Guest Post
Family Foundations: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York as Parents by Aimee Fleming
To celebrate the publication of Tudor Princes and Princesses last month, we are delighted to welcome
to The Tudor Notebook with a guest post on Henry VII and Elizabeth of York as Parents
Family Foundations: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York as Parents
When Henry Tudor pledged to marry the eldest daughter of Edward IV, his motives may well have mainly been political; after all, a marriage between the two would solve issues of loyalty and legitimacy, unite the two sides who have feuded for nearly a century, and provide a common ground to start his reign. However, their marriage proved much more of a success than a mere political alliance. Their marriage lasted for seventeen years, until Elizabeth’s death in early 1503, and they had seven children together, securing the future of the Tudor Dynasty and supporting one another in their roles as King and Queen.
Elizabeth was nineteen years old when Henry Tudor led his forces to victory at Bosworth Field in the August of 1485. The two had never met, but Henry had pledged to marry Edward IV’s eldest daughter as soon as he was King. They were married in January 1486, and in the September their first-born child, a son names Arthur, was born. All of the signs were good that their marriage, and Henry’s rule, would be happy and secure. As their reign progressed more children followed; Margaret in 1489, Henry in 1491, Elizabeth in 1492, Mary in 1496, Edmund in 1499, and finally little Katherine in 1503.
But just how much were Henry and Elizabeth involved in their children’s upbringing? We can see in records that both parents spent lots of time and money on their children: Elizabeth sent money for clothing, fabric to make clothing for special occasions, and also kept track of the children’s staff. Elizabeth also took care of entertainment for the children when they came to court, and made sure they had a wide variety of experiences despite being sequestered away in the nursery. In Elizabeth’s household records we see that in March 1502 she paid for a minstrel to play at Richmond Palace. Richmond was one often used by the royal children, so it is likely that that the minstrel was brought in to provide entertainment for the children, as well as for Elizabeth herself.
Henry is also seen to have sent gifts of money to his children, maintaining the buildings where they lived, and paying for their general expenses. In some of his accounts we have mention of payments to ‘our right dearly beloved children’, showing he took care to ensure their wellbeing. He was also ultimately responsible for choosing the children’s tutors and companions, ensuring they had the very best that he could provide.
Education was incredibly important to both Henry and Elizabeth, and they took great care to give their children to very best, most modern education they could. They personally chose scholars to teach their children, invested in a huge library of books and maps, and encouraged all of the children to learn languages and sciences which previously would not have been considered important.
This hands-on approach was unusual, and perhaps this was because of their own childhoods experiences that they chose to keep their children close and with people whom they truly trusted. Even Arthur, who by tradition was sent to live in Ludlow as Prince of Wales, had a household headed by Jasper Tudor, Henry’s uncle who had cared for him while he was in exile in France. The royal nursery where the other Tudor children lived would move between houses close to London, which made it easy for the children to be brought to court, or for their parents to ride out to them on a regular basis. Elizabeth had grown up in a nursery with lots of her sisters, and perhaps she wanted her children to experience the same closeness and family environment that she had had. She even employed some of the same nurses who had cared for her and her siblings as children, to care for the next generation of royals.
While it would have been impossible for Henry and Elizabeth to be truly involved parents, due mostly to their duties at court, I feel that they both tried hard to be present in their children’s lives. They used their money and influence to buy security and a solid foundation for the Tudor heirs, and in so doing, they made a huge difference to their children’s lives and to the Tudor Dynasty.
About Aimee
Aimee is a historian and author from North Yorkshire. She is a married Mum of three, and has worked in history and heritage throughout her career. She completed an MA in Early Modern History as a mature student, and has since written two books and is currently working on her third.
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We do hope you have enjoyed this post, if you have you will be pleased to know we will have a Q&A Guest Post with Aimee coming very soon!
It’s interesting to read of the family arrangements of historical figures. I often wonder how history would have been changed had Arthur ascended to the throne rather than Henry. Would the nation still be Roman Catholic? Would there have been greater stability in the country? There would have been no Mary or Elizabeth. The changes in government would have no doubt been immense. There you are, an idea for an imaginary historical fiction novel. Perhaps I should write it myself? On second thoughts, I enjoy reading the writings of others far more than I do subjecting myself to months or sometimes years of unremitting labour.