Tudor Marriage: Scandal - Sir Thomas Kymbe and Cecily of York

When Henry Tudor, the grandson of Owen Tudor, became king, he carefully controlled the marriages of his wife’s many sisters. Elizabeth of York was the eldest daughter of the Plantagenet king Edward IV. For this reason, she had been chosen as his partner in uniting England under Henry’s rule. With their marriage, it was hoped, the warring factions of Lancaster and York would be brought together in peace.

It would not do for one of Elizabeth’s sisters to marry a man who had ambitions to topple Henry from the throne he had fought so hard to gain. Therefore, it was vital to consider the remaining children of Edward IV to secure Henry’s crown, especially since the law deeming them illegitimate had been overturned by Henry’s parliament. He wished for his bride’s bloodline to be untainted, but that made her sisters an even greater prize to the men who gained permission to marry them.

The Daughters of Edward IV

The youngest of the girls, Bridget, became a nun, but that left three young, beautiful York princesses to deal with. They were each married to men who had Henry’s trust, Anne to Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, Catherine to William Courtenay Earl of Devon, and Cecily to Viscount John Welles, Margaret Beaufort’s half-brother. That sorted, Henry had reason to believe that any threat of the girls’ York blood had been neutralized.

So it had, but he had also used the matches to reward loyal followers and keep men close enough to him to discourage them from rebellion. As a king raised through conquest, Henry VII had a tough balancing act to perform. He had not considered that one of his wife’s sisters might have plans of her own.

In Henry’s defense, each of the sisters seemed happy in their marriages, and none of them thought to defy him. That is, until Viscount Welles died. Cecily had first married the choice of her uncle, Richard III, only to have Henry VII annul it. When the second husband not of her own choice died, she moved quickly to secure her own happiness.

How Cecily had met and fallen in love with a squire is unknown. He was of such lowly status that it is not even certain if his name was Thomas Kymbe, Kyme, or Keme. Whatever the proper spelling of his name, he had managed to win the love of one of the greatest catches in the kingdom. Cecily was referred to as the most beautiful of the York sisters, and had Cecily’s father not suffered an untimely death, she would have likely been married to one of the princes of Europe. She does not seem to have mourned the loss of such an opportunity, though Cecily may not have understood the extent it would cost her.

Perhaps Cecily believed that her brother-in-law could not be angry enough to severely punish one of his beloved wife’s closest sisters. She was wrong. While Cecily may have thought that she had fulfilled her duty to her king in marrying his choice of spouse for her once, the repercussions of her decision were severe. Henry confiscated her estates, leaving Thomas and Cecily in poverty, though, one would hope, rich in love.

Only through generous gifts from her sister, the queen, and Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, did Cecily have anything at all, and she certainly did not live out the remainder of her life in the high style to which she was accustomed. Her cost for marrying beyond the barriers was great. There is little remaining documentation of Cecily’s during the years of her scandalous marriage besides the records of payments that these generous benefactors gave to her.

Still, she does not seem to have regretted her decision. Cecily and her squire lived out their days quietly until her death in 1507. Margaret Beaufort stepped in one more time to cover the costs of the funeral that poor Thomas Kymbe could not afford.


Don't miss the rest of the Tudor Marriage Blog Series!

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Additional Reading:

Bacon, Francis. The History of the Reign of King Henry VII. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1850.

Penn, Thomas. Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Weir, Alison. Elizabeth of York: A Queen and Her World. New York: Ballantine Books, 2013.

Who Was Margarett Keymes?

If you make a habit of studying the Wars of the Roses and early Tudor era, you have undoubtedly encountered the debate over Perkin Warbeck, probably more times than you care to count. Was this charming Edward IV look-a-like really his son, Richard of York? Could he have been a well-trained doppelganger or even an unrecognized bastard son?

Of course, he could have been any of these, which is why the debate ensues to this day. Into this sometimes heated discussion quietly slips a girl who may or may not have anything to do with it.

Katherine Gordon before Henry VII

'Margarett Keymes' is mentioned in the will of Katherine Gordon. Katherine was the daughter of the Scottish Earl of Huntley and was married to the infamous Perkin Warbeck during his ill-fated bid for the English crown. After his death in 1499, Katherine went on to live several decades and marry three additional husbands. When she died in 1537, she left 'suche of my apparell as shalbe thought mete for her by the Discretion of my husband and my saide executor' to her 'Cosyn margarett Keymes'.

I was made aware of this mention after writing a blog stating that Cecily of York had no surviving children. This was supplied as evidence that she had left a daughter, Margaret, as offspring of her final marriage to Thomas Kyme (sometimes Kymbe or Keme). If so, it would also be evidence that Katherine Gordon went to her death 38 years after her first husband still believing that he was the true son of Edward IV and that his sisters, including Cecily, were therefore her relations.

