English King Henry VIII is mostly famous for his six wives. He was so convinced of their betrayal that he even had some of his queens decapitated. His paranoia wasn’t strange when you take a look at his family history.
Henry VII (1457-1509) was the father of Henry VIII (1491-1547). Henry VII was the first king of the Tudor dynasty and was crowned because of the Wars of the Roses. In 1603 the last Tudor died: the famous Queen Elizabeth I, the childless daughter of Henry VIII.
Battle of Bosworth 1485
Murder and betrayal
Two noble families, the Yorks and the Lancasters, fought a bloody war for the throne. Their king, Henry VI of Lancaster (1422-1461) had lost his mind and his advisers abused their power. Because both families were descendants of the same king, Edward III Plantagenet, the Yorks started a war. Won battles, but also murder and betrayal made it possible for both families to seize the throne alternately during these Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). The name of the wars is a reference to the roses of both the family arms.
Henry VII Tudor, a noble man from Wales, fought along in the war as a commander for the Lancasters. During the decisive battle at the village of Market Bosworth, on the 22nd of August 1485, Henry VII defeated the army of Richard III of York. Richard III, King of England at that time, died that day. Henry VII saw an opportunity and seized power. Richard III died a childless man and left behind only a niece, Elizabeth. Coincidentally, Henry VII was married to this niece and because of this, he made his claim to the throne legitimate. His mother was remotely related to Edward III and so Henry VII had reunited both families. The Battle of Bosworth put an end to the bloody wars between the Yorks and the Lancasters and marked the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.
New bodyguards
Henry VII had lived through a lot of betrayal and conniving during the Wars of the Roses. To protect himself from danger at the treacherous London court he took on personal bodyguards: the Yeomen of the Guard. These men stood by his side in London and accompanied him on state business. Today the Yeomen still exist and the guard of honor is formed by retired soldiers. They have become a true tourist attraction in London and they accompany Queen Elizabeth II on ceremonial events.
Yeomen at the Chessmen Museum
Shakespeare interferes
The Wars of the Roses are well known around the world because of Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) Richard III. In this play, amongst others about the intrigues of the Wars of the Roses, Richard III of York is a big traitor and an illegitimate king. The profoundly cruel Richard III is even made out to be the murderer of his own nephews just so he could seize the throne. This is not historically correct but Elizabeth I Tudor was Shakespeare’s queen. The slandering of the former king had to justify the monarchy of the Tudor dynasty.
At the museum, the fighting parties are also opposite each other. The personal bodyguards of the Tudors are the pawns, and can be identified by their red outfits.
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