While important historical events occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, I believe that the next integral time period that defined what it means to be a British monarch was the Tudor dynasty, which was founded by Henry VII after the Wars of the Roses in 1485 (BBC History – Henry VII). After decades of sporadic war and political turmoil, he ascended as the Lancaster claimant and married Elizabeth of York, bringing the warring sides together and molded a shaky claim on the British throne into a dynasty that would bring about some of Britain’s most memorable and influential monarchs. A recent issue of a history periodical calls him the “Miracle King”, writing a man who started with nothing utilizing “heraldic and religious imagery, as well as promotion of the cult of Henry VI that ensured he retained it” (Marsden). Not only was Henry VII able to secure the throne for himself, but he ruled successfully with virtually not challenges. He created an image of a strong, venerated ruler that successfully modernized his government and ruthlessly enforced taxes, creating a centralized Tudor state (BBC History – Henry VII). Arguably one of the greatest hallmarks of the Tudor dynasty that hold true for all of the Tudor monarchs was being able to craft an image of untouchable power; using propaganda and strength to their advantages in order to promote their agendas (Griffiths). This trend started with Henry VII, and his successors took after the founder of the Tudor dynasty in order to forge incredibly consequential and substantial reigns that would cement themselves in history and impact future rulers for centuries to come.
