Who would be in line to the UK throne but for the Battle of Bosworth field?
I was just watching a documentary on Richard III, Henry Tudor etc. and wondered where would the British line of succession be now had Henry Tudor not challenged and defeated Richard III at Bosworth and created the Tudor dynasty. I believe that Richard left no direct legitimate heirs and Henry (as Henry VII) effectively dispatched any remaining Plantaganets with a claim to the throne during the early part of his reign. Assuming that both Edward V and Richard, Duke of York (the “Princes in the Tower”) both predeceased their uncle and no further breaks in the succession due to warfare etc., who would now be the rightful monarch of Britain? At what point would Henry’s wife, Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV) have become the rightful monarch, despite her gender? Would that effectively mean that Henry Tudor legitimised his own dynasty’s right to succession, based upon his wife’s crown, rather than his own? A family tree / graphical representation would be good!
The first part of your question is difficult to answer. One can only speculate on the lines of descent that may have emerged had Richard III retained the throne. His legitimate and illegitimate children died without issue. He initially named Edward, Earl of Warwick, his heir. Edward was his nephew and also the nephew of Richard’s wife Anne Neville, the daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker. After Anne’s death Richard named another nephew, John de la Pole, the son of his sister Elizabeth, as his successor. But Richard was also trying to negotiate a marriage with the sister of John II of Portugal, which might imply that he was attempting to secure a direct and legitimate bloodline. If so, then we can assume that, without his deposition, there would have been immediate successors.
The question of Henry Tudor’s legitimacy is a little complicated. His dubious claim to the throne was through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford (who was, by the way, the sister-in-law of Geoffrey Chaucer). But this was an illegitimate line, and although John and Katherine’s offspring was legitimised post facto by Richard II, this was done with the proviso that they would never be eligible for throne. Certainly Henry’s marriage to the daughter of Edward IV was an attempt to legitimise his occupation of the English throne.
This is a fascinating period in English history and still creates passionate debate. I have recommended two especially relevant books should you wish to pursue your interest; the titles can be found by following the History Unlimited links, and the England page of History Unlimited has much more on the Wars of the Roses and their aftermath. I have also provided links to Wiki in case you haven’t already checked this out. However, exercise caution! The matter of Henry Tudor’s succession is subject to partisan bias, and Wiki contributors may be influenced by their own particular prejudices. For example, Henry’s claimed descent from Cadwallader that helped him enlist Welsh support is probably as dubious as his claim to the throne. It is difficult to trace his grandfather, Owen Tudor’s, descent back for more than a few generations.
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