Editing Yeomen of the Guard (section)

=== Original unit formation ===
Henry rewarded his bodyguards by formally establishing the ''Yeomen of the Guard of (the body of) our Lord the King''. This royal act recognized their bravery and loyalty in doing their duty, and designated them as the first members of a bodyguard to protect the King (or Queen) of England forever. In their first official act on 1 October 1485, fifty members of the Yeoman of the Guard, led by John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, formally escorted Henry Tudor to his coronation ceremony.{{r|"1911_Britannica_YeomanGuardIA"|p=916}} This appearance of the Guard at Henry VII's coronation was first documented by Francis Bacon in 1622. The coronation appears to have been hastily arranged, using the regulations for Richard III's coronation as a draft. The Guard is not mentioned in the regulations.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=16-17}}

There are no surviving original documents ordering the establishment of the Guard. There is only a draft document from ca 1536-37 proposing the formation of what would become the [[Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms|Gentlemen at Arms]]. The proposal contains this statement for a precedent:
{{blockquote|text=the most noble and memory worthy king Henry VII for the better furnishment of his house first established and ordained the yeomen of his guard in their livery coats to wait upon his grace in his chamber, to the great setting forth and honour of his house.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=16}}}}
[[File:Garde_Ecossaise_Louis_XIII_(After_Quesnel).jpg|thumb|French Gardes Écossaises, from a 1610 drawing.]]
Hewerdine proposes that Henry VII may have copied the [[Garde Écossaise|Scots bodyguard of the French king]]. In 1445, [[Charles VII of France]] had established two companies of Scots: one contained 100 men-at-arms; the second contains 104 archers designated as personal bodyguards. These Scottish archers were being recognized for their service and loyalty to the French crown. Part of the royal retinue and used for ceremonial purposes, they wore richly decorated and embroidered jackets displaying the royal badges. They were armed with swords and halberds.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=11-12}}

The earliest documents mentioning individual Yeomen of the Guard date from September 1485 through January 1846. They are [[Seal (emblem)#Signet rings|signet]] warrants (signed orders) from Henry to his [[Lord Privy Seal|Keeper of the Privy Seal]], granting offices throughout the realm. The first is dated 16 September 1485, less than one month after the Battle of Bosworth, and about six weeks before his coronation. It appointed John Frye, yeoman of the king's guard, to the office of Searcher at the port of Bristol. From these warrants, Hewerdine was able to identify 32 Yeomen.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=14}} Of these 32 warrants, 13 mention former service overseas, and 6 indicate presence at Bosworth Field. The remaining warrants mention "good and faithful service", which Hewerdine interprets as meaning either service overseas, or presence at Bosworth, or both. Service overseas refers to Henry's exile to [[Duchy of Brittany|Brittany]] after the execution of [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]]. According to sources quoted by Hewerdine, Henry had a retinue of about 500 men while in Brittany, of which 200 followed him to France.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=17-18}} It was probably from among these 200 followers that the original Guard was formed.

Under Henry VII the Guard had only 2 officers: the Captain, and the Clerk of the Cheque. The latter position (similar to a bookkeeper) was added by Henry later in his reign.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=48}}

==== Size of the Guard ====
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The only accounts which provide a size of the Guard during the early years of Henry VII's reign are Virgil, who gives a total of about 200, and Bacon, who gives a total of 50. Hewerdine has reconstructed a list of approximately 100 yeomen for the first year or two of Henry's reign.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=35}} During the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII, Hewerdine has established that the size fluctuated greatly between the 1470s and about 1540. In April 1489, Henry VII took 200 yeomen to northern England, and a similarly sized contingent in 1500, when Henry visited [[Archduke Philip of Austria]] in [[Calais]]. However, for [[Arthur, Prince of Wales]] marriage with [[Catherine of Aragon]] in 1501, the Guard numbered 300. Eight years later (1509), the names of 193 Yeomen are listed in the [[Lord Chamberlain]]'s records for Henry VII's funeral. However, 300 Yeomen appeared for Henry VIII's coronation. The greatest increase in Guard size occurred in 1513, for Henry VIII's campaign in France. Two years later, 170 Yeomen were discharged as part of an effort to reduce spending. During the 1520s, the royal household sizes and expenses were scaled back in the [[Eltham Ordinance]]. The Guard was probably reduced to 80 members at that time.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=35-41}} Hewerdine proposes another possible reason for the inability to determine the number of Yeomen of the Guard. It appears that the Yeomen served at court for specified terms of duty. Some of the Household Ordinances indicate that some served quarterly, whilst others served daily.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=50}}