Another Missing Son of York

Tower of London

The infamy of the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower gives the impression that these two are the only noble children to be lost upon entering the Tower complex. Sadly, this is not the case. In fact, a few decades later, another young boy, a cousin (1st cousin, twice removed) to Edward V & his brother, Richard, was also lost to history within the Tower walls.

Henry Pole, Baron Montegue, was the son of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. When they, along with several others were arrested as part of the supposed Exeter Conspiracy in 1538, young Henry Pole, son of Lord Montegue, was taken to the Tower as well. His birthdate is unknown (believed to be between 1520-1527), but he was not more than teenaged when imprisoned. Another young person with connections to the royal family was also arrested at this time. Edward Courtenay was imprisoned along with his parents, who had allegedly conspired with the Poles.

Modern memorial to those executed at the Tower of London

Little proof of any treasonous plot was ever discovered. However, executions of Henry, Baron Montegue, Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter, and Sir Edward Neville were quickly carried out. Others, including Gertrude Courtenay and Geoffrey Pole, were released for giving testimony against the others. Margaret Pole's execution did not take place until May, 1541, but the young sons of Pole and Courtenay remained imprisoned.

The fate of Edward Courtenay is well documented. He remained in prison until the accession of Queen Mary I in 1553. She released him from the Tower, and some hoped that she would chose to marry him, uniting Tudor blood with that of the noble York remnant. Edward, who had spent half of his life in the Tower, was not a desirable husband to the Queen or her sister, Princess Elizabeth. He was sent to Europe, where it was believed that he could cause less trouble for the royal family. He died in Padua in 1556 under somewhat suspicious circumstances.

Tower of London

Henry Pole the younger has a less certain story. All that remains are snippets of evidence that imply a tragedy similar to that suffered by his earlier cousins. In April 1540, King Henry VIII issued a general pardon that specifically excluded Margaret Pole and her grandson, Henry. In July 1540, a message by French ambassador Charles de Marillac mentions 'the little nephew of Cardinal Pole, who is poorly and strictly kept and not desired to know anything.' We may infer that Henry had not yet reached his teens based on the ambassador's term 'little nephew,' but this is not certain. Eustace Chapuys, Imperial ambassador, remarked upon Margaret's death that Henry was 'placed in close confinement, and it is supposed that he will soon follow his father and grandmother.' Henry is only thereafter mentioned in the payments for his food, which ends in 1542. He is not mentioned at the accession of Edward VI in 1547. Surely, had he been alive in 1553, Queen Mary would have released the nephew of her closest advisor, Cardinal Reginald Pole.

As with his cousins sixty years earlier, it is most likely that young Henry Pole met his demise within the Tower for no reason besides the royal blood running through his veins.



Additional reading: Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473-1541 by Hazel Pierce
Photo Credit: Samantha Wilcoxson

The Execution of Henry Pole

On January 9, 1539, Henry Pole was sent to his death by King Henry VIII. What was his crime? To a great extent, his crime was being the oldest son of Margaret Pole and brother of Reginald Pole. Looking to secure his shaky dynasty, King Henry had already executed one of his wives, so what was a cousin or two?

This pair of Henrys had not always had a bad relationship. On the second Henry Tudor's accession to the throne, he had raised up his Pole relatives in a way that his father had been afraid to do. Margaret and Henry were both given titles that had been held by her illustrious ancestors. She was made Countess of Salisbury and her oldest son was the new Baron Montague. Margaret's third son, Reginald, was noted by the king for his great intellect from a young age, and the king supported him in gaining the best education money could buy.

For a while, it seemed that the breach between the Plantagenet branches, which the Tudors still considered themselves one of, had been healed. Margaret enjoyed a close friendship with Henry's beautiful queen, Katherine of Aragon, and eventually served as governess for their first and, as it would turn out, only surviving child, Princess Mary. It was not until the king decided that this little girl could not possibly serve as his heir that things went sour.

As Anne Boleyn's star rose, that of Katherine and anyone close to her fell. Henry and Margaret were fairly successful at balancing their loyalties to their king and their church, even as Henry VIII reformed it to suit his own purposes. Montague served the king in several positions and went with him to make war on France. Unfortunately, there was one thing that Henry Pole could never make up for in the king's eyes: his royal bloodline.

While Margaret had never pursued a crown for her children, even when Queen Katherine had suggested that Reginald would make a fine husband for Princess Mary, the king's animosity toward extended family grew increasingly as his quest for sons failed. By 1538, when Henry Pole was arrested, the king had succeeded in siring only one infant son and he was currently without a wife since Edward's mother, Jane Seymour, had died shortly following childbirth.

