24. A Betrayal That Decided a Battle and a War
The Yorkist and Lancastrian antagonists met at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22nd, 1485. However, Thomas Stanley was still undecided. So he kept his contingent away from the fight, off to one side of field, while he waited to see which side looked like a winner. A livid Richard III sent Stanley a message in which he threatened his son unless he immediately attacked the Lancastrians. The Earl replied: “Sire, I have other sons“. Richard ordered Stanley’s son executed, but the order was not immediately carried out, and before long it was too late. Stanley eventually made up his mind that Richard was losing the battle, and ordered an attack – against the king and his Yorkist forces.
That decisively tipped the scales in favor of Henry Tudor, and against Richard. The Yorkist monarch launched a final desperate attack and tried to reach and cut down his challenger, but got cut down himself. After Richard’s death, Stanley found his fallen crown in some shrubs, and personally placed it on the head of Henry Tudor, henceforth Henry VII. Stanley’s stepson and new king of England brought the Plantagenet Dynasty to an end after centuries of rule and replaced it with his own Tudor dynasty. The new monarch generously rewarded the treacherous earl for his double-cross, and made the already rich magnate even richer.
