Henry VII's establishment of power

Backdating his reign
1. Henry back dated his reign to the 21st of August, to the day before Bosworth.
  1. This then allowed Henry to consider men who fought for Richard III on the battlefield to be traitors.
    1. The punishment for treason among noblemen was attainment by an Act of Attainder
  2. Henry got to publicly reward his loyal servants who fought for him
    1. Knighted 11 men on the battlefield
Marrying Elizabeth of York
1. Those who supported Edward were concerned how Richard was treating his children (Princes in the Tower) and how they had sought santuary to avoid Richard, therefore this union brought together Lancastrians and Yorkists in an attempt to end the War of the Roses
2. Although Henry had his own claim to the throne, Elizabeth made it even stronger, additionally, because she was from a Yorkist line of descent and Henry was from the Lancastrian side, the two together fused the houses together.
3. Henry repealed the Titulus Regius in 1485 to make Elizabeth, and her siblings, legitimate. However, this causes the debate as to if Henry was involved in the Princes in the Tower disappearance because with the Titulus Regius repelled they had the greatest claim to the throne, ultimately threatening Henry's power.

Resource summary

	Created by Catherine Dilnot over 9 years ago