Henry VII became King at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 at the age of just twenty-eight. He is chiefly remembered, when he is remembered at all, for his miserly avarice, secretive nature and sombre court, but these are qualities that should be more fairly associated with him only in the last few years of his life when, suffering from a recurrent illness, he grieved the loss of his wife, his firstborn son and may of his infant children and feared greatly for the succession.