I am pleased to welcome Judith Arnopp's return to my blog today. Her post on Margaret Beaufort cast an intriguing new light upon Henry Tudor's mother in much the way I expect Judith's new book, A Matter of Conscience, will make us all think a bit differently about Margaret's grandson, Henry VIII. 

Welcome back, Judith! 

~ Samantha

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The Physical Prowess of Henry VIII

A Guest Post by Judith Arnopp

The popular modern view of Henry VIII is as a fat despot who happily murdered several of his six wives. We enjoy being scandalised by the goings-on of this long dead philandering monarch, with his stinking ulcerated legs and his penchant for young brides. If you were to ask the average person for four words to describe him, I’m pretty sure that ‘fat’ ‘cruel’ ‘butcher’ and ‘womaniser’ would be among them. Henry has become so familiar to us that we have forgotten he was a human being, and he has become little more than a figure on a postcard, the historical ‘fat’ joke.

Nobody is born old or flawed, we all enter the world in a perfect state; the corrupting element is life itself. In his early years Henry was lauded as a strong lusty boy, and he matured into a strong lusty young man. Henry was affectionate, fun loving, sentimental, romantic and his accession to the throne was hailed with joy. He was a ray of hope for the future. The Venetian diplomat, Pasqualigo, writing in 1515 described him as follows.

“His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on; above the usual height, with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair and bright, with auburn hair combed straight and short, in the French fashion, and a round face so very beautiful, that it would become a pretty woman, his throat being rather long and thick. He was born on the 28th of June, 1491, so he will enter his twenty-fifth year the month after next. He speaks French English, and Latin, and a little Italian, he plays well on the lute and harpsichord, sings from book at sight, draws the bow with greater strength than any man in England, and jousts marvellously. Believe me, he is in every respect a most accomplished Prince;”

Unfortunately, Holbein wasn’t around to record Henry in his youth, all we have are a few unremarkable panel portraits that do little to hint as to his character or confirm reports of his physical prowess. For the formative years of Henry’s life we have only written descriptions to draw upon, many of which refer to the sporting activities he took part and excelled in. The Venetian ambassador witnessed Henry indulging in one of his favourite activities.

“He is extremely fond of tennis, at which game it is the prettiest thing in the world to see him play, his fair skin glowing through a shirt of finest texture.”

This presents an image of a vital, energetic young man. Henry also enjoyed jousting, sword fighting, wrestling, fencing, archery and bowling. These activities, together with his regular hunting trips, his love of dancing can only have resulted in a strong supple physique.

When Henry was in his twenty-eighth year Guistinian made a statement that would have delighted the king had he ever come to read it. The Ambassador stated that Henry VIII was:

‘much handsomer than the king of France. He is very fair and his whole frame admirably proportioned. Hearing that King Francis wore a beard, he allowed his own to grow and as it was reddish he … got a beard that looked like gold.’

He sounds like a virtual Midas! The Ambassador goes on to describe Henry’s piety, his love of hunting in which he tired ‘eight or ten horses which he causes to be stationed along the line of country he means to take.’

Henry not only wore sumptuous clothing but adorned himself with impressive jewels. One diplomat remarked that the king wore a diamond as ‘big as a walnut.’

And this was all before he engaged Holbein to paint the series of what I like to call Power Portraits; the familiar images that exude Tudor permanence and dominance.

Descriptions made when he was around the age of forty still sound impressive.

‘His face is angelic rather than handsome; his head imperial (Cesarina) and bald, and he wears a beard, contrary to English custom. Who would not be amazed when contemplating such singular corporal beauty, coupled with such bold address, adapting itself with the greatest ease to every manly exercise.

He sits his horse well, and manages him yet better; he jousts and wields his spear, throws the quoit, and draws the bow, admirably; plays at tennis most dexterously; and nature having endowed him in youth with such gifts, he was not slow to enhance, preserve, and augment them with all industry and labour. It seeming to him monstrous for a Prince not to cultivate moral and intellectual excellence, so from childhood he applied himself to grammatical studies, and then to philosophy and holy writ, thus obtaining the reputation of a lettered and excellent Prince. Besides the Latin and his native tongue, he learned Spanish, French, and Italian. He is kind and affable, full of graciousness and courtesy, and liberal; particularly so to men of science (virtuosi) whom he is never weary of obliging.’

