Free Divorced, Beheaded, Died: The History of Britain's Kings and Queens in Bite-Sized Chunks by Kevin Flude

Tower and the Duke of Buckingham killed off most of the leading Yorkist claimants, and in a short space of time turned Henry from an obscure Welsh noble to the main contender for the throne.
    Henry was born in 1457 at Pembroke Castle, Wales. His mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a formidable woman who was descended from Edward III via an illegitimate son of John of Gaunt. On the Tudor side, Henry was descended from Catherine of Valois, Henry V’s widow, who had secretly married a Welsh courtier, Owen Tudor.
    Henry was forced into exile in Brittany when he was fourteen years old, and he spent the next fourteen years abroad, fathering one illegitimate child while he was there. Attempts to extradite him intensified under Richard III, but Henry escaped and fled to France, where he gained the support of the French King. In 1485, with a largely French army, Henry made the momentous decision to risk everything and try for the crown. He landed at Milford Haven, where his army was augmented by Welsh volunteers keen to see a Tudor on the throne of England. His success at the subsequent Battle of Bosworth was largely a matter of luck and the betrayal of Richard by leading supporters.
    After he was proclaimed king, he fulfilled earlier promises and married Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, in order to unite the Lancastrian and Yorkist families. They had eight children together. Although the marriage is often cited as ending the Wars of the Roses, there was still much unrest, and Henry faced rebellions led by two imposters, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, who pretended to be the Earl of Warwick and Richard of York (the younger of the Princes in the Tower). He also faced threats from the Yorkist claimant to the throne, John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln (Edward IV and Richard III’s nephew), as well as a Cornish rebellion that reached as far as London.
    Henry was a shrewd ruler. He kept the nobility under control with heavy fines, so that fear of debt kept them compliant. He set up the Star Chamber, a small group of advisors which acted as a royal court and was able to act swiftly to protect the King’s interests. Foreign relations were vastly improved, with commercial treaties being signed with Spain, Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands. He was accused of avarice, over-taxing his subjects and hoarding his money, but this ensured a full treasury to hand over to his heir on his death in 1509.

    H ENRY VIII
    Reigned 1509–1547
    Henry VIII is arguably Britain’s most famous monarch, but for all the wrong reasons. He was every inch a king, a man who knew how to command and expected to be obeyed. He combined his regal attributes with an egotism that did not shy away from transforming the entire country so that he got his own way.
    He was born in 1491 at Greenwich Palace, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He was very well educated, being fluent in French, Spanish and Latin. He was interested in theology, music and poetry and had a passion for physical activity, including jousting, hunting, dancing and tennis. He was tall, athletic, handsome and charismatic.
    Henry’s reign began with wild optimism. The young, vital King’s court was the antithesis of his father’s – a shrewd frugality was replaced by largesse, generosity and merriment. It was not only Henry who made his court so glamorous; he had a beautiful bride too. Catherine of Aragon was the widow of Henry’s older brother, Arthur, who had died aged fifteen. What began as a marriage of convenience became a love match, and the royal couple enjoyed a happy relationship for many years.
    Henry was greedy for glory in France and led the army there in person, but in 1520 he made peace with Francis I in an ostentatious meeting known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1518 the Treaty of London was signed in an attempt to bring together the leaders of Europe – England, France, Spain, Burgundy, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire united with the Pope in