![]() ![]() Possession of something the French King wanted also made the Duke of Brittany safer in his own duchy. That was to prevent the King of France capturing him and letting him loose on the English as a rival. Edward would have liked to rid himself of Henry, a rival to his throne, but Francis kept Henry safe. His host was Francis, the Duke of Brittany, who saw Henry Tudor as a pawn in the game between Edward VI and the King of France. That is, suspicious, insecure and crafty but also determined, patient and fiercely proud of his Lancastrian ancestry. ![]() One interesting thing about him is his early youth and the fourteen years he spent in exile in France – Brittany to be precise – and those, I believe, made him the man he was eventually to become. Henry VII was the founder of the Tudor dynasty and father of Henry VIII and I’ve been doing a bit of digging on this lesser known Tudor. The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. Indeed he was born in winter, on January 28th 1457, in Pembroke Castle, in Wales and that is one of the reasons why the Welsh dragon always formed part of his insignia. Since we are in the middle of winter, I’ve been thinking of a volume on my shelves on Henry VII, who could be called the Winter King. ![]()
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