Of course, all these descriptions were made before his accident in 1536 that marked the beginning of both his physical and mental decline.

In that year he was unhorsed during a joust, reports say he was unconscious for up to two hours and suffered a chronic leg injury. In the years that followed, recurring ulcers perplexed his physicians and restricted his physical activity.

In 1540, the French ambassador, Charles de Marillac described Henry rather differently.

'This Prince seems tainted with three vices; the first is that he is so covetous that all the riches of the world would not satisfy him. Thence proceeds the second, distrust and fear. This King, knowing how many changes he has made, and what tragedies and scandals he has created, would fain keep in favour with everybody, but does not trust a single man, expecting to see them all offended, and he will not cease to dip his hand in blood as long as he doubts his people. The third vice lightness and inconstancy.'

After the jousting accident, due to his hearty appetite and little exercise, his weight piled on and as his size increased, his temper declined. Henry ended up a disappointed man, too aware of his failure to live up to the promise of his once glorious golden image. But the decline was slow and Henry fought against it for as long as he could, even going so far as to ride to war against France in 1544, three years before his death.

During the course of writing A Matter of Conscience: Henry VIII, The Aragon Years, I have paid a great deal of attention to the ambassadors. Even if we consider the requirement to flatter Renaissance monarchs, the early glowing descriptions are as convincing as the latter, and we should remember that these reports were not written for Henry’s eyes.

It has been an honour to walk beside the young Henry who, it seems, really was a strong, god-like king who could have stepped from the pages of the story books. In this book of course, he is still in his prime and only just showing signs of the man he would later become. The next book in the series that will cover his middle years, might be more tricky and it is doubtful if we shall get along so well.

A Matter of Conscience: Henry VIII: The Aragon Years

‘A king must have sons: strong, healthy sons to rule after him.’

On the unexpected death of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, his brother, Henry, becomes heir to the throne of England. The intensive education that follows offers Henry a model for future excellence; a model that he is doomed to fail.

On his accession, he chooses his brother’s widow, Catalina of Aragon, to be his queen. Together they plan to reinstate the glory of days of old and fill the royal nursery with boys.

But when their first-born son dies at just a few months old, and subsequent babies are born dead or perish in the womb, the king’s golden dreams are tarnished.

Christendom mocks the virile prince. Catalina’s fertile years are ending yet all he has is one useless living daughter, and a baseborn son.

He needs a solution but stubborn to the end, Catalina refuses to step aside.

As their relationship founders, his eye is caught by a woman newly arrived from the French court. Her name is Anne Boleyn.

A Matter of Conscience: the Aragon Years offers a unique first-person account of the ‘monster’ we love to hate and reveals a man on the edge; an amiable man made dangerous by his own impossible expectation.

Available now on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Connect with Judith

A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and an MA in Medieval Studies.

She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction based in the Medieval and Tudor period. Her main focus is on the perspective of historical women but more recently is writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.

Her novels include:

A Matter of Conscience: Henry VIII, the Aragon Years

The Heretic Wind: the life of Mary Tudor, Queen of England

Sisters of Arden: on the Pilgrimage of Grace

The Beaufort Bride: Book one of The Beaufort Chronicle

The Beaufort Woman: Book two of The Beaufort Chronicle

The King’s Mother: Book three of The Beaufort Chronicle

The Winchester Goose: at the Court of Henry VIII

A Song of Sixpence: the story of Elizabeth of York

Intractable Heart: the story of Katheryn Parr

The Kiss of the Concubine: a story of Anne Boleyn

The Song of Heledd

The Forest Dwellers

Peaceweaver

Judith is also a founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria and makes historical garments both for the group and others. She is not professionally trained but through trial, error and determination has learned how to make authentic looking, if not strictly HA, clothing. You can find her group Tudor Handmaid on Facebook. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Social Media Links: Website • Blog • Twitter • Instagram • Amazon

SIX: Henry's Wives on Stage

When I saw that the musical Six was making its North American premiere in Chicago, a mere 90 minutes from my home, I was quick to get in line for tickets. For those who haven't heard of it, Six is a musical blend of history (ahem, herstory), pop music, and comedy featuring Henry VIII's wives. I had listened to the soundtrack before attending but was still surprised by some of what we saw on stage at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

As you can see from the show poster, the costumes are not precisely accurate to the 16th century. Think Tudor meets the 80s, and you've probably got it pictured quite well. Other than a hint of Greensleeves, the music is also more reminiscent of Brittany Spears than Thomas Tallis. So, yeah, anachronisms abound, but wow is it FUN!

