tower." The timing was significant—Henry died the same night that Edward IV made his triumphant entry into London, suggesting a deliberate decision to eliminate the Lancastrian figurehead.​ (5)

Tradition holds that Henry was murdered while praying in the chapel of the Wakefield Tower, struck down in his devotions. Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) was present in the Tower that night, and popular legend attributed the murder to him, though this remains unproven.​

Henry's body was displayed at Old St. Paul's Cathedral and Blackfriars Monastery in London, where Warkworth's Chronicle reports he "bled anew and afresh"—interpreted as evidence of murder. He was initially buried at Chertsey Abbey in Surrey, where his tomb became a popular pilgrimage site. On  August 12, 1484, King Richard III ordered Henry's body exhumed and moved to St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where it remains today—ironically opposite the burial site of his rival Edward IV.​

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA William Shakespeare's Trilogy: Henry VI is the central figure in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3 (c. 1591), which dramatize the loss of France and the Wars of the Roses. 

Television Adaptations:

An Age of Kings (BBC, 1960): A fifteen-part series that condensed the Henry VI plays into five episodes.​

The Wars of the Roses (BBC, 1965): A Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation directed by Peter Hall and John Barton, condensing the plays into three parts, broadcast to critical acclaim.​​

BBC Television Shakespeare (1983): Jane Howell directed a complete three-part adaptation of Henry VI, with Peter Benson portraying the king.​

The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (BBC, 2016): A modern television adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays.

Modern Novels: Henry VI features prominently in historical fiction about the Wars of the Roses, including works by Conn Iggulden (Stormbird, Trinity), Philippa Gregory (The White Queen, The Red Queen), and Susan Higginbotham.​

ACHIEVEMENTS Founded King’s College, Cambridge (1441).

Founded Eton College (1440).

Maintained a devout, peaceful style of kingship rare in the medieval world.

His gentle character inspired a long-lasting popular cult.

Sources: (1) Discover Britain (2) Dictionary of National Biography (3) Historic Royal Palaces (4) Friends of Henry VI (5) Susanhigginbottom.com (6) National Portrait Gallery (7) Murreyandblue (8) Ebsco (9) Philippagregory.com (10) New Statesman