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Richard III's Parliament

21/1/2017

23rd January 1484: Richard III's only Parliament opened at Westminster.

"Be it remembered that on Friday, 23 January in the first year of the reign of King Richard the third since the conquest [1484], that is, on the first day of parliament, with the lord king sitting on the royal throne in the Painted Chamber within his palace of Westminster, then being present many lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons of the realm of England, assembled at the aforesaid parliament at the king's command, the venerable father John, bishop of Lincoln, chancellor of England memorably declared and announced the reasons for summoning the aforesaid parliament, taking as his theme: 'In the body there are many limbs, but not all have the same function.'

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The Marriage of Henry Tudor: One Step Nearer to a Royal Flush

14/1/2017

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The penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses had ended with the death of Richard III at Bosworth. Henry of Richmond was England's new king, but Henry would have to fight one more major battle to rid himself of the mighty Plantagenet dynasty. One way to secure his claim to the throne of England would be to marry into his rival's family.

On the 18th of January 1486, Henry did just that.

Elizabeth of York, as the eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and whose two younger brothers had disappeared, would be a sparkling jewel in Henry's brand new crown.

Was Henry's marriage to Elizabeth the consolidating event history leads us to believe, the joining of two warring families to make an united one for the benefit of a nation or was it purely for his own benefit? No, Henry was not playing happy families, he was playing poker, and marrying Elizabeth would put him one step nearer to a Royal Flush.

Henry's marriage to Elizabeth closed one loop hole through which the Yorkist faction could reclaim the throne of England, after all, Elizabeth was considered the rightful Yorkist heir to the throne. What Henry didn't want was some noble, with Yorkist blood in his veins, marrying Elizabeth and producing a full blooded York heir.

The union of Henry Tudor to Elizabeth of York was a dynastic marriage, and Henry would not be the first or the last to use such an opportunity, but there were a few issues Henry had to deal with before the marriage could take place, one was Titulus Regius, there was also dispensations to be gained as Henry and Elizabeth were related in the double fourth degree of consanguinity, that is, they were both related to John of Gaunt.

Three dispensations would be issued in total, the first was received at the beginning of 1484, the second two days before the wedding. Henry did not wait for the third to arrive, by the 2nd March Elizabeth was already pregnant.

The Tudor family tree had finally secured its roots.

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Richard III's Parliament

The Marriage of Henry Tudor: One Step Nearer to a Royal Flush

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