Six is no Les Mis, but there are some surprisingly touching moments. Who doesn't feel sympathy for Katherine of Aragon when she is in kneeling before a cross begging Henry to tell her one thing she did wrong? Or wish for another option for Katherine Parr when she tells Thomas Seymour that she has to marry the king instead, claiming "I don't need your love"? Those moments I expected. I was not prepared for Katherine Howard to break down sobbing after her song started with, "I think we can all agree, I'm the 10 amongst these 3s!" It began fun & flirty, but ended with her feeling used and abused, and, of course, headed to the scaffold.

Henry's wives break as many modern rules of theatre as they did 16th century marriage rules. The audience is invited to participate and cheer for the wife they believe got the shortest end of the stick from Henry. (Does beheading trump abandonment after 24 years? AB & KH think so.) The music is a bit shallow but includes loads of historical puns and jokes for those who catch them. Sometimes, it's a titch too silly. (I'm looking at you "Haus of Holbein.") At the end, the wives decide to tell their own stories, or what they wish they had been. Only Jane dreams of a home full of little Tudor babies with her beloved Henry.

Some won't appreciate the way Anne Boleyn is portrayed as more of a teenage floozy than an early feminist when she sings, "Sorry, not sorry, bout what I said. I'm just trying to have some fun. Don't worry, don't worry. Don't lose your head. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Her costume has an ironic Catholic schoolgirl look to it. She's irreverent and hilarious.

Most pleasantly surprising was Anna of Cleves, who is bold, confident, and forced to admit that there's no way she can win the worst treated wife competition. Her "Get Down" where she brags about her sweet annulment settlement was probably my favorite part of the show. "I look more rad than Lutheranism. Dance so hard that I'm causin a sensation. Okay ladies, let's get in reformation." Yes, I said it. Anna of Cleves was the best part of the show. Who knew? (Well, Anna did.)

Six may be trying to be the UK's answer to Hamilton, but, much as I loved the show, it is not quite there. Hamilton packs a greater emotional and musical punch, but I highly recommend Six as well. And, hey, the tickets are MUCH cheaper.

My 17-year-old daughter and I loved it. My husband said he almost leaned over to ask if we were at the right show, so you'll have to make your own judgement. At the end of the show, the audience was encouraged - yes, encouraged(!) - to take pictures and video, so here's a little sampler for you from the Chicago cast.

Tudor Marriage: Scandal - Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor

Henry VIII was not the only one to make up his own rules when it came to marriage. His sister, Mary, infuriated him when she demonstrated that she, too, would wed where she found love and desire rather than where she was told her duty lie.

Like many princesses before her, Mary Tudor was pledged to marry for the purposes of international relations and treaty arrangements. She was eighteen to her husband’s fifty-two, but that mattered little in these types of arrangements. Her brief marriage to Louis XII left her with the title “The French Queen” for as long as she lived, though she was married to her second husband for much more of her life.

King Henry’s closest friend was Charles Brandon. The two had grown up together after Brandon’s father died defending Henry’s at the Battle of Bosworth where the Tudor dynasty was born. They habitually enjoyed the same sports and activities and were known to joust in matching armor. Despite this close connection, Brandon could not have anticipated the wrath of his king when he dared to marry Henry’s sister.

Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon

Brandon was no stranger to marriage scandal, though Henry had not created any of his own at that time. Seven years older than his king, Brandon had revealed his ambitions and willingness to use and dispose of women in his treatment of his first wife, Anne Browne. Attempting to annul their marriage and marry the girl’s affluent aunt, Brandon was forced to accept Anne after she birthed him a daughter and people refused to accept the so-called annulment. However, Anne died in 1512, and Brandon betrothed himself to his eight-year-old ward, Elizabeth Grey.

While he waited for her to be old enough for marriage, Brandon flirted with other women and marriage plans, including an embarrassing incident with Margaret of the Netherlands. She would not think of accepting the upstart’s hand, but things were still looking up for Brandon. In 1514, he was given the illustrious title of Duke of Suffolk, and the king’s beautiful younger sister was in love with him.

