Henry VII and Elizabeth of York are Married - 1486

On January 18, 1486 the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York were united by the marriage of Henry VII to Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. Henry seized the crown on August 22, 1485 and reigned until his death on April 21, 1509, as he was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry won the throne when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. He was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the Wars of the Roses. He founded a long-lasting dynasty and, after a reign of nearly 24 years, was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. 

His claim to the throne was that he was the last reasonably legitimate male descendant of Edward III. He honored his pledge of December 1483 to marry Elizabeth of York. They were third cousins, as both were great-great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt. The marriage took place on January 18, 1486 at Westminster. The marriage unified the warring houses and gave his children a strong claim to the throne. The unification of the houses of York and Lancaster by this marriage is symbolized by the heraldic emblem of the Tudor Rose, a combination of the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. It also ended future discussion as to whether the descendants of the fourth son of Edward III, Edmund Duke of York, through marriage to Philippa, heiress of the second son, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, had a superior or inferior claim to those of the third son John of Gaunt, who had held the throne for three generations. In addition, Henry had Parliament repeal, the statute that declared Edward IV's marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thus legitimizing his wife.  

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs. The book can be purchased from Amazon at the following links: 

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Richard Duke of York is Killed at the Battle of Wakefield - 1460

The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire on December 30, 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster, his Queen Margaret of Anjou and their seven year-old son Edward, Prince of Wales and opposed by the army of Richard, Duke of York, a rival claimant to the throne. The Duke of York was killed in the battle and his army was destroyed. 

On October 7, 1460, Parliament recognized the Duke of York’s stronger claim to the throne and agreed that Henry VI should rule England until his death when the crown would pass to York. King Henry agreed to this but his queen certainly did not; no sooner was the Act of Accord passed than Queen Margaret marched south with an army of twenty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Somerset. In a desperate position, York resorted to sending his eldest son, the Earl of March, to tackle an emerging Lancastrian rebellion in Wales led by Jasper Tudor. Then, leaving Warwick with orders to guard the King, York left London with an army of seven or eight thousand men and headed north. With him went his second son the Earl of Rutland, the Earl of Salisbury and his son Sir Thomas. 

York and his army arrived at Sandal Castle on the 21st of December. Reaching his northern stronghold, York decided to settle in for the winter and put his men to work digging ditches, improving the defenses and mounting guns on the walls. Thus entrenched in near-impregnable positions the Duke sat down to wait for reinforcements. Though he could not distinguish their exact whereabouts, York knew there were five or more Lancastrian armies in the vicinity and dared not face battle. The exact reason why York left the safety of Sandal Castle on December 30, 1460 is not known. All but abandoning the castle, York hurried down to the skirmish on Sandal Common only to be attacked on both flanks by Andrew Trollope and Lord Roos. Soon York realized that he would be totally surrounded, and overrun. He ordered his seventeen-year-old son, Rutland, to flee the battlefield but the boy was promptly captured on Wakefield Bridge and stabbed to death. Lord Clifford meanwhile brought his men up the Yorkist rear and sealed their line of retreat. York himself was unhorsed, and after refusing quarter, was brutally hacked to death. With York dead the battle ended. Half the Yorkist army lay dead and of their leaders only Salisbury (temporarily) escaped. The Earl was captured during the night and executed the following day. The heads of York, Salisbury and Rutland were later impaled on spikes and left to rot on Mickelgate Bar in York. Two of York’s son’s would ascend to the throne as Edward IV and Richard III.  

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs: A Guide to the Lives and Burial Places of British Monarchs. The book can be purchased from Amazon or Barnes and Noble through the following links: 

Amazon –  http://www.amazon.com/Great-Britains-Royal-Tombs-Monarchs/dp/0764341294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356893333&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry 

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Henry VI is Crowned King of England - 1429

On this date in 1429, Henry VI is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

 

Henry VI was the only child of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, born on December 6, 1421. He married Margaret of Anjou in 1445; the union produced one son, Edward, who was killed in battle one day before Henry's execution. Henry came to the throne as an infant after the early death of his father; in name, he was king of both England and France, but a protector ruled each realm. He was educated by Richard Beauchamp beginning in 1428. The whole of Henry's reign was involved with retaining both of his crowns - in the end, he held neither. Hostilities in France continued, but momentum swung to the French with the appearance of Joan of Arc in 1428. The seventeen year old was instrumental in rescuing the French Dauphin Charles in 1429; he was crowned at Reims as Charles VII, and she was burned at the stake as a heretic. English losses in Brittany (1449), Normandy (1450) and Gascony (1453) led to the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War in 1453. Henry lost his claim to all French soil except for Calais. The Wars of the Roses began in full during Henry's reign. In 1453, Henry had an attack of the hereditary mental illness that plagued the French house of Valois; Richard, Duke of York, was made protector of the realm during the illness. His wife Margaret, a rather headstrong woman, alienated Richard upon Henry's recovery and Richard responded by attacking and defeating the queen's forces at St. Albans in 1455. Richard captured the king in 1460 and forced him to acknowledge Richard as heir to the crown. Henry escaped, joined the Lancastrian forces and attacked at Towton in March 1461, only to be defeated by the York’s. Richard's son, Edward IV, was proclaimed king; Margaret and Henry were exiled to Scotland. They were captured in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1470. Henry was briefly restored to power in September 1470. Edward, Prince of Wales, died after his final victory at Tewkesbury on May 20, 1471 and Henry returned to the Tower. The last Lancastrian king was murdered the following day.

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