Henry Tudor's Strategies to Secure His Throne

In 1485, Henry Tudor allied with the French, Richard III’s enemies, and went into battle with him. Henry defeated Richard at the battle of Bosworth Field and soon after he was crowned King of England. Similar to other kings who had taken the throne by force, Henry could have been overthrown at any moment. Thus he needed to ensure a secure position, several of his decisions as King demonstrate his attempts at making that possible.
Throughout the early years of his reign he made sure to have the strongest claim of inheritance to the throne. By inheritance Edward IV’s daughters and nephews had a superior claim than him, hence disposing of them was Henry’s first priority. Henry unified the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in 1486, through his marriage to Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward. However he waited to marry her until the Parliament requested him, that way nobody could imply that he only married her to gain the crown. He then arranged the marriages of the remaining daughters to men he trusted.
The Yorkists that were still unsympathetic to Henry, supported the Simmel’s cause, took him to Ireland and gathered a small army in 1487, but when they reached England Henry defeated them in the Battle of Stoke and captured Simmel. The second ploy, devised by Perkin Warbeck who impersonated Richard, the son of Edward IV that had been murdered in the Tower of London. He gained the support of Henry’s enemies and assembled an army to go to war against Henry. This scheme achieved nothing due to a clause in a treaty with France that removed Warbeck from