Henry knew of the feelings that his sister and best friend had for one another, but he trusted both to respect and honor his command that they marry elsewhere. Initially, Mary did. She made the best of her betrothal to the aged King of France, despite her own wishes, but the marriage lasted less than three months. Brandon was sent to retrieve Mary from France when her elderly husband died, supposedly from too much physical activity in bed with his frisky teenage bride. One might wonder if Henry was purposefully testing his friend and sister, putting them in this position. If he was, they failed the test. When they next presented themselves to Henry, it was as man and wife after a private ceremony in France.

Already contemplating where Mary could next be wed to give Henry the greatest advantage, he was furious to see her wasted on Brandon, regardless of how much he treasured the friendship. The new French king, Francios, had also suggested new matches to Mary after her enforced seclusion of forty days to ensure that she was not with child by the late king. However, she was able to gain the French king’s sympathy and support for her marriage to Brandon and hoped that she would be able to do the same with her brother. Mary reminded Henry that he had promised that she could choose her next husband if she went along with the French match, but, of course, Henry had only said that to make her submissive. He had never expected her to act upon it, and so quickly!

The couple was sent away from court and fined heavily, but Henry eventually relented. The marriage between Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon would provide the fuel for future Tudor scandals. Their daughter, Frances, would become the mother of England’s “nine day queen” Lady Jane Grey. Her sisters did not fare much better.

All of that was far in the future though, in 1515, when the spirited Tudor princess got to marry the man she loved. Some members of the king’s council, who already thought that Brandon wielded too much power over the king, lobbied for Brandon’s execution since marrying the princess without royal consent amounted to treason. However, as angry as Henry was, he loved Charles and Mary and eventually forgave them.

It was not until a decade later when Henry pursued an annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon that his relationship with his sister soured. Mary did not support her brother’s setting aside of his formerly beloved wife. This may be in part due to her deep dislike of Anne Boleyn, the woman queued up as the queen’s replacement. Even then, Henry did not punish Mary the way he did others. Even those close to him, such as Thomas Moore, paid the ultimate price for disagreeing with the king. From his sister, Henry tolerated what he would not from any other quarter. While Henry pursued divorce from Katherine and a new marriage to Anne, Mary had little to say about it. Her own health was failing, and she kept to her private estates.

Mary did not survive to witness the full drama of her brother’s quest for a son. She could not have foreseen that it would be her own children eventually named in his will, second only to his own three children who each were born of a different mother. Besides Frances, who would become the couple’s most famous offspring, Mary bore two sons and another daughter for Charles. The boys, both named Henry, died young. Eleanor, went on to marry Henry Clifford. When Mary died in 1533, her husband married his fourteen-year-old ward, Catherine Willoughby, who was betrothed to his son, again proving that barriers to marriage meant little to Charles Brandon.


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

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Additional Reading:

De Lisle, Leanda. Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family. New York: PublicAffairs, 2013.

Tudor Marriage: Scandal - Henry VIII

Henry VIII is a man well-known for breaking any and all barriers surrounding marriage. When one is king, it is possible to create new rules to suit one’s purpose, and no one understood this better than the second Henry Tudor. He is one of the reasons that the Tudor dynasty continues to captivate people to this day. The scandal of all those wives is magnetic in its drama and unprecedented rebellion against the Catholic Church.

Henry surmounted barriers to marry and then rid himself of his succession of six wives. The Anglican Church thrives to this day due to Henry’s inability to allow anyone to have any authority over him. Rome had provided him with the dispensation he desired in order to clear the way for his first marriage, but when they would not give him the annulment that he wanted twenty years later, the Church of England was born.

Divorce, as we know it today, did not exist at Henry’s time. A couple might have their marriage annulled, but that dissolved the union as if it never existed. Children were bastardized and any betrothal contract agreements over division of property were void. Couples might separate in cases of adultery or abuse, but they were still married according to ecclesiastical law and could not remarry. Clearly this would not work in Henry’s case.

The Family of Henry VIII and
Allegory of the Tudor Succession

Claiming sinful consanguinity, Henry set Katherine aside by annulling their twenty year marriage, but he had issues to deal with before he could marry Anne Boleyn. She had been betrothed to Henry Percy, she was far below the king’s status, and those who did not support Henry’s annulment believed him to still be married to Katherine. The king handily set this all aside by founding his own church to back up everything he decided to do.

Splitting the Church of England from Rome allowed Henry to not only marry where he wished, but it brought his empty coffers the riches of the offerings that had once gone to the Pope. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries, he was able to enrich himself and reward others by plundering ancient religious houses.

