battle of bosworth
English history changed on August 22nd, 1485. Not on some distant European battlefield, not involving a cavalry of English Knights defending the divine authority of their glorious King against the murderous intentions of some foreign power. But next to the small market town of Bosworth... in Leicestershire, between distant cousins, squabbling over who really should be wearing that crown.
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The English crown had been held by the House of Plantagenet since King Henry II took the throne in 1154 but in recent years the family had developed a liking for in-fighting and had split into two different camps, the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
Richard, a Yorkist, had taken the crown just two years earlier in 1483 following the death of his elder brother, Edward IV. Edward did have two sons and his first born, Edward, had been declared as King Edward V but due to him being still a child was not allowed to take power.
Richard, a Yorkist, had taken the crown just two years earlier in 1483 following the death of his elder brother, Edward IV. Edward did have two sons and his first born, Edward, had been declared as King Edward V but due to him being still a child was not allowed to take power.
So, in comes Uncle Richard who promises to take care of the two princes at his comfortable retreat known as The Tower of London while he keeps the throne warm.
The two boys, known as the 'Princes in the Tower', seem to have carelessly gone missing meaning that Uncle Richard can now also keep the crown warm by declaring himself King Richard III and doing King type things such as fighting battles. |
Meanwhile, whilst all this House of York fracas was simmering away, the Lancastrians were busily hatching a plot to persuade good King Richard to let their chosen one, Henry Tudor, have a go at being King, permanently.
You see, they reckoned that as Henry, just like Richard, was a direct descendant from King Edward III, and the Yorkists had simply stolen the crown, he should be King. |
They argued that because Richard’s Yorkist line of succession was from Edward III youngest son, Edmund of York that the Lancastrian line, which stemmed from Edmund of York’s elder brother, John of Gaunt, was in fact the legitimate one.
The Lancastrian line had created Kings in Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI and it seemed only logical, to them, that next in line should be Henry Tudor, very firmly pencilled in in the Lancastrian Diary as King Henry VII.
The Lancastrian line had created Kings in Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI and it seemed only logical, to them, that next in line should be Henry Tudor, very firmly pencilled in in the Lancastrian Diary as King Henry VII.
During the previous thirty years or so, the Plantagenet squabbles were really heating up. We’re not talking about heated arguments or stealing land and titles, we’re talking about the deposing and even murdering of Kings in the case of Henry VI’s untimely demise. It did not become known as The Wars of the Roses for nothing.
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Against this backdrop, Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, had instructed his Uncle, Jasper Tudor, to ferry him away into exile in Brittany for his protection whilst she began a process of garnering support for her cause of removing Richard from the throne and putting her boy on it.
As you can imagine, King Richard did not exactly hold much enthusiasm for this and was actively trying to get Henry extradited back to England to ‘discuss matters’ and probably arrange his execution. This almost worked but Henry was able to escape into France where he was met with a good deal of support. |
Emboldened by this support and news from home that his mother was having some success with his case, Henry decided that the time had come to stop running from Richard but to return to England, with his new French friends, a lot of them, and to take on Richard.
7th August, 1485, Henry and his entourage of 2000 French mercenaries and a handful of Lancastrian Lords and Knights land in southern Wales near Milford Haven. Not a bad port of arrival as the Tudor family are Welsh in origin and therefore quickly gathered support. They began marching North East through Wales heading for England. Richard, having got word of what was unfolding, gathered his supporters and instructed them to meet with him in Leicester. By the time they had arrived on 20th August, Richard’s army had amassed some 12,000 men under the command of several Dukes and Earls.
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By 21st August, Henry’s army had arrived at Atherstone and his ranks had risen to some 5000 men. Richard, upon hearing this, left Leicester and took their positions on Ambion Hill at Bosworth Field.
The Yorkists and the Lancastrians were now just a few miles apart and ready for battle. |
Now, on the face of it, this doesn’t seem like a fair fight. Henry had 5000 men and Richard had 12,000. However, there was a joker in the pack!
Henry’s mother, during her promotional campaign for Henry, had married Lord Thomas Stanley. A particularly powerful and influential man. So what! You might think.
Well it turns out that this powerful Step Dad to Henry was also a Yorkist and so had 1 foot in each camp, not to mention the 5000 men at his command that he’d brought along with him.
Henry’s mother, during her promotional campaign for Henry, had married Lord Thomas Stanley. A particularly powerful and influential man. So what! You might think.
Well it turns out that this powerful Step Dad to Henry was also a Yorkist and so had 1 foot in each camp, not to mention the 5000 men at his command that he’d brought along with him.
22nd August and it’s game on beginning with the usual exchange of a considerable number of arrows. The timing of the first attack was not the best for Henry as his forces were on marshy ground at the foot of Ambion Hill and so had little choice but to move forward to find firmer ground.
Richard sent one his three divisions under the command of Duke of Norfolk to engage them in close combat. Henry’s forces though, thanks to the organisation of the Earl of Oxford, were particularly well arranged and Norfolk’s men were pushed back and many fled the battle scene. |
Not good news for Richard. So he ordered in his 2nd division under the command of the Earl of Northumberland to give Norfolk a hand.
More bad news for Richard though. Northumberland seemed to be getting a flavour of how things were panning out and decided better of it.
More bad news for Richard though. Northumberland seemed to be getting a flavour of how things were panning out and decided better of it.
Richard now seems to be in real trouble. His first division under the Duke of Norfolk were getting nowhere, apart from running away. His second division under the Earl of Northumberland had simply decided not to play.
However, Richard’s luck could be about to change. He spots Henry in a relatively unguarded position at the rear of the field. He calculates that if he can charge down with his one remaining division, attack Henry and kill him then the battle will be won and he gets to still be king in the morning. |
However, remember Lord Stanley?
Well, he’s watching all this and now finally puts his game face on. Seeing that Richard has taken one gamble too many, he orders his 5000 men into action in support of Henry. They charge down the hill and engage with Richard’s men who soon become overwhelmed. |
Despite a valiant effort by Richard, he is unseated from his horse and with a single blow to the head his life is over, along with his reign and ultimately the 331 year old Plantagenet Dynasty.
As you can expect, the battle field was a scene of carnage but lying amongst the corpses was found the crown that Richard had wore into battle. It was recovered and placed onto the head of the new king, Henry Tudor.
The Lancastrians have had their line restored with a new Henry on the throne, King Henry VII.
The Lancastrians have had their line restored with a new Henry on the throne, King Henry VII.
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Further reading
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