Henry VII's consolidation of power

• Henry Tudor became King after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth on 22nd August 1485. 
• His grasp of power was insecure - he had a weak claim to the throne and had many enemies who wanted him off the throne. Therefore, he needed to consolidate his power by establishing hsi dynasty and ensuring that rivals were dealt with firmly. 
• His claim to the throne was weak in two ways:
  • He was descended from the female line through his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort.
  • The line came from John of Gaunt's third wife, Katherine Swynford, whose son had been born before the marriage and so was seen as illegitimate. 
• He only became the Lancastrian claimant because there was no one else. Primarily, it was his victory on the battlefield which had brought him to the throne.
• After he was proclaimed King on the battlefield by Lord Stanley, he went to Leicester where Richard III's remains were and then to London where he met the lord mayor of the city. The crowd cheered the new monarch. Many people had been suspicious of Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth due to the disappearance of the princes in the Tower, so the public did not care about how strong Henry's claim was to the throne.

• He had not been brought up to rule. In 1471, when Henry was 14, Edward IV regained power for the House of York, causing Henry to flee to France along with his uncle, Jasper Tudor. He mainly lived as a fugitive in the Duchy of Brittany. The historian Thomas Penn suggests that Henry's ability to think like a fugitive was useful political training for his kingship. 
• Geoffrey Elton describes Henry as "shrewd, calculating and long-headed".
• When Henry gained power, his main purpose was to ensure that he kept his throne. Four monarchs in the last hundred years had been killed. So, at the start of his reign, his primary aim was to consolidate his power.

Henry immediately consolidated his power in several ways:

• He declared that his reign began on 21st August 1485, ensuring that anyone who fought on the Yorkist side could be classed as a traitor.
• Publicly rewarded many of his key suuporters - he granted 11 knighthoods.
• Detained Elizabeth of York and the Earl of Warwick, nephew of Edward IV, who both had stronger claims to the throne.
• He made key appointments to his Council and household e.g. Sir William Stanley was made Chamberlain of the Household.
• His coronation took place on 30th October before his first Parliament met on 7th November - this showed that he had a hereditary right to rule rather than him being able to rule because Parliament sanctioned it.
• Acts of Attainder were passed against Yorkists who fought at the Battle of Bosworth - their property would be taken by the Crown which would increase Crown income. Also, Parliament granted Henry the customs revenues of tonnage and poundage for life (Henry could raise revenue for his whole reign from imports and exports).
• Henry married Elizabeth of York in January 1486. He had waited until the other steps to consolidation had been completed, meaning that his right to rule wasn't due to his wife's own claim on the throne. Also, he could use royal propaganda to show to union between the houses of York and Lancaster i.e. the Tudor rose.
• In September 1489, Prince Arthur was born, thre heir to the throne.

• Henry's position was very insecure - many Yorkists still saw him as a usurper. 
• There were several claimants to the throne, such as the earls of Warwick and Lincoln, Edward IV's nephews.
• What also confused the situation was pretenders who posed as either Edward V or Richard, the two 'princes in the Tower'. 
• The person Henry had to fear most was Margaret of Burgundy, the sister of Edward IV and Richard III. She was the dowager duchess of Burgundy so had access to funds which enabled her to help potential Yorkist claimants. 

Viscount Lovell and the Staffords, Easter 1486

• Led by Francis, Viscount Lovell, a key supporter of Richard III, and Humphrey Stafford. 
• Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Richard III's heartland of support, while Stafford tried to raise forces in the MIdlands, another area of Yorkist support. 
• Lovell escaped but Humphrey Stafford was captured and executed, although his his brother Thomas was pardoned.
• There was little enthusiasm for a Yorkist rising in their traditional heartlands. 

Lambert Simnel and the rebellion of the Earl of Lincoln

• After the Lovell rebellion, leading Yorkists realised that they needed to take a different strategy:
  • They needed to have a figurehead who could claim to be a Yorkist prince.
  • They needed financial support to mount a significant challenge.
• Lambert Simnel was being passed of as the Earl of Warwick who had been imprisoned by Henry. He was even crowned in Ireland in May 1487.v