It did not take long for Henry to tire of Anne, her high-strung demeanor had been tempting compared to the matronly Katherine but was wearying in a wife. More importantly, she had not provided him with the male heir he needed. A more dastardly path was taken to rid himself of his second wife.

Anne was not offered the opportunity to retire to a convent as Katherine had been. With no patience remaining for another long battle for single status, Henry’s most devoted men, Bishop Cranmer and Baron Cromwell, made it their priority to take care of the Boleyn problem.

They could have pointed to the long ignored precontract, but that would not satiate Henry’s desire to be rid of Anne immediately and for good. Therefore, a plot was hatched to accuse Anne of adultery, a treasonous offense for a queen since it put the succession of the crown into question. One of the men accused was Anne’s own brother, George. Whatever one thinks of Anne Boleyn, and she is a controversial character to this day, she and the five men who died with her did not deserve their fate.

With Anne dispatched by a Frenchman’s sword, Henry was free to marry again, and he did so only ten days later. Jane Seymour was probably the least troublesome of Henry’s wives, and that is likely the reason she was chosen. Calm and submissive where Anne had been fiery and tempestuous, Jane came to the crown with little protest.

Had she survived, the story of Henry’s scandals might have been much shorter, but poor Jane died less than two years after becoming queen. To her credit, she did so after providing the long awaited male heir.

Henry was content to wait a few years before marrying again, though one boy in the cradle was a risky foundation for the succession. He did not consider his two girls worthy of his crown, and he himself was only king because his older brother had predeceased him. Henry knew he needed more sons.

His break from the Catholic Church had fanned the flames of reformation in England, and there were some who were eager for Henry to make even more changes in how the English worshiped. They pressed the suit of Anne of Cleves, a German Lutheran princess. After unsuccessfully pursuing a couple of other ladies, including Christina of Denmark who famously quipped, “If I had two heads, I would happily put one at the disposal of the King of England,” Henry accepted Anne.

It seems that as soon as Henry laid eyes upon Anne of Cleves, he was disappointed in her. For her own part, she submitted to his desire to annul their marriage after six months. Lack of consummation of the union was given as grounds for dissolving their union. Anne went on to live “as the king’s sister” in England for the rest of her life, but Henry went on looking for love.

His fifth wife was one to be pitied for her youth and inability to navigate the murky waters she had been tossed into. Katherine Howard was a sensuous cousin of Anne Boleyn, and maybe the aging Henry believed that she would be able to arouse him in a way that Anne of Cleves had not. While she is more likely guilty of the adultery charge that led to her death as a traitor, it is difficult to feel less sympathetic toward her than Henry’s previously executed spouse.

Single again, Henry looked once more for a woman who might give him a second son. With his health problems making it necessary for Henry to frequently be carried about in a large chair to save him from the painful task of walking, his mortality was undeniable. A third Katherine was selected to be Henry’s sixth and final bride.

Katherine Parr was a widow in her early thirties. She had not borne any children, which makes her a somewhat unusual choice for the king who was obsessed with the idea of bearing sons. However, her first husband had been very young when he died and her second very old, so Henry might have believed that Katherine would be fruitful enough if given the right seed.

There was no particular barrier to marrying Katherine Parr. She was a widow and her lack of status was something that Henry had habitually ignored in his choice of wives. While it had been a scandal for his grandfather, Edward IV, to marry one of his own subjects, Henry had made the practice commonplace. He had also normalized annulment and divorce, practices that were rarely performed before Henry made such extensive use of them. Katherine was in love with Thomas Seymour, but she knew her duty and accepted the king’s proposal.

Katherine was clever and devout. While she failed to provide Henry with another son, he trusted her enough to make her regent when he attempted to make war on France. Had she borne him a child, she may have enjoyed that position again when Henry died while Prince Edward was only nine years old. Instead, Edward VI was surrounded by a council of men who fought for eminence and Katherine was free to marry Thomas Seymour, as had always been her will.


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

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Additional Reading:

De Lisle, Leanda. Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family. New York: PublicAffairs, 2013.

Tudor Reformation

When Henry VIII wrote his Defense of the Seven Sacraments in opposition to Martin Luther, he probably would have balked at the idea that the reformation would take root in England through his own actions. While Luther was a voice calling for an end of corruption in the Catholic Church, Henry split with Rome for reasons that were much more personal but no less far reaching. One wonders if Henry could possibly envision his quarrel with the pope resulting in England becoming a Protestant nation under his children.

