The death of Henry VII and the delayed accession of Henry VIII

On 21 April 1509, Henry VII died aged 52 in his private apartments at Richmond Palace. His only surviving son, the 17-year-old Henry Tudor was now Henry VIII. But officials waited two days until St George’s Day (23 April) to tell the strapping young man that he was now King. Why? 

Here, Tracy Borman, Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, recounts this dramatic episode in British royal history.

The King is dead, long live the King…

The final illness and death of Henry VII

On 21 April 1509, the preparations for the St George's Day celebrations were in full swing at Richmond Palace. But all was not well in the Tudor court. 

For several weeks before, the King, Henry VII had kept to his privy chamber at Richmond. His health had been faltering for several years, thanks to the onset of what was probably tuberculosis. But he was always careful to hide his symptoms from his courtiers, for fear that a rival claimant might take the throne from him and his heir, Prince Henry. 

Even greater secrecy was needed when Henry VII made his last will and testament on 10 April 1509 – an indication of just how ill the King had become. Only a handful of his most trusted advisors needed to know – and his son was not among them. Finally, on 21 April, the King breathed his last.

A contemporary sketch of Henry VII's final moments shows several servants and officials clustered around the deathbed. All were sworn to secrecy by the King's closest advisers. They feared a rebellion if word got out that Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, who was viewed by many of his subjects as a usurper, had died. 

During the next two days, they made frantic preparations to secure the succession for his son, who was now Henry VIII. What mattered most was that the new King continued the Tudor dynasty that his father had started.

An ambitious young heir

The young Prince Henry, heir to the Tudor dynasty

With striking good looks and charm to match, Prince Henry – the only surviving son of Henry VII and the heir to the Tudor dynasty – presented a dazzling contrast to his dour and emaciated old father.

Relations between father and son had deteriorated significantly since the death of the King’s eldest son Prince Arthur in 1502; Arthur’s death had thrust Prince Henry into the limelight as the new heir to the throne. From that day forward, the King had exerted suffocating control over every aspect of the young prince's upbringing. The untimely death of the Queen, Elizabeth of York, can’t have helped the strained family dynamic.

As Prince Henry grew to maturity and hungered for power, he had a series of high-profile clashes with his father. In 1508 the King quarrelled so violently with his son that according to one eyewitness, it seemed 'as if he sought to kill him.'

Now, on 21 April 1509, the time had come for Prince Henry to become Henry VIII – if only the old King’s advisors could keep it a secret until all was prepared.

Destiny fulfilled…?

Henry VIII and St George

The timing of Henry VIII’s proclamation on St George’s Day was certainly convenient for the image of this young man, who was now King of England. 

St George had already emerged as England’s patron saint. But he was particularly important for the Tudor monarchs, who needed to convey a sense of tradition on their fledgling dynasty. 

Henry VII had used St George’s image to his advantage, but in being declared King on St George’s Day 1509, Henry VIII had the perfect excuse to make a direct and powerful association. He would continue to use this association to full effect throughout his reign. 

And so, during the celebrations of England's patron saint, 23 April 1509, the momentous reign of Henry VIII began. With hindsight, perhaps it was ironic that Henry, along with his six wives and powerful councillors such as Thomas Cromwell, would change the face of England forever.