At last he consented to undertake an expedition that would either make or mar him, and sailed from Harfleur with a large fleet. He was received in England with a hearty welcome, for the people regarded him as a saviour who was to preserve them from Richard's tyranny.
[[A.D. 1485.]] On the evening of the 21st of August, 1485, three weeks after his arrival, Henry encamped with his army near Bosworth. The next day the celebrated battle was fought, which terminated the life of Richard III., and placed Henry Tudor on the throne.
After the death of Anne of Warwick Richard III. had { 336}sent his niece, Elizabeth, to a castle in Yorkshire, where she was kept as a close prisoner, and the first intimation she had of her royal lover's success was when the people of the neighborhood gathered about the gloomy building with shouts of joy. A guard of nobility and gentry escorted her in state to London, and she went in company with her mother to live at Westminster Palace.
Henry VII. was recognized as King of England, and crowned soon after; but he seemed in no hurry about his marriage, which did not take place until January 18th of the following year. The event was celebrated with bonfires, banquets, dancing and songs, and the prelate who performed the ceremony held a bunch of red and white roses, tied together for the first time. This was in commemoration of the union of the rival houses of York and Lancaster.
[[A.D. 1486.]] The royal couple then went to live at Winchester, where in the course of a year their first child was born. He was named Arthur, after King Henry's favorite hero and ancestor.
[[A.D. 1487.]] The birth of this prince was succeeded by his mother's coronation, which took place in November, 1487. On the Friday before that important ceremony Elizabeth went with her husband from London to Greenwich. She was accompanied on the river Thames by a grand pageant of boats, the finest being rowed by the students of Lincoln's Inn, who had beautiful music performed on their barge throughout the route, and kept side by side with that of the queen. That night was passed at the Tower, where the king created eleven Knights of the Bath, and the next day Elizabeth proceeded through the city to Westminster Palace. An immense crowd collected to behold their queen, as this was her first public appearance since her marriage. { 337}She was not quite twenty-two; her figure was tall and handsome; her complexion fair and brilliant. She had, besides, soft blue eyes and delicate features, set off by a profusion of yellow hair. Her costume on this occasion was a gown of white silk, brocaded with gold, and a mantle of the same material, bordered with ermine and fastened across the breast with gold cords and tassels. A close-fitting cap, formed of rich gems in a golden network, encircled her head, and her hair fell loosely around her shoulders.