Henry VIII took his place on both sides of Reformation history. His essay disputing Martin Luther earned him the title Defender of the Faith. However, his 1534 Act of Supremacy made the king's word the highest in the land on matters of religion, cutting the pope out of the picture. Henry's Church of England was Catholicism without the pope. It was his insatiable need for authority that drove Henry's move toward Protestantism. Little did he know that the movement would carry on further than he ever intended after his death.

Edward VI became king at the age of nine and became a staunch Protestant. During his reign, Catholic mass was banned and a new Book of Common Prayer was written for Church of England worship. Priests were allowed to marry, while their vestments and churches were stripped of their elaborate splendor. Masses for the dead were no longer said, and veneration of saints was discouraged. Although these were significant changes, some reformers said Edward did not take them far enough. They wanted to see full Lutheranism or Calvinism adopted, while others held tight to their ancestral Catholicism. Edward did not live long enough to see an end to these issues. When he died at age fifteen, his older - and very Catholic - sister became queen.

Queen Mary I quickly and decisively thwarted plans to make her Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, queen in her place. Mary had the support of the people and immediately began reverting the country to Catholic worship. Relations with Rome were reinstated, and Edward's reforms were reversed. While some of Mary's subjects welcomed this counter-reformation, others pushed back. In the 16th century, monarchs were still determining how to cope with competing religions, and the idea that Protestantism and Catholicism could reside side-by-side was unthinkable, so Mary pressed on with her 'true faith' through sermons designed to teach about Catholicism, a return to traditional mass, and, eventually, the burning of Protestant leaders for heresy. In 1558, Mary died, leaving her work undone and her crown to her Protestant sister.

Elizabeth I proved a better politician than either of her siblings. She returned the country to Protestantism while claiming that she would not make religious decisions for her subjects. Instead of burning for heresy, Catholic priests were hanged, drawn, and quartered for treason. Since Elizabeth's reign was much longer than Edward's or Mary's, she is better remembered for other historical events and aspects of her reign. The focus on religion that Edward and Mary are known for was purposely downplayed by Elizabeth. Although she is the one less identified by her religious beliefs, Queen Elizabeth secured England's place in history as a Protestant country.

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

Defying Henry VIII: Elizabeth Barton

Elizabeth Barton became a nun at St Sepulchre at approximately age 19. What did a holy servant of the Catholic Church do to defy the Tudor king? She shared the visions sent to her by God.

Elizabeth Barton prophesying
19th century woodcut
by Edward Bocking

An average country girl working as a servant, Elizabeth would have likely lived and died in obscurity had it not been for an illness that occurred during Lent 1526. After surviving this fateful illness, Barton began falling into trances and seeing visions that she and others were convinced were direct communications from God Himself. Her first prophecy predicted the death of the ill child sharing her sickroom. Was she an epileptic or a fraud? We have no way of knowing, but her contemporaries began calling her the Holy Maid of Kent. (Even if she did suffer from epilepsy, it was believed at this time that such disabilities could help one have heavenly visions. The stories of medieval prophetesses Margery Kempe and Juilian of Norwich both also begin with illness.)

For years, Sister Elizabeth prophesied and shared her visions without incident. She lived an exemplary life and, with the help of her visions, rebuked those who had failed to repent of their sin and change their ways. She became well-known and popular. The chapel where she had made one of her first prophesies, the Chapel of Our Lady in the Kent village of Court-at-Street, became a pilgrimage site. A printed compilation of her miracles and prophesies was published in 1527 as A Marueilous Woorke. She even had the opportunity to share her visions with Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More, and King Henry VIII.

Then (you probably already guessed it), Henry decided to set aside his pious Catholic queen, Katherine of Aragon.

Chapel of Our Lady, Court-at-Street
courtesy of  historyfish.net

Barton unhesitatingly wrote letters to Wolsey and Pope Clement VII informing them that they risked divine retribution if he continued to support Henry in his plan to divorce Katherine. She also cautioned Henry, in person, that his soul and his realm were at risk if he stayed the course. Sister Elizabeth believed that Wolsey's fall and death were the consequences of ignoring her warnings. She claimed to have been given visions of Wolsey in purgatory and the place saved in hell for Henry.

As you can imagine, this did not set well with the King. And Sister Elizabeth did not stop there.

