Henry VII won the Battle of Bosworth and then backdated his reign to the day before the battle, making every man who had fought for Richard III technically guilty of treason against the crown. It was the first act of a king who would rule England not through charm or martial glory but through paranoia, accounting, and a talent for making disobedience expensive.

This episode traces Henry from his years as a penniless exile in Brittany through his unlikely victory at Bosworth and the cold, meticulous governance that founded the Tudor dynasty.

• He backdated his reign to the day before Bosworth Field, making Richard III’s supporters legally treasonous
• He spent fourteen years in exile before winning the crown at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485
• He personally audited his kingdom’s finances and signed every page of the royal accounts
• He founded the Tudor dynasty by marrying Elizabeth of York, uniting the rival houses of Lancaster and York