Editing Henry VII of England (section)

===Later years and death===
[[File:HenryVIIdeathbed.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Scene at the deathbed of Henry VII at [[Richmond Palace]] (1509) drawn contemporaneously from witness accounts by the courtier Sir Thomas Wriothesley (d.1534) who wrote an account of the proceedings. [[British Library]], Add.MS 45131, f.54]]
[[File:HenryVIITomb.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Tomb effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, by [[Pietro Torrigiano]], [[Westminster Abbey]]]]
[[File:WLA vanda Henry VII bust.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Posthumous portrait bust by [[Pietro Torrigiano]] made using Henry's [[death mask]]]]
In 1502, Henry VII's life took a difficult and personal turn in which many people he was close to died in quick succession. His first son and heir apparent, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died suddenly at [[Ludlow Castle]], very likely from a viral respiratory illness known at the time as the "[[English sweating sickness]]".{{Sfn|Penn|2011|p=70}} This made Henry VII's second son, [[Henry, Duke of York]], heir apparent to the throne. The King, normally a reserved man who rarely showed much emotion in public unless angry, surprised his courtiers with his intense grief and sobbing at his son's death. His concern for the Queen is evidence that the marriage was a happy one, as is his reaction to Queen Elizabeth's death the following year, when he shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone.{{Sfn|Chrimes|1999|pp=302–304}} Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death affected him severely.{{Sfn|Weir|2013|p=404}}

Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. Accordingly, he arranged a [[papal dispensation]] from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. After obtaining the dispensation, Henry had second thoughts about the marriage of his son and Catherine. Catherine's mother [[Isabella I of Castile]] had died and Catherine's sister [[Joanna of Castile|Joanna]] had succeeded her; Catherine was, therefore, daughter of only one reigning monarch and so less desirable as a spouse for Henry VII's heir-apparent. The marriage did not take place during his lifetime. Otherwise, at the time of his father's arranging of the marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the future Henry VIII was too young to contract the marriage according to Canon Law and would be ineligible until age fourteen.{{Sfn|Penn|2013|p=204}}

Henry made half-hearted plans to remarry and beget more heirs, but these never came to anything. He entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain; [[Joanna of Naples (1478–1518)|Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples]] (a niece of Queen Isabella of Castile), [[Queen Joanna of Castile]], and [[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy|Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy]] (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile) were all considered.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergenroth |first=G A |title=Calendar of State Papers, Spain: Supplement To Volumes 1 and 2, Queen Katherine; Intended Marriage of King Henry VII To Queen Juana |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/supp/vols1-2 |access-date=7 August 2020 |website=British History Online}}</ref> In 1505 he was sufficiently interested in a potential marriage to Joanna of Naples that he sent ambassadors to Naples to report on the 27 year-old Joanna's physical suitability.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schwarz |first=Arthur L. |title=VIVAT REX! An Exhibition Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII |publisher=The Grolier Club |year=2009 |isbn=978-1605830179 |page=58 |chapter=Henry's Father Searches for a New Wife}}</ref> The wedding never took place.

Henry VII falls among the minority of British monarchs that never had any known mistresses and, for the times, it is unusual that he did not remarry. His son Henry was the only male heir left after the death of his wife; the death of Arthur therefore created a precarious political position for the House of Tudor.

During Henry VII's lifetime the nobility often criticised him for re-centralising power in London and, later, the 16th-century historian [[Francis Bacon]] was ruthlessly critical of the methods by which he enforced tax law. It is equally true that Henry VII was diligent about keeping detailed records of his personal finances, down to the last halfpenny;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Domestic and foreign policy of Henry VII |url=http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20hvii%20policy.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627111129/http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20hvii%20policy.htm |archive-date=27 June 2015 |access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref> these and one account book detailing the expenses of his queen survive in the British National Archives, as do courtiers' accounts and many of the king's own letters. From these accounting books, the evidence is clear that, until the death of his wife, Henry was a more doting father and husband than was widely known and there is evidence that his outwardly austere personality belied a devotion to his family. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. Many of the entries show a man who loosened his purse strings generously for his wife and children – and not just for necessities. After Elizabeth's death, the possibilities for such family indulgences greatly diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Henry VII Winter King |url=http://queentohistory.com/book-reviews/documentaries/henry-vii-winter-king |website=Queen to History}}</ref> Henry became very sick and nearly died, allowing only his mother Margaret Beaufort near him: "privily departed to a solitary place, and would that no man should resort unto him."<ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|p=304}}; {{harvnb|Penn|2013|pp=110–113}}</ref> Further compounding Henry's distress, within months of her mother's death, his older daughter Margaret, who had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland, had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Queen Margaret's Arch {{!}} York Civic Trust |url=https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/queen-margarets-arch |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> Margaret Tudor wrote letters to her father declaring her homesickness, but Henry could do nothing but mourn the loss of his family and honour the terms of the peace treaty he had agreed to with the King of Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tudor Times |url=https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/margaret-tudor-life-story/married-life |access-date=9 March 2020 |website=Tudor Times}}</ref> 
 
Henry VII died of [[tuberculosis]] at [[Richmond Palace]] on 21 April 1509 and was buried in [[Henry VII Chapel|the chapel he commissioned]] in Westminster Abbey next to his wife, Elizabeth.<ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|pp=313–314, n5}}</ref> He was succeeded by his second son, [[Henry VIII]] (reigned 1509–47), who would initiate the [[Protestant Reformation]] in England.<ref>{{harvnb|Hunt|Towle|1998|p=69}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Lockyer|2014|p=88}}</ref> His mother died two months later on 29 June 1509.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/margaret-beaufort-countess-of-richmond |access-date=10 January 2021 |website=Westminster Abbey}}</ref>