[2] At the request of Charles, Prince of Wales he began work on a follow-up account of the reign of Henry VIII, but only completed a brief introduction.

Your Highness’s most humble and devoted servant, Francis St. Alban.”[12] Bacon's aim was to deconstruct and explore the policies and reign of Henry VII, establish a powerful and monarchical ancestral lineage between Henry VII and James I[13] and have History used as an instructive manual for the royal court “which would contribute to the happiness and well-being of mankind”.

The sections are as follows:[17] The History of the Reign of King Henry VII is the only completed book of Bacon and is classified as a historical biography.

[21] Bacon's role as a historian during the Renaissance meant that he encountered the birth of modern historiography,[22] leading to his own theoretical deconstructions of historical writing and analysis.

With the birth of Renaissance historiography, historians’ methodology and aim when researching and writing about Britain’s history shifted from “the medieval chronicling mentality”[27] to “relating cause and effect, on showing the interplay between personal disposition and public policy".

One of the first issues raised is the authenticity of History due to Bacon’s limited access to legal, historical, and personal documents from the reign of King Henry VII.

[35] Issues have also been raised regarding the proper use and citation of sources, which when examined by Wilhelm Busch in the nineteenth century,[36] revealed that while “Bacon made use of the Rolls of Parliament and a few other records, [he]…did not always reproduce their contents accurately".

[37] Historical records show Bacon getting help acquiring sources for History from two individuals: Sir John Borough and John Selden, and this presents a problem for historians as there is evidence of Bacon relying on passed-on information about sources from Borough and Selden to construct his version of Henry VII.

[38] This primarily led to Bacon using “original sources to illustrate or enrich his narrative, but he would not take the trouble to use them systematically to verify the accuracy of statements of fact”.

Furthermore, the short amount of time in which Bacon researched, wrote, and published History has raised significant concerns amongst modern historians.

As a result, the validity and reliability of History as a historical source on the rule, policies and character of King Henry VII is questioned.