Henry Tudor, the second son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Margaret Beaufort, was born in Pembroke Castle on 28th January 1457. Margaret was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. (1)

As Alison Weir has pointed out: "Margaret Beaufort, was his (Henry Tudor) only link by the blood to the Plantagents, and she herself was descended from the bastards born to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, and his mistress Katherine Swynford. These children, all surnamed Beaufort, were legitimised by statute of Richard II in 1397, after Gaunt married their mother; however, ten years later, Henry IV, confirming this, added a rider to the statute which barred the Beauforts and their heirs from ever inheriting the crown." (2)

Henry's father had been dead for almost three months when he was born. Henry Tudor was soon separated from his mother as Edward IV decided that he wanted him live with Lord William Herbert, his leading supporter in Wales. He was brought up at Raglan Castle, with the intention of marrying him to his eldest daughter. These plans came to an end when Herbert was executed after the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26th July 1469. (3)

Henry now went to live with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, the restored Earl of Pembroke. At the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471 Margaret of Anjou was captured and her thirteen-year-old son, Edward of Westminster killed. Edward IV sent Roger Vaughan to arrest Henry and Jasper. Vaughan was captured and executed and the two men escaped to Tenby and took a ship, heading for France but landing in Brittany late in the month after a stormy voyage. Francis II, Duke of Brittany, offered them asylum but under Edward's diplomatic pressure, this turned into house arrest in a succession of castles and palaces. (4)