With cries of “Treason!” echoing around him, Richard led a mounted charge straight at Henry Tudor. This moment has become legendary—a king charging into battle to kill his rival personally. The gamble nearly succeeded. Richard’s knights cut down Henry’s standard-bearer, Sir William Brandon, and came dangerously close to the pretender himself.

But just as Richard neared his objective, Sir William Stanley made his move. Choosing that moment to intervene, Stanley’s forces surged into the fray and surrounded Richard. Isolated and outnumbered, the king refused to flee. He fought bravely, reportedly unhorsing several foes before he was struck down—his helmet torn off, his skull split open by a poleaxe.

The last Plantagenet king died in battle, the first English monarch to do so since Harold at Hastings in 1066. His body was stripped, slung over a horse, and taken to Leicester, where it was displayed for two days before being hastily buried.

Aftermath: The Birth of the Tudor Era

Henry Tudor was crowned king on the battlefield with a circlet retrieved from Richard’s head. As Henry VII, he took swift steps to secure his reign. He married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, thus uniting the warring houses of Lancaster and York. This symbolic act ended the Wars of the Roses and gave rise to the Tudor rose—red and white combined.

Henry dated his reign from the day before Bosworth, making Richard’s supporters traitors by default. He called his first Parliament, ratified his claim, and revoked Titulus Regius, the act that had declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate.

Despite the victory, Henry’s early reign was fraught with challenges. Pretenders like Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck would emerge, attempting to claim the throne. Yet, Bosworth had decisively shifted the political winds. Henry's authority grew, and the Tudor regime established itself as the new order. shutdown123