 Two days after Henry 's coronation , he arrested his father 's two most unpopular ministers , Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley . They were charged with high treason and were executed in 1510 . Historian Ian Crofton has maintained that such executions would become Henry 's primary tactic for dealing with those who stood in his way ; the two executions were certainly not the last . Henry also returned to the public some of the money supposedly extorted by the two ministers . By contrast , Henry 's view of the House of York – potential rival claimants for the throne – was more moderate than his father 's had been . Several who had been imprisoned by his father , including the Marquess of Dorset , were pardoned . Others ( most notably Edmund de la Pole ) went unreconciled ; de la Pole was eventually beheaded in 1513 , an execution prompted by his brother Richard siding against the king . 
