S. B. Chrimes provides a systematic study of Henry VII, the exile who defeated Richard III and founded the Tudor dynasty. The biography examines the disputed basis of Henry’s claim, the political management of Yorkist opposition and the marriage and symbolism used to present his victory as a legitimate succession.
Chrimes analyses the personnel and machinery of government, law enforcement, finance, social policy and foreign diplomacy. The result is a portrait of a cautious and exacting king whose methods strengthened royal authority and secured the dynasty, even as fiscal pressure and persistent fears of conspiracy darkened his later reign.