History of England
With Henry VII's accession to the throne in 1485, the Wars of the Roses came to an end, and Tudors would continue to rule England for 118 years. Traditionally, the Battle of Bosworth Field is considered to mark the end of the Middle Ages in England, although Henry did not introduce any new concept of monarchy, and for most of his reign his hold on power was tenuous. He claimed the throne by conquest and God's judgement in battle. Parliament quickly recognized him as king, but the Yorkists were far from defeated. Nonetheless, he married Edward IV's eldest daughter Elizabeth in January 1486, thereby uniting the houses of York and Lancaster.
Tudors of Penmynydd
The family is best known due to the descendants of a younger son. Owain Tudur (anglicised to "Owen Tudor"), the son of rebel Maredudd ap Tudor, would become a courtier, and secretly married Catherine of Valois, widowed Queen Consort of the Lancastrian King Henry V. Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois had two sons, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456), and Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke (d. 1495). Edmund Tudor was betrothed and married to Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509) daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, a scion of the House of Lancaster. Edmund and Margaret had a sole son, Henry Tudor, born 28 January 1457 at Pembroke Castle in Wales. He was born posthumously, Edmund Tudor having died 1 or 3 November 1456. Henry Tudor grew up in south Wales and, following the downfall of the Lancastrian cause, in exile in Brittany. Henry's mother Margaret forged an alliance of dispossessed Lancastrians and discontented Yorkists, most notably Elizabeth Woodville, widow of King Edward IV, in support of her son, who landed in South Wales, gathered further troops through Wales and the Midlands and ultimately defeated Richard III at Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485. Henry proclaiming himself Henry VII, King of England, on the battlefield.