Born Henry Tudor, Henry became the King of England, inheriting from his cousin, the heirless Richard III. Henry would restore a certain level of stability to the monarchy after more than thirty years of dynastic struggles (collectively known as the Wars of the Roses). As king, Henry’s priorities were obvious – once the last battle of the Wars of the Roses was won two years into his reign, at least – he and his Queen had seven children, to ensure that the succession was assured, and on Henry’s death 24 years into his reign, the throne would peacefully pass to his son and heir, Henry VIII).
Henry reformed the taxation of the realm and restored its finances (although his system was not without its abuses, and would be dismantled after his death). Alongside that, he also sought to restore the rule of law and reformed the systems of law enforcement and the judiciary. Less successfully, he sought to reclaim the lost Plantagenet possessions in France, but the kingdom of France largely thwarted that goal. Not coincidentally, Henry also sought to undermine or even end completely the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. And he was one of the first European monarchs to recognise and sign treaties with the newly-united Spanish kingdom, and made allies of both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. His son and heir, Henry VIII, would place rather less importance on that last alliance.
