‘Henry VII’s efforts to secure and hold onto his throne in the years 1485-99 were severely

undermined by the Yorkist faction.’

How far do you agree with this statement?

Though the Battle of Bosworth (22nd August 1485) culminated in the death of Yorkist Richard III and
the crowning of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, as King Henry VII of England, the
threat and influence of the Yorkist faction did not immediately fade. Both within regions of England
and in foreign territories, Yorkist support continued throughout the early years of Henry VII’s reign,
with Henry’s position as a usurper to the throne leaving him vulnerable to challenges from other
claimants, especially those with stronger claims. Whilst the Yorkist threat was evidently deemed
substantial in the context of the time, retrospectively there were multiple factors that limited the
threat they posed, including splits within the faction and actions from Henry himself.

From the beginning of Henry’s reign, issues regarding the strength of his claim and thus his security
on the throne became evident. Henry had a relatively weak claim to the throne through his mother,
Margaret Beaufort, who’s family was legitimized as a sub-branch of the House of Lancaster by
Richard II. Not only was this a weak claim in terms of bloodline, but the fact that the claim came
through a woman’s blood weakened it further, meaning in terms of blood, Henry’s claim was far
weaker than the likes of the heir presumptive John de la Pole, and the Princes in the Tower, sons of
Edward IV, who had been missing since 1483 after Richard III had locked them in the Tower of
London. The missing Princes posed a significant issue, as it gave the opportunity for pretenders from
the Yorkist faction to challenge for the throne. One such pretender was Lambert Simnel – in actuality
a young boy from Oxfordshire of humble origin – who, under instruction from a priest, Richard
Simon, initially posed as Richard Duke of York, one of the boys from the Tower, before switching to
Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick. Despite Henry having imprisoned the Earl in question,
parading him through the streets of London, as proof of Simnel’s pretence, significant support for
him rose in the North of England and Ireland – both Yorkist strongholds. This served as proof that
the Yorkists were not concerned with the legitimacy of a pretender’s claim, but rather wanted a
figurehead to give them reason to rebel, highlighting areas of little support for Henry, and thus the
subsequent insecurity of the throne. Simon took Simnel to Ireland in order to garner support, where
the head of the Irish government, the Earl of Kildare, agreed to support the story. As part of this,
Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin on 24th May 1487, and Kildare raised an
army to support the attack on Henry. At this time, John de la Pole – Earl of Lincoln, heir presumptive
and one of Henry’s advisors – fled to Burgundy in his support of the rebellion, claiming he had
helped ‘Warwick’ (Simnel) escape from the Tower. Here he spoke with the sister of Richard III and
diehard Yorkist Margaret of Burgundy, who sent 2,000 Flemish mercenaries (headed by the German
Martin Schwartz) to aid the Irish army. These were seen as significant military threats, and as a result
Henry rose an army to meet them. This in itself was a high-risk strategy, as in order to raise an army
taxes had to be raised as well, potentially angering the common men of the country and sparking
more rebellion. Equally, by entering a battle Henry was putting himself at a strong risk of being killed
and the throne being taken, as he had done at the Battle of Bosworth. Thus, it can be inferred that
Henry saw the threat of Lambert Simnel as significant enough to make taking these risks justified in
his mind. However, the rebellion was quashed by Henry’s army on the 16th June 1487 in what is
known to be the final official battle of the War of the Roses: the Battle of East Stoke. As part of this,
several key Yorkist figures (including de la Pole, and Thomas Fitzgerald, Lord Chancellor of Ireland)
were killed, reducing threat levels. Others, such as Simnel himself and the Earl of Kildare, were
pardoned on the condition of their loyalty to Henry, consolidating his allies. This victory in what was
his second battle also reaffirmed the idea that ‘God was on his side’, strengthening his claim in the
eyes of the heavily religious, Catholic English public.

Despite this crushing defeat, another Yorkist pretender emerged in 1490 in the form of Perkin
Warbeck, a boy said to have originated from Belgium, claiming to be Richard Duke of York. As the
fate of the Princes in the Tower had never been officially discovered, this was a pretence that could
indeed have been seen to have been valid, and thus had the potential to gain increased support. In
1941, Warbeck arrived in Ireland, presumably to attempt to achieve the same support as Lambert
Simnel had 4 years earlier. However, despite support from a former Mayor of Cork and ardent
Yorkist, John Atwater, Simnel failed to gain significant support for his claim, and left Ireland. He did,
however, have more success with other foreign powers, as Charles VIII of France received him in
court under his assumed name in 1942, and Margaret of Burgundy taught him the ways of court and
introduced him to other foreign powers (such as the Holy Roman Emperor) as her nephew. The
capacity for interference from Yorkist sympathisers abroad posed an additional threat to Henry’s
throne, as they not only had the influence to encourage remaining rebels in England, but also had
the ability to call up military backing for Warbeck. There was also limited support in England, most
significantly from several noblemen at Henry’s court. Any threat stemming from such trusted figures
had the potential to severely undermine Henry, and the continual presence of Yorkist supporters at
court was a significant threat to the security of his throne. However, these noblemen were exposed
and trialled in January 1495, with some facing execution and others heavy fines. This removed most
major threat from England before Warbeck landed in England in July 1495, at Kent. In fact, upon his
arrival, locals loyal to Henry attacked Warbeck and his small Burgundy-funded army, and they fled to
Ireland, where he once again met resistance when attempting to lay siege to Waterford, and thus
once again fled, this time to Scotland. James IV of Scotland received Warbeck favourably, marrying
him to a young Scottish noblewoman and readying him for battle, supporting him with a Scottish
army. This was unlikely to be because James believed Warbeck’s claim, but rather as a means to
secure international recognition and leverage for Scotland. Regardless, the threat of invasion from
the North meant that Henry VII once again needed to raise taxes in order to assemble an army.
Doing so, however, provoked rebellion in Cornwall, meaning threat was now coming from both ends
of the country. However, when the Scottish and Warbeck marched into the North of England, the
support they had expected from Northumberland never materialized. As Henry’s army approached
from Newcastle, the Scottish army retreated. The Cornish rebellion was also quashed in Guildford,
although that did not stop Warbeck attempting to capitalise on the lingering resentment in 1497,
when he led 6,000 men through Taunton. When he heard the King’s troops were advancing,
however, Warbeck deserted his army and fled. He was caught in Hampshire where he surrendered
and was imprisoned. Whilst Simnel was mainly an internal affair, with support from the closely
linked Ireland, Warbeck proved the potential for major foreign interference and threat in terms of
Yorkist rebellion. This rebellion once again prompted Henry to raise an army, this time with
consequences that might well have proved disastrous had Warbeck made it to Cornwall whilst the
initial rebellion was occurring in order to act as a leader. The threat of the relatively small Scottish
army in retrospect seems unworthy of such high risk strategy, and certainly caused more trouble
than there was initially, but such a response highlights that Henry still perceived some unrest or at
least insecurity in the North, and saw that as significant enough that he was not willing to take the
risk of not raising an army to defend.

