This timeline gives a chronological listing of the main events in English history for the years 1480 – 1489
The monarchs for this period were:
Edward IV to April 1483
Edward V April 1483 – July 1483
Richard III July 1483 – August 1485
Henry VII from August 1485
1480 (1st August)
A treaty of perpetual peace was concluded between England and Burgundy.
1480 (20th November)
A daughter, Bridget, was born to King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville at Eltham Palace, Kent.
1482 (23rd May)
Edward IV’s daughter, Mary, died at Greenwich Palace, Westminster.
1482 (late July)
Richard Duke of Gloucester invaded Scotland.
1482 (24th August)
Richard Duke of Gloucester re-took Berwick from the Scots.
1483 (Easter)
King Edward became ill. He nominated his brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester to be regent for his young son Edward in the event of his death.
1483 (9th April)
Edward died at the Palace of Westminster. He was succeeded by his son, Edward V.
1483 (14th April)
Edward was given the news that his father had died and he was King at Ludlow Castle where he was staying with his Woodville relatives.
1483 (24th April)
Edward began the journey south to London escorted by his Woodville family. The Woodvilles were keen to get Edward to London and have him crowned so as not to lose power.
1483 (30th April)
Richard Duke of Gloucester met Edward and his party as they were travelling south. He arrested Earl Rivers, Richard Grey and Thomas Vaughan and sent them north where they were placed in captivity. He took then captured Edward and continued on to the Tower of London.
1483 (1st May)
Edward’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville, her son Richard, her five daughters and her brother Lionel sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey.
1483 (4th May)
Edward reached London. This day had originally been intended for the coronation ceremony.
1483 (8th May)
Richard was officially appointed Lord Protector.
1483 (10th May)
Richard announced that the King’s coronation wold take place on 22nd June.
1483 (19th May)
Edward V reached the Tower of London.
1483 (early June)
The Duke of Buckingham told King Richard that he suspected William Hastings of being disloyal and plotting with the Woodvilles.
1483 (13th June)
William Hastings was summoned to a Council meeting in the Tower of London. He was charged with treason and executed without trial on the same day.
1483 (16th June)
Edward’s brother Richard joined him in the Tower of London. Elizabeth Woodville had been persuaded to give him up in the hopes of maintaining the safety of her other children.
1483 (17th June)
Richard announced that the King’s coronation would now take place in October.
1483 (22nd June)
Ralph Shaw preached a sermon stating that Edward IV had been contracted to marry Eleanor Butler when he married Elizabeth Woodville and that the marriage was therefore invalid and his children all illegitimate and unfit to rule.
1483 (25th June)
Parliament declared that as Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid and the children of Richard of Gloucester’s older brother, George Duke of Clarence had been denied succession rights, then Richard was the rightful King.
1483 (25th June)
Antony Woodville, Earl River was found guilty of treason and executed the same day.
1483 (26th June)
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, took the throne as King Richard III.
1483 (July)
Edward and his brother were last seen playing in the gardens of the Tower.
1483 (6th July)
Richard was crowned King Richard III.
1483 (mid July)
Richard left London to make a progress of the country.
1483 (August)
The princes, Edward and Richard were last seen at the windows of the Tower.
1483 (24th August)
Richard’s son, Edward, was created Prince of Wales.
1483 (29th August)
Richard reached York on his progress. He was well received by the city.
1483 (10th October)
The Duke of Buckingham rebelled against Richard’s rule. Buckingham was supported by Henry Tudor, son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort.
1483 (2nd November)
Buckingham was executed.
1483 (25th December)
Henry Tudor announced that he was the rightful King of England and that when he took the throne he would marry Edward IV’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York.
1484 (January)
Richard, his wife and son, made a progress of Kent.
1484 (23rd January)
Titulus Regius
This act, passed by Parliament, formally declared Richard to be lawful King and settled the succession on his son Edward. The children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were declared illegitimate.