In contrast, Henry Pole was a capable adult with brothers and sons and Plantagenet blood running through all their veins. Pole was accused along with his cousin, Henry Courtenay Marquess of Exeter, who also had a Plantagenet mother. In a case that has become known as the Exeter Conspiracy, they were found guilty of plotting to depose the king and put Courtenay in his place.

Geoffrey Pole, Henry's youngest brother, was imprisoned and tortured until he gave testimony against those accused in the Exeter Conspiracy. He attempted suicide on at least two occasions due to the heavy guilt he felt for betraying his family, especially his brother. Letters written by Reginald Pole, by that time a cardinal and safely distant from Henry VIII's reach, were also used as evidence.

Henry Pole and Henry Courtenay went bravely to their deaths, though they were likely innocent of the charges against them. Their sons, another Henry Pole and Edward Courtenay, remained in the Tower. Edward Courtenay was later released by Queen Mary I in 1553. The younger Henry Pole became another York son lost to the Tower. He was never released and his death is not recorded.

Not-so-Illustrious Marriages of the Pole Children

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury
Coat of Arms

When Richard Pole died in 1504, Margaret was left with five small children. The youngest, Geoffrey, may have never even met his father. Many a woman in her position would have lost little time looking for their own next spouse to assist with this large brood and provide a comfortable income. Margaret was thirty-one and possessed a wealth of royal blood if not actual riches.

Choosing the road less traveled, Margaret Pole devoted herself to raising her children and arranging advantageous matches for them, rather than one for herself. Each of these marriages appeared to be wonderful choices at their outset. Margaret may not have been interested in challenging her cousin for the throne, but she would have her children recognized with the noble titles and status that she felt they deserved.

Margaret's oldest child and the one who would find the most success within Henry VIII's court was Henry. He became Lord Montague and enjoyed favor from the king despite the increasing suspicion directed at those with old Yorkist blood. Married to Jane Neville, daughter of Baron Bergavenny, he was expected to inherit wealth through her that his mother could not provide. Bergavenny did not have a son and his wife had died, leaving Jane an heiress. This was the understanding at least until the wily Duke of Buckingham, Edward Staffford, convinced the old widower to marry his daughter, Mary. Once Mary gave birth to a son, Jane's hopes of inheritance disappeared.

The marriage of Mary Stafford and George Neville also created a (not-so-uncommon at that time) dual family link. Edward Stafford's oldest son, Henry Stafford, was married to Margaret Pole's only daughter, Ursula. Therefore, Edward Stafford's own wealth would one day enrich one Pole child, while his daughter stole that of the other. At least that was his plan.

Ursula Pole

Edward Stafford was very proud of his ancestry. He traced his family tree back to Edward III, and his Woodville mother had been the queen's sister. Proud and arrogant, Buckingham was not afraid to point out that his own bloodline was more impressive than Henry Tudor's. When it appeared that the king may die without fathering a son, Stafford was too quick to put his own name forward as the obvious one to follow him.

When Buckingham was executed for treason in May 1521, his son's future, along with that of Ursula Pole, was much diminished. The dukedom was forfeited to the crown, and Henry Stafford would never enjoy the same status his forefathers had. Much later, in 1547, he would be raised to be Baron Stafford, but this fell far short of the future that Margaret thought she had secured for her dear Ursula.

Arthur, Margaret's second son, was wed to a well-off widow, Jane Lewkenor (Pickering). When Arthur died young and left behind small children, Margaret attempted to secure the inheritance for her grandchildren by having Jane enter a convent. The scheme was unsuccessful, however, and Jane rescinded her vows in order to remarry.

Margaret's youngest child, Geoffrey, was also married to an heiress of a rich man without sons. Constance Pakenham was the long suffering wife of the Pole child who would assist the king in bringing down his entire family. Weak and irresponsible, Geoffrey gave testimony that led to the execution of several of his extended family members. Geoffrey was spared but attempted suicide at least twice. When he died during the reign of Queen Mary, he left Constance with little besides the many children he had fathered.

Cardinal Reginald Pole

Though he never married, a discussion of Margaret's children is not complete without mentioning the best known of her offspring. Reginald Pole lived his life dedicated to the church, though the marriage mentioned for him several times over the years was one that would have made him king. His mother and her good friend, Katherine of Aragon, believed the match between their children would further unite the houses of York and Tudor. Long after both women were dead, the marriage of Princess Mary and (by that time) Cardinal Pole was considered after Henry VIII's death and again upon her own rise to the throne. Instead, Mary chose to marry another cousin, Philip of Spain, and made Reginald her Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1550, Reginald fell one vote short of becoming Pope, but he proudly served the Catholic restoration England for the rest of his life instead. Reginald and Mary died on the same day, November 17, 1558.