Sir William Brandon was a standard bearer for Henry Tudor, the man who challenged Richard on the field near Bosworth. William was the son of a Cambridgeshire knight of the same name and is best known for the circumstances of his death and the son he left behind. William had been a part of the failed Buckingham Rebellion, but he continued to support Tudor's claim to England, leaving behind a wife and children including an infant son to fight at Bosworth. Shortly before King Richard was brought down by a swarm of enemies, William Brandon died by his hand.
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| Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk |
This privileged position gave Charles the opportunity to become a close companion to the boy who would become Henry VIII. Charles was an opportunist, eventually going so far as to marry the king's sister, Mary. Even being one of Henry's closest friends did not entirely save Charles from his wrath after this treasonous move. The couple was fined and removed from court for a time but were eventually forgiven and welcomed back.
It had been Charles' only significant fall from royal favor. His relationship with King Henry brought Charles several lucrative and privileged positions and titles. At the pinnacle of his success, this son of a Cambridgeshire knight was made Duke of Suffolk, a title that had been previously held by the Yorkist de la Pole family. Charles was at Henry's side at the Field of Cloth of Gold and through his Great Matter and the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Charles Brandon died on August 22, 1545, exactly 60 years after his father.
The two sons he left behind followed him to the grave six short years later, dying of the sweating sickness on the very same day. This left Charles' daughter, Frances, as head of the family. She and her husband, Henry Grey, inherited the Suffolk title and attempted their own grasp for the crown through their daughter, Lady Jane Grey, in 1553. The Brandon family had come a long way, but this was a step too far. Both Henry and Jane were executed for treason under Queen Mary I.
Charles Brandon had one son, Henry, who died. He also had two daughters. His daughter Eleanor married Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and their only surviving child, a daughter, Margaret, married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby. Margaret was seen by some as the rightful heir to Elizabeth I, however, in 1597 she was placed under house arrest after being accused of using sorcery to predict when the queen would die. However, her eldest son Ferdinando Stanley was brought up at court and grooomed as a successor to Elizabeth I although never officially named as such. But many of the queens advisors were concerned that he might be a secret Catholic. Ferdinando died in mysterious circumstances. The official enquiry returned a verdict of 'death by witchcraft'. Ferdinando was also a patron of William Shakespeare, which could account for why Shakespeare's play about Richard III favoured the Stanley family who were more or less responsible for the king's defeat.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Charles Brandon had two sons with wife Catherine Willoughby. Henry in 1535 and Charles in 1537. They died on the same day, June 14, 1551, of the sweating sickness. Eleanor was Frances' younger sister, both daughters of Brandon's wife Mary Tudor. He also had two daughters, Mary and Anne, during his marriage to Anne Browne. Charles had almost as interesting of a marriage history as his best friend, Henry VIII!
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