Henry was in Calais in 1532 for peace talks with King Francis. Barton claimed that she was spiritually present as the two kings took communion at the Church of Our Lady. She went on to insist that an angel had held back the sacrament from Henry and given it to Sister Elizabeth instead. In a singularly correct prophesy, Barton stated that Princess Mary would not be denied her birthright. In another, more provocative but less accurate, she insisted that Henry's reign would end within a month should he insist on marrying Anne Boleyn.

For the crime of predicting the death of the king, charges of treason were brought up against Elizabeth Barton. Traditionally, female traitors were burned at the stake, but in an effort to further humiliate and discredit Barton, she was ordered hanged. Sister Elizabeth Barton was executed on April 20, 1534. That same day, Henry's Oath of Succession was required of every London citizen.

New Release! Prince of York: A Story of Reginald Pole

Today is the day! Prince of York: A Story of Reginald Pole is available now on Kindle for only 99c!

This is my favorite novella yet, and I hope it will be yours as well. Reginald was a fascinating person to write about, and he has some pretty amazing friends, too!

After his elderly mother is executed for treason, Reginald Pole must outsmart the assassins of Henry VIII. Through the political and spiritual upheaval of the Reformation, Reginald strives for peace and compromise. Is it possible? With royal blood running through his veins, Reginald Pole could have been a Tudor king. His position as a respected Cardinal of the Catholic Church could have earned him the position of Supreme Pontiff. Reginald chose neither.

Instead, he chose to be a faithful friend to artists and churchmen alike, a man of God who could not be corrupted but was open to hearing opposing views, and a man who stood up to Henry VIII when others capitulated to the king's demands. However, he may have underestimated the Tudor tyrant's capacity for vengeance.

Get Reginald's story today on Amazon.

Defying Henry VIII: Evil May Day Rioters

No, it was not necessarily that the rioters were evil, but the festival day in 1517 became known as Evil May Day because of the atrocities that occurred. It is interesting to consider that we often think of Henry VIII as a tyrant only in his later years, after too many years without an heir and injuries and ailments that left him tempestuous. At the time of the Evil May Day Riots, Henry had been king only 8 years and was a healthy, athletic 25 year-old.

Medieval May Day was an exuberant festival, filled with food, drink, and dancing. The end of a long, cold winter and dawn of a new summer was even more exciting for those who lived off the land than it is for us today. However, tensions brewed throughout the spring of 1517, leading to a deadly riot in London on a day that should have been filled with celebrations.

King Henry had decided to go to war against France, an action that often leaves those at home overtaxed and underfed. Englishmen were displeased with an influx of immigration that occurred at the same time. Some of these foreign craftsmen and merchants fell outside normal rules of taxation, which inevitably angered their native competitors. Add to this economic downturn the religious unrest that would lead to Martin Luther's 95 Theses later that year, and London was ripe for conflict.

In a sermon that proves some things never change, a Dr Bell of London preached that immigrants, "eat bread from poor, fatherless children," before encouraging men to, "cherish and defend themselves, and to hurt and grieve aliens for the common weal." A fortnight later, the riots began.

British Museum Woodcutting
from "London Apprentice" 1852

After curfew on the evening of April 30, a group of over 1000 men prepared for a very different kind of May Day. They freed some comrades who had been jailed for harassing foreigners and marched to St Martin le Grand, a London precinct heavily settled with immigrants. Thomas More, who served London as under-sheriff at this time, dared to stand before them and encourage them to disperse. His efforts were in vain, for local residents started raining bricks, debris, and boiling water upon those gathered. A fight broke out between the two groups that lasted through the new May Day until it was brought under control. Shockingly, no one had been killed. Yet.

Within just a few days, King Henry had more than three hundred rioters (men, women, and children) arrested and charged with treason. John Lincoln, who was charged with inciting Dr Bell's sermon, was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Thirteen rioters were also executed, and Henry intended for the rest of them to suffer the same fate. Were it not for Katherine of Aragon begging the king to show mercy to those who remained, even more would have endured the ultimate penalty for protesting the king's policies.

Defying Henry VIII: Edward Stafford

Edward Stafford came from a brief line of unfortunate Dukes of Buckingham. The first Duke of Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, Edward's great-grandfather, had been killed at the Battle of Northampton during the Wars of the Roses, fighting with the Lancastrian army. At his death, