How did Henry VII manage to secure his throne and his dynasty following the Battle of Bosworth?

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How did Henry VII manage to secure his throne and his dynasty following the Battle of Bosworth?

The very fact that Henry Tudor became King of England at all is somewhat of a miracle. With his heritage through his mother, his claim to the English throne was weak at best.

Defeating Richard III in the 1485 Battle of Bosworth, Henry VII managed to seize the throne. Although Henry VII had won the Battle, there was little guarantee that he would remain king of England, as there were many in the House of York who also had a claim to the throne. Henry therefore desperately needed to secure his place, and took the following measures to do so.

Henry knew that there were those who would question his legitimacy in terms of the throne. His first step to securing his place was to be crowned on October 30th by the Archbishop in London. Getting the churches approval was necessary. He took care not to summon Parliament until after his coronation and therefore could publicly state that he did not need Parliament to declare him king, as he was king before Parliament met.

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Henry also dated the time of his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth. This meant that anyone who had fought for Richard against him would be guilty of treason. As such anyone deemed guilty of treason could have all their property taken from them by an Act of Attainder, Henry could legally confiscate the lands and property of Richard III whilst restoring his own. 

Another way in which Henry manages to secure his throne and his dynasty was his marriage to Elizabeth of York in 1486. The purpose of the marriage was to end the feud between the ...

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