Despite these two significant rebellions from the Yorkist faction, the threat posed by them was
always limited, both by inherent weaknesses within the faction, and by actions and policies devised
by Henry and advisors. During and since the War of the Roses, the Yorkist faction had remained split:
whilst many were diehard Yorkists and continued to oppose the Lancastrian king, others were anti-
Ricardian Yorkists – Yorkists who hated the previous King Richard III, and thus supported Henry. This
split meant that even from the beginning, the Yorkist support was severely reduced and confused.

The issue of Henry’s weak claim was one of the main fuels for rebellion, and thus the consolidation
of the claim was a priority for him. Henry began by using parliament to state his date of coronation
as the day before the Battle of Bosworth, thus making anybody who fought against him in that battle
guilty of high treason and therefore subject to appropriate punishment. This meant Henry had
grounds to get rid of rival claimants and Yorkists (although in some cases – such as with John de la
Pole – he naively did not do so and thus suffered for it later), and that those he pardoned or spared
were now indebted to him as their leader. The other main factor Henry considered in securing his
claim was bloodline. Thus Henry repealed Titulus Regius – which had made the children of Edward IV
and Elizabeth Woodville illegitimate – and on 18th January 1486, Henry married Elizabeth of York,
daughter of King Edward IV. This not only helped secure the legitimacy of their children’s claims, but
also secured the support of the anti-Ricardian Yorkists, ending some of the feud between the houses
and thus reducing the threat level.

Henry’s attitude to foreign policy also contributed to limitations to the Yorkist threat, particularly in
the case of Perkin Warbeck. In order to prevent foreign support for the pretender, several treaties
were created and proposed, the first being with France. Initially Henry launched a Siege on Boulogne
in response to the French support of Warbeck, sending over 12,000 men. This resulted in the Treaty
of Etaples in 1942, in which Charles VIII agreed not to harbour any enemies of Henry, as well as
providing a large payment to the English king. Henry later tackled the recurring problem of
Burgundy, first complaining to the Duke of Burgundy, then, upon being ignored, beginning a trade
embargo, cutting of important trade links with regards to wool. Once it became evident that this was
deeply detrimental to both economies, and Burgundy desired English help against France, an
agreement called the Intercursus Magnus was signed in February 1496, with part of the agreement
being that Margaret of Burgundy had to accept the Tudor succession. This eliminated what had been
a continuous foreign Yorkist threat in Margaret. Finally, Henry secured peace with Scotland after
Warbeck and James IV’s army was defeated by signing the Treaty of Ayton in 1947. A dynastic
marriage was also arranged between James and Henry’s daughter Margaret in 1503, ensuring the
peace was maintained. The effectiveness of Henry’s methods in dealing with foreign powers
strengthened his claim in the eyes of such powers and reduced the threat of what were previously
areas of potential Yorkist sympathies. This in turn secured his position on the throne and protected
him from the threat of further invasion or foreign rebellion.

There is little doubt that the Yorkist faction did have the potential to pose a significant threat to the
security of Henry’s kingship, and it is important to note that Henry’s actions and use of high risk
strategy implies that he himself saw the Yorkist faction and their rebellions as severely undermining
his hold on the throne. However, when looking retrospectively, the threat was concentrated in
certain regions and vacant in others, and the level of threat decreased the longer Henry remained on
the throne, as willingness of Yorkists to support rebellions decreased in the years between Simnel
and Warbeck, likely because the strength of Henry’s claim and legitimacy increased as the length of
his reign increased. In fact, Henry potentially caused himself more problems in his concern for the
security of the throne, as the Cornish Tax Rebellion may well have posed a significant threat had
Perkin Warbeck been there to lead it at its peak. Despite this, overall, Henry’s exploitation of splits in
the Yorkist faction and the effectiveness of his foreign policy meant that the threat from the Yorkists
remained limited throughout the period.