Henry VII

Also known as: Henrie earle of Richmond / Henrie erle of Richmond / Henrie the earle of Richmond / Henrie the seauenth / Henrie the seuenth / Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond / King Henrie the seauenth / earle Henrie / erle Henrie / king Henrie the seauenth / lord Henrie earle of Richmond / new proclamed king / noble prince king Henrie the seuenth / this Henrie / yoong earle of Richmond · Family: England · Role: king of England · First appears: Henry VI 26

In 1437, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond had a son who would become Henry VII. About 1470, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke took the child from the custody of the lady Herbert and brought him to Henry VI in London, who foretold, “Lo, suerlie this is he, to whom both we and our aduersaries leauing the possession of all things shall hereafter giue roome and place.” Henry later sought to have Henry VI canonized through Pope Julius II, but abandoned the petition when the expense seemed excessive. During Edward IV’s reign, Henry escaped to Brittany with Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke and was protected by Francis II, Duke of Brittany; an attempted delivery to Edward IV was stopped when Francis II, Duke of Brittany learned that Henry was wanted for execution, and Peter Landois sent to intercept him failed.

After Edward IV’s death, Henry was restored to liberty and became the focus of an alliance between Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Elizabeth Woodville, whose daughter Elizabeth of York he agreed to marry in order to unite Lancaster and York. John Morton helped organize support for him and was later recalled by Henry, while Hugh Conway and Thomas Rame carried messages between England and Brittany. Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Charles VIII provided Henry with aid, money, and passage; John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Richard Fox, James Blunt, and others joined his cause. Henry also gained the support of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, Peter Courtenay, Reginald Bray, and Welsh forces associated with Rhys ap Thomas, Richard Griffith, Gilbert Talbot, William Stanley, and Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby.