How far do you agree with the view that Henry VII owed his success in attaining the throne mainly to the Stanleys?

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How far do you agree with the view that Henry VII owed his success in attaining the throne mainly to the Stanleys?

When Henry VII defeated Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth there is a strong view that he owed much his success to the Stanleys. The Stanleys were a very powerful family in Britain at the time with most of their powerbase in North Wales and Lancashire. However many would say that it was not so much the Stanleys who won the battle but the combined power of France, Brittany and Wales; all of which supported Henry Tutor. Other factors which contributed to outcome of the battle were that Richard III was unpopular as a King in many places.

The Stanley family consisted of many important nobles including Lord Thomas Stanley, William Stanley and George Stanley. They were originally loyal Richard III but still supported Henry as they were related to him. Thomas Stanley was a leading member of the Yorkist family. He was also married to Margret Beaufort and related to John of Gaunt. Even though he was extremely powerful he had a very weak claim to the throne which is why he made such a good ally to any king. During the Battle of Bosworth the Stanleys switched sides to the Lancastrians.  Arguably they were keener to be on the winning side than anything else. However this balanced the two armies in size and if they had not switched sides then it is very likely the very large Yorkist army would have won the battle. Therefore the Stanleys held significant importance to the battle and Henry would not have won without them.

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        After suspecting doubts in their loyalty Richard held George Stanley, Thomas Stanley’s son, hostage. When the Stanleys decided that they would support the Lancastrians Richard ordered for George to be beheaded, however this act was never carried through. This shows a lack of organisation from the Yorkists which arguable held significance in the outcome of the battle. Nevertheless it highlights the Stanleys as being a very important tool as both sides wanted their support. The fact that they would not support Richard shows that he was not a popular king. This is crucial as the betrayal of the Stanleys meant ...

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