Hello!

I wrote my senior thesis on Henry VII and Early Tudor England is of special interest to me...

Henry VII had to consolidate power because of the York/Lancaster divisions still present and the fact that multiple people had a better claim to the throne than he did upon his accession.

By the time he died, he'd effectively held the nobility hostage - and was more than a little paranoid - see Sean Penn's "The Winter King" for the best portrayal of VII's later years.

By the time Henry VIII acceded to the throne, people were happy to have a young, vibrant king. One of Henry's first moves was to execute Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, two of VII's most hated ministers. And when I say first moves, I mean they were arrested within days of his coronation. Whether or not they were guilty of the crimes they were charged of you can judge, but it was a major popularity coup.

The other thing Henry VIII did was invade France in 1513 and win a relatively minor battle. It's pretty interesting how facing an external foe can make one forget internal divisions....

Serious challenges to VIII's rule only really start with the Reformation and the divorce from his first wife, which split the kingdom into conservatives and reformers. This rift was never fully healed, and in fact was to be the major issue in the reigns of his children.