The Battle of Bosworth Field ended the Wars of the Roses, killed the last Yorkist king, and established the Tudor dynasty that would reshape English history.
Key Facts
- Date
- 22 August 1485
- Location
- Near Ambion Hill, Leicestershire
- Richard III's fate
- Killed in battle; last English monarch to die in battle
- Henry's landing
- Arrived unopposed on 7 August 1485 in south-west Wales
- Dynasty ended
- Plantagenet dynasty
- Dynasty founded
- Tudor dynasty
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Richard III seized the English throne in 1483 after his nephew Edward V was declared illegitimate, provoking opposition. Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian claimant in exile, exploited Richard's weakened position and landed in Wales on 7 August 1485 with a small force, gathering supporters as he marched toward London, prompting Richard to muster his army and move to intercept him.
On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor's army, commanded largely by the Earl of Oxford, met Richard III's larger force near Ambion Hill in Leicestershire. Richard's vanguard struggled against Oxford's men, and the Earl of Northumberland refused to reinforce the king. Richard launched a bold personal charge to kill Henry directly, but Sir William Stanley intervened with his uncommitted troops, surrounding and killing Richard on the field.
Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII, becoming the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty, and later married Yorkist heiress Elizabeth of York, uniting the rival houses. Richard III's death marked the end of the Plantagenet dynasty. Tudor propagandists, aided by chroniclers and later by Shakespeare, framed Bosworth as the close of the Middle Ages and the dawn of a new era for England.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Earl of Oxford, Sir William Stanley.
Side B
1 belligerent
Richard III, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland.