On this day in Tudor history, 7th August 1485, Henry Tudor, the soon-to-be King Henry VII, returned from exile, landing at Mill Bay in Wales. His intention was, of course, to claim the throne of England and to depose King Richard III.
I share two accounts of his landing and explains what Henry did next.
Also on this day in history:
- 1514 – Peace treaty signed between England and France, arranging the marriage of the widowed fifty-two year old Louis XII of France and the eighteen year-old Princess Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII.
- 1541 – Death of Sir Richard Weston, courtier and father of Sir Francis Weston who was executed in 1536 for alleged adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn. Richard served Henry VII as Groom of the Chamber and Henry VIII as an Esquire of the Body, Governor of Guernsey and treasurer of Calais. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.
- 1549 – The five year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail from Dumbarton, Scotland, for France. A marriage had been agreed between Mary and Francis, the Dauphin, so Mary was going to be brought up at the French court. Mary arrived at Saint-Pol-de-Léon, near Roscoff in Brittany, just over a week later.
- 1574 - Sir Robert Dudley, mariner, cartographer and landowner, was born at Sheen House, Richmond. He was the illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I, and his lover Lady Douglas Sheffield.
- 1600 – Burial of Sir Thomas Lucy in the parish church at Charlecote, Warwickshire. Lucy was a magistrate and member of Parliament, but is best known for his links with William Shakespeare. Tradition has it that Shakespeare wrote a satirical ballad about Lucy, or he made a caricature of him in the character of Judge Shallow, as revenge after he was judged too harshly for poaching on Lucy's estate, Charlecote Park. There is no evidence to support this story.
- 1613 – Death of Sir Thomas Fleming, Solicitor-General to Elizabeth I and James I, at Stoneham Park. He also served James I as Chief Justice of the King's Bench. He was buried at North Stoneham Church.
So it begins! Henry Tudor, self styled Earl of Richmond as the title was removed by Edward iv, landed to claim what his mother believed was his birth right, the crown of England. Yet, history isn’t that simple and it was to be a struggle to gain support in Wales, let alone win the crown in a short and brutal battle a few weeks later.
Henry needed to commit his cause to God because he certainly didn’t land with a massive army at his back. He would need to gain favour and support from local lords and he turned to his connections. He tried to gain the support of the Herberts of Rhaglan Castle who had raised him as a hostage for a number of years and others who were loyal to King Richard but whom he hoped to win round with promises of rewards. A local magnate Rhys ap Thomas marched through South and Mid Wales and raised arms and men and his connections to the Tudors persuaded his turncoat betrayal of his King. Henry would raise support as he went, but in the end had less than the numbers Richard had, with most of the gentlemen and nobility remaining loyal. He did have one gamble which he could take, the transient nature of the loyalty of the Stanley brothers, his step father, Lord Thomas Stanley and Sir William Stanley. At present Lord Thomas, married to Henry’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was officially a loyal Yorkist, well rewarded by Richard, wasn’t on board for Henry and remained on the fence until the morning of the battle. Henry could not rely on his support and in fact it was only after Richard charged to kill Henry that Sir William moved and his men came behind the King. At this moment as he knelt in prayer at Mill Bay the future and the actual support he would receive still remained an uncertain hope, but Henry had been told he had a Destiny and his cause was justified and thus he committed it all to the Lord.
P.S Rhys ap Thomas is reputed to have been the man who killed Richard iii, reported in the poem of Guytor Glynn with a pollaxe and his life is told by another Welsh poet, Lewys Glyn Cothi. His biography was published a few years ago by Susan Fern.