The Fighting Tudors By David Loades

When Henry VII seized the throne after the Battle of Bosworth, his crown was far from secure. Yet for more than a hundred years his descendents ruled in England, surviving religious turmoil, rebellion, foreign armadas, diplomatic crises and losses overseas. Some of them went reluctantly to war whilst others embraced its potential, yet all relied upon military success for their own reflected power and prestige. The Fighting Tudors explores this extraordinary dynasty's strategies for survival, and shows how military action to defend the throne became a sophisticated propoganda tool. It traces the great battles of Tudor reigns, from campaigns in France and Scotland to the crises of the Armada, and reveals their public and private impact upon individual monarchs - Heny VII, the 'sea king' who pledged to bring peace to his ravaged country; Henry VIII, who loved traditional jousting yet commissioned cutting-edge ships for his standing navy; Mary, whose loss of Calais compounded the disap.