Cecily of York

In her book, The Perfect Prince, Ann Wroe takes this mention as proof positive of both these controversial points. Historian Rosemary Horrox also points to evidence of Cecily and Thomas living on the Isle of Wight and having children there to back up these claims, but this evidence also claims that Cecily is buried on Isle of Wight, which is incorrect. (Source mentioned as Heraldic Visitation of Hampshire, 1576, which I have not been able to obtain a copy of thus far. In records kept by Margaret Beaufort, Cecily is recorded as living, dying, and being buried in places besides Isle of Wight.) In this article, historian Susan Higginbotham clarifies that Cecily and her third husband only spent brief time on Isle of Wight and that there is no evidence that Cecily bore any children who survived her.

If that is the case, who is Katherine's 'Cosyn margarett Keymes'? I admittedly have not exhaustively researched this topic, so would rather open it for discussion.

Perkin Warbeck

Do you believe that Katherine Gordon always kept faith in her doomed first husband? It is a romantic notion, yet there is no record of her mentioning him after his death. Her will mentions her 'dere and welbelovyd husband Sir Mathew Cradock' and her 'Welbelovyd husband Cristofer Asseton' to whom she was married when she died. There is a brief mention that she was the 'some tyme wife unto James Strangwis', but there is not a whisper of Perkin Warbeck or Richard of York.

(Find Katherine's will in it's entirety here on pages 24 & 25.)

I am more hesitant to interpret this evidence as sure proof of Cecily's childbearing and Warbeck's true identity as some, but I am also interested in learning more. What do you think? Who was Margarett Keymes?

York Sisters in a Tudor World

The York Princesses
Stained Glass Canterbury Cathedral

Much is written about the York remnant after Henry Tudor came to power in 1485. The fates of men like John de la Pole and his brothers are well documented, but what about the women who suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of power? No one knew this struggle more than the daughters of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. They had been raised as royal princesses but found themselves named bastards of a dead king.

The history of at least one York princess is fairly well known. Elizabeth of York made her way in this new world as the wife of Henry Tudor, forging the new dynasty together for the sake of peace. At the time of Henry’s coronation, Elizabeth also had four sisters who were destined to whatever future Henry determined for them.

The oldest of these sisters, after Elizabeth, was Cecily. She had been married to a man named Ralph Scrope during her uncle’s brief reign. Documentation of this marriage and the reasons for it are sparse, and it was quickly annulled when Henry came to power. Henry chose a man who could be counted completely loyal to his Tudor king for Cecily’s second husband. John Welles and Cecily seemed to find happiness together, though both of their children predeceased him. Upon Viscount Welles death, Cecily attended her sister in various roles for three years before following Woodville family tradition and making a scandalous third marriage with Thomas Kyme. Cecily would learn whether love made up for wealth when Henry confiscated her estates in his anger over the unapproved marriage. One hopes that this final marriage enabled Cecily to find happiness away from court, but the record of her fades before her death at age 38 in 1507.

Elizabeth and Cecily had two sisters, as well as their two mysterious brothers, who died before their father’s death in 1483. Little Mary and Margaret would not face the tumultuous futures of their sisters. The next sister, more than six years younger than Cecily, was Anne.

Even less is known of this quiet York sister. Anne had been betrothed to Thomas Howard by Richard III. This was one decision that Henry seemed to agree with, and the two were married in 1495 when Anne was nineteen years old. She spent some time at court serving her sister, but little else is known of Anne of York. She found favor under Henry VIII, as evinced by gifts of estates made to her, but she died shortly after his ascendancy, leaving no surviving children.

Elizabeth and her daughters
19th century copy of lost panel from St George altarpiece

The next York sister has a well documented history. Catherine was one of many English princesses considered for a Scottish match before she was married to William Courtenay. He spent significant amounts of time in the Tower for his traitorous words regarding Henry VII’s reign before his death in 1511, shortly following his reinstatement as Earl of Devon by Henry VIII. Their son, Henry Courtenay, initially found favor with the new King Henry until he found himself on the wrong side of Henry’s Great Matter. He was executed, along with Henry Pole and Nicholas Carew, as a result of the supposed Exeter Conspiracy in 1538. Catherine, who had taken a vow of chastity after William’s death, did not live to see her son executed, though she did outlive the remainder of the children of Edward IV. She died in 1527 before her family’s fall from favor.

The final York daughter was Bridget, born less than three years before her father’s death. Bridget entered the Dartford Priory in 1490, though it is unknown if this was to honor a plan of her father’s, her own wishes, or due to other reasons. Evidence of Bridget’s study of Catholic saints exists, and she spent the remainder of her life as a nun. She died in 1517, never foreseeing the dissolution of the priory that would occur under her nephew, Henry VIII.

