How Henry VII seized – and kept – the crown

Henry VII is often remembered as a cold, calculating and penny pinching monarch, whose relentless pursuit of an ever tightening grip on the throne overshadowed his achievements. But how fair is that reputation? And what can the real history behind this popular perception tell us about the challenges, anxieties, and realities of Henry's kingship? Speaking to Emily Briffitt for this episode of the History Extra podcast, Sean Cunningham reassesses the first Tudor King's critical reputation, exploring the delicate balancing act that defined his reign as he sought to reward loyalty, root out treason, and secure a fragile new dynasty. I was hoping we could start this conversation with the image you start your book with, and that's this realistic funeral effigy of Henry VII's coffin, which you describe as depicting the haggard face of a man exhausted by the trials of his life.

So I wanted to ask you, why do you think this is such a striking image? What can it reveal to us about the man himself? Well, I think first of all it's it's a death mask image or it's based on a death mask, so it is an authentic depiction of what Henry looked like, even though he's only in his early 50s. I say in the book he looks maybe 20 years older, and allowing for the wear and tear of the centuries, but this has been looked after in Westminster Abbey, was slightly damaged in the blitz, so it's had a bit of repair to the nose, but on the whole It's a really cleverly created image by an expert sculptor, probably Pietro Toriggiano, who sculpted Henry's tomb and also made the famous bust that's in the Victorian Albert Museum.

So he's a a Florentine artist who's come over to England and has created lots of these kind of Renaissance works. So we can trust that his credibility's authentic artistic skill has captured something of the king's actual image. So that's an amazing starting point for us to have something which is very photorealistic from over 500 years ago. And it shows a man who does look slightly worn out.

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