This act, passed by Parliament, formally declared Richard to be lawful King and settled the succession on his son Edward. The children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were declared illegitimate.
1484 (1st March)
Elizabeth Woodville paid homage to Richard and left sanctuary with her daughters.
1484 (9th April)
Richard’s son, Edward died.
1484 (mid July)
Richard moved the Council of the North to Sandal in Yorkshire.
1484 (21st September)
Richard agreed a three year truce with Scotland.
1485 (16th March)
Richard’s wife, Anne Neville died probably of tuberculosis.
1485 (August)
There was an outbreak of sweating sickness.
1485 (7th August)
Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven in Wales at the head of an army.
1485 (18th August)
Richard called his army to muster at Leicester.
1485 (21st August)
Richard, at the head of his army, left Leicester and marched to meet the forces of Henry Tudor.
1485 (22nd August)
Battle of Bosworth Field
This decisive battle between the forces of Henry Tudor and Richard III, saw Richard killed and Henry proclaimed King Henry VII on the battlefield. The Yeomen of the Guard were created at the battle.
This decisive battle between the forces of Henry Tudor and Richard III, saw Richard killed and Henry proclaimed King Henry VII on the battlefield. The Yeomen of the Guard were created at the battle.
1485 (25th August)
Richard III was buried quickly and quietly in the church of Greyfriars, Leicester.
1485 (late August)
Henry ordered the arrest of Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Edward IV’s younger brother George, Duke of Clarence. The 10 year old Edward was placed in the Tower of London.
1485 (30th October)
King Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1485 (November)
Henry VII’s first parliament repudiated Titulus Regius (1484) legitimising Elizabeth of York and her family.
1486 (during)
An act was passed that returned to the crown all lands it had lost during the Wars of the Roses.
1486 (18th January)
Henry married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, at Westminster Abbey.
1486 (March)
Henry and Elizabeth embarked on a progress of the north of England.
1486 (30th March)
Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor died.
1486 (20th September)
A son, Arthur, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at St Swithun’s Priory in Winchester.
1486 (24th September)
Prince Arthur was baptised at Winchester Cathedral by the Bishop of Worcester.
1486 (6th October)
John Morton became Archbishop of Canterbury.
1487 (January)
A pretender to the throne, Lambert Simnel, claimed to be Elizabeth’s cousin, Edward Earl of Warwick.
1487 (16th June)
Battle of Stoke
Henry VII fought the forces of Lambert Simnel and the Earl of Lincoln at Stoke. Lincoln was killed and Lambert Simnel, was captured and set to work in the royal kitchens.
Henry VII fought the forces of Lambert Simnel and the Earl of Lincoln at Stoke. Lincoln was killed and Lambert Simnel, was captured and set to work in the royal kitchens.
1487 (November)
Henry arranged for Margaret, daughter of Edward IV’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, to to marry his cousin, Richard Pole.
1487 (25th November)
Henry’s Queen, Elizabeth of York, was crowned Queen consort at Westminster Abbey.
1489 (during)
The people of Yorkshire rebelled against a tax imposed to help Henry support Brittany maintaining independence from France.
1489 (14th February)
The Treaty of Redon allied England with Brittany against France.
1489 (27th March)
Treaty of Medina del Campo
This treaty between England and Spain agreed that Prince Arthur would marry Catherine of Aragon when they were both of age to marry.
This treaty between England and Spain agreed that Prince Arthur would marry Catherine of Aragon when they were both of age to marry.
1489 (October)
Henry introduced a new coin. It was a golden sovereign that depicted Henry VII wearing a crown.
1489 (28th November)
A daughter, Margaret, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at the Palace of Westminster. She was named after her Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort.
1489 (29th November)
Henry’s son, Arthur, was made Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and a Knight of the Bath.
Published Oct 3, 2017 @ 9:25 am – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2017 – 2020). English History 1480 – 1489. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/english-history-1480-1489. Last accessed [date]