Founder of the Tudor dynasty and King of England from 1485 until his death in 1509, when he was succeeded by his only surviving son Henry VIII.
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Son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, and grandson of the minor Welsh chamber officer who secretly married Catherine of Valois (widow of King Henry V), Henry was, at a young age, caught up in the tumultous series of wars that later historians call the War of the Roses, Henry had to flee England and lived as a puppet-client to the French king and barons who were ever intent on making life difficult for the English kings. When Henry felt himself strong enough to fight Richard III (who had, in 1483, usurped the throne from his ward, Edward, the Prince of Wales), he returned to England in early August 1485. Two weeks later, Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, and Henry was proclaimed King Henry VII. With the plotting of his mother—a woman of great political acumen and ability—Henry married Elizabeth of York (Richard III's niece), Henry could claim (on the tenuous basis that his father was the half-brother of Henry V of the House of Lancaster) to having united the two warring sides and win legitimacy for his reign.
Shrewd and capable, Henry VI brought stability to England during the twenty-four years of his reign, even if many of his people had to suffer the wrong end of his greed for gain. His claim to the throne, however, remained questionable, and during his reign, they were repeated attempts by various persons claiming to be the rightful king. His death in April 1509 had to be kept secret for several days in order that the succession to his son, Henry VIII, could be secured against any possible attempts at rebellion.
You may also wish to read about the House of Tudor
Further Reading:
Thomas Penn, Winter King. Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
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