It seems strange that Pembroke, birthplace of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty, does not have a statue of the king, doesn’t it? However, hopefully this will soon be rectified.

In January of this year, a maquette of a proposed bronze statue was unveiled at a fundraising events organised by Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society in Pembroke Town Hall. The statue will cost around £40,000 and Pembroke Town Council have allocated £20,000 of that as part of their Town Centre Support programme. The remaining £20,000 has to be raised.

On this day in history, King Henry VII issued letters patent to navigator and explorer Giovanni Caboto, better known as John Cabot, and his three sons, giving them his royal authority for a voyage of exploration:

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, on 1st November 1456. He died from the plague at Carmarthen Castle.

Thank you to Sarah Bryson for writing this article on Edmund for us.

Henry Tudor, King Henry VII, was the founder of the Tudor Dynasty. His mother was the imposing Margaret Beaufort who risked everything to see her son on the throne and in turn the houses of Lancaster and York united through the marriage of her son to Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV. But who was Henry Tudor’s father? While so much is known about Henry’s mother, his father is a much more elusive figure and sadly he did not live to see his only son and heir claim the English throne.

On 30th October 1485, Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond and son of Lady Margaret Beaufort and the late Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, was crowned King Henry VII at Westminster Abbey.

On this day in history, 18th July 1509, Edmund Dudley, administrator, President of the King’s Council in the reign of Henry VII and speaker of the House of Commons, was convicted of treason after being blamed for the oppression of Henry VII’s reign. He was charged with conspiring to “hold, guide and govern the King and his Council” and ordering his men to assemble in London during the final days of Henry VII’s life.

In the Third Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (1842), we have the record of “Trial and conviction of Edmund Dudley, Esq. – Constructive Treason – Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer, London, 18 July, 1509. 1 Hen. VIII”:

Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on the 28th January 1457. His parents were the thirteen year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort and her husband Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, who, unfortunately, had died of the plague three months before Henry’s birth.