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END OF THE WARS OF THE ROSES AND END OF THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENETThe Battle of Bosworth Field, effectively put an end to the Wars of the Roses, an English Civil War which had consisted of several battles fought between two rival factions within the House of Plantagenet. The two factions consisted of the Houses of Lancaster and York, who for more than thirty years during the latter half of the fifteenth century, had fought each other, in order to determine which one of them would rule England.August 22nd 1485 was a defining moment in the history of England. The battle was won by the Lancastrians led by Henry Tudor, who became the first of five monarchs from the House of Tudor to rule England for the next one hundred and eighteen years.
ABOVE:THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD AS DEPICTED BY PHILIP JAMES DE LOUTHERBURG 1740-1812 Besides ending the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Bosworth Field also brought to an end the rule of the House of Plantagenet, which had held power in England from 1154, when Henry II became King. The Plantagenets provided fourteen monarchs (excluding Henry the Young King, who was coregent at the age 15 between 1170 - 1183 with his father, Henry II of England), from 1154 until King Richard III's defeat in 1485. (SEE MEDIEVAL KINGS: KING HENRY II - KING RICHARD III)
The legitimate male line became extinct when Edward, the Earl of Warwick was executed for treason in 1499. He had been kept a prisoner in the Tower of London by King Henry VII, because his claim to the throne could become a real threat to the newly crowned King. He supposedly hatched a plot to escape with Perkin Warbeck another pretender to the throne in 1499, who also resided at the Tower. This resulted in them both being executed, Warbeck by hanging and Warwick by the loss of his head. Several illegitimate lines still exist, including the Dukes of Beaufort, who can claim descent from the House of Plantagenet through John of Gaunt and his father King Edward III.
King Richard III's reign began in 1483, when he seized the throne from King Edward V, his twelve year old nephew, who he was holding prisoner, along with the boy King's ten year old brother in the Tower of London. The news of the disappearance of the two young boys, combined with rumours of their deaths, caused widespread anger towards Richard and loss of support for him. In France, Henry Tudor, who had made an unsuccessful attempt at invading England in 1484, having been thwarted by a storm, saw Richard's mounting difficulties and once more laid claim to the throne. His second attempt was unopposed, landing at Milford Haven, on the southwest coast of Wales on 1st August 1485. As Henry and his army marched for London gathering more and more support, Richard mustered his own troops, intercepting Henry just south of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire.
RIGHT:KING HENRY VII THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD. Without the Stanleys, the army of King Richard III outnumbered Henry Tudor's forces by two to one. Dividing it into three battle groups one was placed under the command of the Duke of Norfolk and another under the command of the Earl of Northumberland. Henry kept his forces together in a single unit under the command of the very experienced Earl of Oxford. These troops held firm when attacked by Norfolk's men, some of whom fled the field. When Northumberland refused to assist Richard when ordered to do so, the King decided to chance all or nothing on a charge across the battlefield to try to kill Henry. He was on the verge of success as Henry Tudor was protected by only a few of his soldiers. Surrounded by Richard's men and in great danger of his life it was at this point that the Stanleys treacherously intervened, seeing the King and his knights seperated from his army, Sir William surrounded Richard and killed him. It appears that the Stanleys had a very bad reputation during the Wars of the Roses, treacherously changing sides on a number of occasions. Neither of them had any grievance against Richard. Thomas was Richard III's Chamberlain and William was Justiciar of North Wales. Both of them High Offices. However, Thomas Stanley just happened to be married to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor, who had tried everything in her power to rally support for her son's cause. Immediately after the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII on Crown Hill. Most authoritative sources seem to agree that it was Thomas Stanley who actually placed Richard's crown on Henry's head.The other Stanley, Sir William was executed in 1495 on a charge of Treason, after readily admitting to the crime of supporting the pretender Perkin Warbeck. FOR SIGHTSEEING TOURS OF LONDON AND THINGS TO DO IN LONDON CLICK HERE How to Link to This PageIt will appear on your page as: FOR MORE INFO.ON THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD FOLLOW THIS LINKRETURN FROM BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD TO A-LONDON TOURIST GUIDE HOME PAGE.
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LEFT:KING RICHARD III
