ABSTRACT
WHEN victory was won at Bosworth, Lord Stanley, whosetimely desertion of Richard III had made Henry'striumph possible, picked up the crown and put it on the victor's head; according to the chronicler, people rejoiced and clapped their hands and cried, 'King Henry, King Henry'. But while this acclamation must have been pleasant to his ears, it did not make the gold circlet sit any more securely on his head. Henry VII's first task was to convince the country and the world that he really was king. Though he could feel the task somewhat eased as his journey to London assumed the proportions of a triumph, there was probably no need to remind him of men's fickleness. The cityofLondon, inparticular, had distinguished itselfby the readiness with which it had hailed each successive conqueror of the crown.
