Jasper Tudor

Born around November 1431 into the Tudor family of Penmynydd, Jasper was half-nephew to King Henry VI, who granted him arms quartering France and England with a blue border of golden martlets. For most of his adult life he fought a losing war: his half-brother deposed, his cause shattered, his nephew Henry a hunted exile. He spent years on the run, regrouping in Brittany and France, keeping the Lancastrian claim alive when no one else would. In 1485 he landed at Milford Haven with Henry and a small army, marched to Bosworth Field, and watched Richard III fall. Henry VII took the throne, and Jasper - uncle, guardian, kingmaker - became Duke of Bedford. He died on 21 December 1495, the only Tudor who'd seen both the wilderness and the crown.