The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors

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Jones also describes Richard III as tall, even though he was only 5 foot 8—not short for the time, but certainly not remotely tall, at least in comparison to his brother Edward IV's 6 feet 4 inches and especially not when considered that Richard's scoliosis is believed to have taken several inches off his apparent height. Jones describes the fascinating rise of the Tudors. It is probably even more remarkable than the rise of the Stewarts in Scotland. Owen Tudor was a Welsh nobleman. He claimed some ancestry from Welsh kings. Jones is dubious of the claims, but, of course, Welsh kings would include Arthur. He became the lover and then the wife of King Henry V’s widow. When the Yorkists were in power after 1460, the Tudors were in France and Brittany for safety. Owen’s son Edward had one son, Henry.

In 2022, Jones started his own Podcast through Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment called This Is History: A Dynasty to Die For, recounting much of the content of his 2012 book, The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England. Essex Dogs by Dan Jones: 9780593653784 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com . Retrieved 20 September 2022. Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.

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When discussing the Lambert Simnel plot, Jones mentions that Margaret of York, the dowager Duchess of Burgundy and the sister of Edward IV and Richard III, "ruled the Netherlands...on behalf of her son Philip the Fair." In fact, Margaret had no children; Philip was her step-grandson, the son of her deceased stepdaughter Mary (the daughter of Margaret's husband, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, from his first marriage) and her husband, Maximilian of the Habsburg dynasty (later Holy Roman Emperor). Jones does not end his history with 1485. There was something of a legacy of that bloody century. He notes a few pretenders who claimed be one of the young princes who were killed in the Tower of London. These proved to be phonies, but Henry VII was relatively merciful to them. Henry also looked with suspicion on anyone with a royal connection. As he grew older, he became more paranoid apparently, and a few somewhat harmless souls ended up being accused of treason and losing their heads. I really loved this book. Going into it, I had strong opinions about the warring families, having studied the Tudors for 16 years and Shakespeare’s histories in college—but also because my ancestors had been strong supporters of the Lancastrian claim. So imagine my surprise when I read at the end of chapter 11 that “Sir James Luttrell of Devonshire” was later credited with the capture of Richard, Duke of York! For all I knew about my family’s history, I never knew THAT incredible information! I don’t know how Sir James would have felt about his descendant cheering him on 550 years later, but it’s a rare thing to find a book that makes you feel like you are in the midst of the action.

In normal circumstances, being third cousin from one sitting king and third cousin twice removed from his rival would mean that Henry Tudor would have virtually no chance of becoming king. However, many of the people who might have been in his way had been killed or imprisoned. He did take a big risk fighting Richard III in 1485, but he had procured enough allies and Richard was killed in battle, and so he started a new dynasty. The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors, London, Head of Zeus, 2017, ISBN 978-0-525-42830-5.Woodwards, Colin; Woodward, Colin (2 August 2013). "The Plantaganets The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England By Dan Jones". The Washington Post . Retrieved 15 August 2020.