CHAPTER XXVI - THE TUDOR DYNASTY, A.D. 1485—1603

Summary

So shall the Briton blood their crown again reclaim.

Spenser'sFaery Queen, book iii. canto iii. stanza xlviii.

§ 1. The partisans of the White Rose accepted Henry as the restorer of the House of York in the person of Elizabeth his affianced wife. The partisans of the Red Rose regarded him in his mother's stead as the representative of the extinct House of Lancaster. But Henry, from the first day of his reign until the last, never failed to consider himself as the victor of Bosworth Field, and king of England in his own personal right; scorning to be deemed ‘a king at courtesy,’ and scarcely enduring to stand upon the doubtful claim of a descent from Catherine Swinburne, although he did not hesitate to reckon both his maternal and matrimonial rights in the accumulation of claims to which victory, parliament, and a papal bull gave confirmation.

He appointed Sir William Stanley lord chamberlain of the royal household, and allowed him to possess the vast spoils of Bosworth Field. He appointed Lord Stanley lord high constable, created him an earl, October 27, 1485, and enriched him with suitable territories. But he was well content to see his mother merely a countess-consort of Derby, after he had created Jasper, his paternal uncle, Duke of Bedford, October 2, 1485; a title previously borne by John, regent of France, uncle of King Henry VI.