On the morning of 17 August 1510, a large crowd gathered on Tower Hill, a large area of open land, overlooking the Tower of London, in anticipation of a double execution. One of the victims that had been led from his cell within the nearby Tower of London was Edmund Dudley, Henry VII's controversial chief financial agent, who had been sentenced to death, convicted on charges of constructive treason.

On This Day (21 April) in 1509, Henry VII died at Richmond Palace, aged 52, with his 17-year-old son Henry, succeeding him as Henry VIII.

Edmund Dudley, esq. was the grandson of John Dudley, 1st Baron Sutton - a courtier and diplomat, who after switching from the Lancastrian to the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses, joined the court of Edward IV and was appointed as 'Constable of the Tower of London'.