Each of these sisters played a role in the life of their sister, Elizabeth, who was the first Tudor queen and mother of Henry VIII. Her story may be the most intriguing of all, as she bore and buried her own share of royal babes and must have always wondered about the fate of her lost brothers, who became known as the Princes in the Tower. Did she believe them murdered by her uncle? What did she think about the appearance of Perkin Warbeck, claiming to be her younger brother, Richard? Of course, there is no way to truly know, but I attempt to give answer to these questions when I tell Elizabeth’s story in Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen.

Elizabeth's story is available on Amazon and Audible. It is FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited.

This article was originally written for TudorsDynasty.com in September 2015

Marrying Down: Cecily of York

When I began writing the story of Elizabeth of York, I had not given much thought to her sister, Cecily. I knew that she would be included to some extent, but had not anticipated how much she would be revealed. I allowed her character to develop and become a larger part of the novel as the story unfolded. Much to my surprise, many readers have named Cecily as one of their favorite parts of the book. Therefore, I decided it would be fun to take a look at this York princess, who seemed to be on a quest to find true love with a man who would not look to Cecily to raise him up.

Cecily's first marriage was to Ralph Scrope of Upsall. This marriage was arranged by her uncle, Richard III. Scrope was a supporter of the last Plantagenet king and, therefore, made a good choice of husband for one of Richard's nieces. When they were married in 1485, Scrope was twenty-years-old to Cecily's sixteen.

Little else is known of this first marriage. Had Cecily requested to marry the younger brother of a baron? Was Richard looking for a way to neutralize the threat of Cecily's royal blood? We do not know. What is known is that Henry Tudor chose to have the marriage annulled upon his accession.

Henry Tudor married Cecily's older sister, Elizabeth, and left Cecily unmarried for approximately two years. Why he had annulled her first marriage if he did not have another immediately in mind was a fun question to answer in historical fiction, but his true motives were probably more innocent. By 1488, Cecily was married again, this time to Henry's choice for her: Viscount John Welles.

Cecily in stained glass,

Cecily seems to have been devoted to making her marriage work, despite who she was partnered with, an attitude that was not atypical for the late 15th century. Welles was about twenty years Cecily's senior, but historical evidence would have us believe that they got along well enough. They had two daughters, both of whom unfortunately predeceased their father.

When Viscount Welles died in 1499, Cecily was left alone.

Rather than wait to discover who King Henry would pair her with next, Cecily made her own love match, just as her mother and grandmother had done before her. Information on her third marriage is hazy, but it took place in 1502 and caused more dire consequences than Cecily could have imagined.

She surely knew that the king would punish her and the common husband she had chosen, but it is doubtful that Cecily foresaw that she would fall into obscurity. Or maybe she simply did not care.

Cecily's third husband was a man named Thomas Kyme (sometimes Kymbe or Keme). The revelation of this marriage as written in Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen appears below. Henry never forgave Cecily for choosing to marry a squire, though she did receive some much needed assistance from her sister the queen, and the king's mother, Margaret Beaufort.

It would also be Margaret who would pay Cecily's funeral expenses when she died just a few years later in 1507, though her final resting place has been lost to time. She and Kyme did not have any children, but I hope that this York princess found the love she had been searching for.

An excerpt from Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen:

“Bess, I am married.”

Elizabeth gasped. It was the scene with her aunt Katherine being repeated before her eyes. It took her a moment in her current mental state to recover enough to respond. “God’s blessings to you and your husband. Who is he?”

“Oh, thank you, Bess! He is wonderful, and I hope that the king will agree. His name is Thomas Kyme, and he is . . . . well, he is a squire.”

Elizabeth smiled her first real smile of the day. Cecily may have had poor Ralph Scrope torn away from her, but she would have her common husband. “And you are in love?”

“Madly!” Cecily’s glowing face and wide grin attested to the truth of it.

“I will, of course, speak to Henry on your behalf, though he may curse the Woodville women’s habit of marrying for love. I would suggest that we also speak to my mother-in-law that she may take up your part. She has always been somewhat partial to you, respecting you for your boldness.” At the mention of the lady Margaret, another thought occurred to Elizabeth, one that made her blood run cold but she had to push it aside for the moment.

“Thank you, Bess! And God bless England’s most wonderful queen!”

Elizabeth waved away Cecily’s exuberant appreciation. “Henry may not be in the mood to be overly generous, mind you.”

“I do not care,” Cecily said firmly. “As long as my marriage is left intact, he may take whatever he desires.”

Henry did. Though Cecily was allowed her Linconshire squire, he confiscated her estates.

Read more about York sisters, Elizabeth & Cecily, in Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen.