I remember reading many years ago that in the hours leading up to his death on the 21st April in 1509, King Henry VII was still concerned about the claim his family had to the crown of England. According to the future Henry VIII, he was instructed by his father on his death bed to fulfil the treaty between Spain and England and marry Catherine of Aragon, was this a sign Henry still considered the Tudor claim weak? According to the historian David Starkey, the claim that Henry was forced into the marriage was contradicted by two members of Henry VII’s council who insisted that the King told his son that he was “free to marry whom he chose”
King Henry VII died at Richmond Palace of tuberculosis. Sir Thomas Wriothesley was present and wrote a detailed account and it was he who drew the picture of the King on his deathbed. We can see William Fitzwilliam holding a staff of office as he closes the King’s eyes. Only Henry's must trusted courtiers attended his death. These men were, standing clockwise around the king were: Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, George, Lord Hastings, Richard Weston, Richard Clement, Matthew Baker, John Sharpe and William Tyler and Hugh Denys.
Henry death was kept secret for two days and only announced on the day before Henry VIII was proclaimed king. Surely another sign of how weak the Tudor claim was at the very beginning.
Like him or loathe him, Henry VII was a fascinating character, a forgotten king, eclipsed by later generations of his Tudor family.
Henry death was kept secret for two days and only announced on the day before Henry VIII was proclaimed king. Surely another sign of how weak the Tudor claim was at the very beginning.
Like him or loathe him, Henry VII was a fascinating character, a forgotten king, eclipsed by later generations of his Tudor family.
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