Who became the first Tudor king after winning the War of the Roses?

Henry VII became England’s first Tudor king after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. His victory ended the Yorkist monarchy and established the Tudor dynasty, which ruled England for more than a century.

Henry was a relatively distant claimant to the throne. His father, Edmund Tudor, was connected to the Lancastrian royal line through his mother, Margaret Beaufort. Henry therefore inherited a Lancastrian claim, but his right to rule was strengthened primarily by military victory and political alliances rather than by an especially close hereditary claim.

After Bosworth, Henry moved quickly to secure his position. He married Elizabeth of York in January 1486, uniting the rival dynastic claims symbolically and politically. Their marriage helped reconcile supporters of Lancaster and York and produced heirs who combined both lines of royal descent.

Henry VII is sometimes confused with Henry VIII, his son and successor. Henry VIII became famous for his six marriages and the English Reformation, but Henry VII was the monarch who won the Wars of the Roses and founded the Tudor line.