The House of Tudor

The House of Tudor was of Welsh origin from the village of Penmynydd, Anglesey, North Wales. It was Owen Tudor, a Welsh courtier, (born in Anglesey and buried in Greyfriars Church, Hereford) who married Queen Valois, widow of King Henry V (Owen Tudor was her second husband).  Owen Tudor was the grandfather of Henry VII.

Henry VII’s claim to the throne was on his mother’s side - ‘Lady Margaret Beaufort’ who was the great granddaughter of John of Gaunt. Lady Margaret’s father was John Beaufort (1st Duke of Somerset) who was a legitimised grandson of John of Gaunt (son of King Edward III) and longtime mistress Katherine Swynford.

Lady Margaret was just 12 years old when she married Edmund Tudor on 1st November 1455, and on 28th January 1457, she gave birth to her only child Henry Tudor (Pembroke Castle, Wales) who became King Henry VII.

Henry VII created the ‘Tudor Rose’ by uniting the red rose of the House of Lancaster with the white rose of the House of York. The most famous Tudor monarchs were probably King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.