Henry,+Earl+of+Richmond

Henry, The Earl Of Richmond. By Shion Seino

__The Real Henry Tudor, Earl Of Richmond <28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509>__ Henry Tudor, The Earl of Richmond was the first of all Tudor Kings. He was the son of Edmund Tudor (also Earl of Richmond) and Lady Margaret Beaufort (who actually later marries Lord Stanley). If it wasn't for his mother's complicated heritage of 'Royal Blood', it may have not been possible for Henry to reach the throne. Therefore, how he managed to become King is still said to be somewhat of a miracle. Henry Tudor's childhood is almost a mystery and little about it is known. Since Edmund Tudor died soon after Henry's birth, and since Margaret was barely 13, Henry was brought up by his paternal uncle, Jasper Tudor (Earl of Pembroke) until the age of 4, where the Tudors were attacked by a Yorkist force.

Chance came after 1471, where due to the whole male population in the Lancastrian dynasty died out and the time came for the Beauforts to claim the throne as the representatives. Therefore, Margaret became the sole hieress to the throne. However, the time of a women on the throne was yet to come, Henry was obviously the next heir. Since he was still 14 at the time, his uncle Jasper sensed fear of being attacked by the Yorks and took the boy to Brittany to keep him safe.

When Henry returned in 1483 the throne was already taken over by Richard III. As he tried to invade and take over, he had bad luck with the weather, meeting a storm that divided Henry's ship from the main fleet. Therefore, due to the bad weather of England, Henry had no choice but to return reluctantly to Brittany to wait for a better chance.

Richard on the other hand, was well aware of this situation and to prevent future invasions, he ordered for Henry to be captured. News of this reached Henry just in time, and he was able to escape to France. In 1485, Henry returned to England, now with the sponser of the French king. Although his army was small, he made plans to reach London quickly in hopes for expanding his army. (Richard was very unpopular at that time.) However, Richard already had his army assembled and had 18000 men waiting, out of which 8000 were commanded by the Stanley brothers.

Therefore, when the Battle of Bosworth Field started, much to Richard's suprise, the Stanleys started to fight on Henry's side. No longer having the advantage, Richard charged with his men to directly kill Henry. However, his plan backfired and Richard was eventually killed in battle, his body still lost to this day. Now with his victory, Henry was crowned King Henry VII. Later, he marries Elizabeth of York, closing the long battle between the Yorks and the Lancasters. Although he later on faces other revolts and battles, Henry manages to keep his position until his death in 1509.

__In The Play: Richmond __ In Shakespeare's play of Richard III, Richmond is a character that Richard could never be. He is portrayed as the light, the saviour that comes to banish the monster that needs to be doomed. This is because, during the Shakespearian era, It was Henry's decendant, Elizabeth that was on the throne. Therefore, to honor the royal family, Shakespeare created Richmond as a fair and rightous man.

Although Richmond does not appear until the very end of the play, he is mentioned during the acts how he is gathering his army to fight Richard. Shakespeare uses real facts such as the relationship between Stanley and Henry. Also, as seen when he says "We will unite the white rose and the red...O,now let Richmond and Elizabeth, The true succeeders of each royal house, By God's fair ordinance conjoin together...", Richmond states how he will marry Elizabeth and reunite the families, wishing for peace between both families, just as he wished in real life.