Battle of Bosworth Field

The Battle of Bosworth Field, fought on 22 August 1485 near Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, was the final major engagement of the Wars of the Roses. The victory of Henry Tudor over King Richard III ended the Plantagenet dynasty and ushered in the Tudor era. As the last English monarch to die in battle, Richard’s fall marked a defining moment in English political history and is widely regarded as the symbolic conclusion of the medieval period in England.

Background to the Conflict

The Wars of the Roses had raged intermittently across England throughout the fifteenth century, pitting the House of Lancaster against the House of York in a prolonged dynastic struggle. After the Yorkist victories at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471, the Lancastrian cause appeared extinguished. King Edward IV ruled unchallenged, and the deaths of Henry VI and his son left no direct Lancastrian heir. Among the attainted exiles were Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry Tudor, who found refuge in Brittany under the protection of Duke Francis II.
Although Henry’s claim to the throne was weak—he descended from the Beaufort line, a branch legitimised by Richard II but later barred from succession by Henry IV—he remained the only viable Lancastrian claimant. For Duke Francis, Henry was an asset in diplomatic dealings with both England and France.
Edward IV’s sudden death in April 1483 destabilised the political landscape. His elder son, twelve-year-old Edward V, succeeded to the throne, but his minority prompted the establishment of a regency council. Rivalries quickly emerged between the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s queen, and other leading nobles. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the late king’s brother, was urged to assume the role of Protector. He moved swiftly: taking custody of Edward V, arresting and executing senior Woodville figures and later accusing Lord Hastings of treason. With support from Buckingham and other nobles, Richard invalidated Edward IV’s marriage, declared the princes illegitimate and had himself crowned Richard III in June 1483.
Public unease over Richard’s methods, combined with the mysterious disappearance of Edward V and his brother, created an atmosphere ripe for rebellion. An uprising later that year, backed by disaffected Yorkists and Lancastrians, collapsed due to storms and miscommunication. Buckingham, once Richard’s ally, was captured and executed. Henry Tudor’s attempt to land in England also failed, forcing him back to Brittany. Nonetheless, support for Henry grew, and he pledged in Rennes Cathedral to marry Elizabeth of York, Edward IV’s eldest daughter, uniting the rival houses should he triumph.

Henry Tudor’s Invasion and March to Battle

By 1485 Henry Tudor secured French support and assembled a modest but determined invasion force. Landing unopposed on the Welsh coast at Milford Haven on 7 August, he advanced through Wales and the Midlands, gaining followers en route. Local Welsh gentry, including the powerful Stanley family through marriage ties, monitored events closely. Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and his brother Sir William Stanley brought significant forces but withheld open commitment, intending to support whichever side appeared most likely to prevail.
Richard III, aware of Henry’s landing, mobilised his troops and moved to intercept him near Ambion Hill. Although Richard’s army outnumbered Henry’s, internal divisions plagued the Yorkist ranks. The loyalty of the Stanleys was uncertain, and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, showed little inclination to assist Richard decisively.

Deployment and Opening Movements

Henry organised his comparatively small army into a single main division under the experienced John de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Sir John Savage commanded the left flank, while Henry positioned himself at the rear with his household troops. The Stanleys deployed separately, maintaining a position from which they could intervene at a moment of their choosing.
Richard arranged his larger force into three battles. The vanguard, led by John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, advanced on Oxford’s men. Northumberland held the rear division but failed to support the king when signalled. The early fighting saw Oxford’s troops withstand the Yorkist assault, gradually pushing Norfolk’s men back. Norfolk himself was killed, and parts of his formation began to break away.

Richard’s Final Charge

Recognising that Henry’s men were gaining the upper hand and that the Stanleys remained aloof, Richard resolved to stake everything on a direct charge aimed at killing Henry and ending the battle at once. Leading a mounted assault of his household knights, Richard attempted to break through to Henry’s standard.
Henry, recognising the danger, moved closer to the Stanley contingents. At this critical moment Sir William Stanley ordered his forces to ride in support of Henry. Richard’s mounted knights, isolated from the Yorkist main body, were overwhelmed. The king fought with considerable courage, reportedly killing Henry’s standard-bearer, Sir William Brandon, before being surrounded. Refusing to flee, Richard was cut down in the melee—the last reigning English monarch to die in battle.

Aftermath and Historical Legacy

With Richard’s death, the Yorkist resistance collapsed. Henry Tudor was crowned on the battlefield, symbolically beginning the Tudor dynasty. His marriage to Elizabeth of York the following year united the rival houses, reinforcing claims that Bosworth had ended decades of dynastic conflict.
Early Tudor chroniclers portrayed the victory as a moral triumph, shaping Bosworth into a foundational moment for a “new age”. From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries the battle was celebrated as the triumph of legitimacy and peace over tyranny, a theme later echoed in Shakespeare’s Richard III, which immortalised the confrontation as a dramatic moral contest.
Debate continues over the precise site of the battle. Traditional locations near Ambion Hill were challenged by archaeological surveys undertaken between 2003 and 2009, which identified a likely battlefield southwest of the heritage centre’s original site. Finds including artillery shot and battlefield debris have provided new insights into the engagement’s scale and terrain.