Cast in the long, dramatic, and colorful shadow of his immediate descendants, England's King Henry VII is often overlooked by the casual history buff, and even some who probe further view him as dour, even boring. While some of those observations are accurate (he was more of a sober, reflective man), those researching Henry should always bear in mind the fragility of the dynasty he had just established.

England had just survived a brutal civil war, and when Henry Tudor took the throne from the Plantagenet, his hold was and remained tenuous. It was up to Henry to create, establish, and maintain continuity and order. This required a particularly sober and serious mindset, exhibited by matching behaviors. Henry lived up to his goals, and by the time he died and his son, Henry VIII took the throne, the latter was able to stand on a much firmer (though not perfect) foundation than that upon which his father stood.

It is also important to bear in mind that Henry Tudor did not grow up with the expectation that he would rule a kingdom. He was twenty-seven when he won the crown and he did so in the heat of battle. He had received no training in what it meant to be a king, in matters of war, diplomacy, and statecraft. But his quiet, determined personality and his ability to identify and gather about him solid, conservative advisors allowed him to establish his family's rule.

He was born the son of a nobleman, Edmund Tudor, but Edmund was new to the nobility, having been born to a family of much lower rank. His mother; however, was a French princess and a widow of King Henry V as well. Yet, even his mother, Margaret Beaufort, was herself of partial humble birth. Indeed she descended from the child of a mistress to John of Gaunt. While the couple's illegitimate offspring were legitimized by both Parliament and the Pope, illegitimate birth was never fully erased and could become a bone of contention in later generations.

Henry's father died shortly before his birth, and since his mother was still a minor, a formal guardianship was established. Due to the deaths of heirs close to the throne, by the time Henry was a teenager some were talking of the possibility of him taking the throne. While it was never fully safe to be any sort of claimant to a throne, these were the days of Richard III's treachery. Richard plotted to have Henry killed, but Henry was always able to escape, sometimes at the last minute.

In 1485, Richard led a battle against Henry, which resulted in Henry literally taking the crown from the battlefield. However, his kingship was very fragile. He had to call a Parliament to make his case as undisputed sovereign. Once his reign was proclaimed legitimate and indisputable, Henry made another very wise decision. He married Elizabeth of York, a princess from the opposing family during the civil war. This brought both families together, and the descendants of Henry and Elizabeth carried both York and Lancaster blood. And it was that kind of careful, considered efforts that became a hallmark of Henry's reign. He spent the rest of his life solidifying and building up the stability of his family's right to reign.

Later, when his son anguished over having a male heir, it was not a simple case of preferring sons over daughters. It was Henry VIII's angst over losing all that his father had fought so hard and so carefully orchestrated. Any question of succession could finish off the dynasty. Henry VII did more than establish Tudor rule, though. He also was a careful saver and spender of the royal treasury. When he died the government was solvent for the first time in generations. He even left a large cash and treasure reserve to his son.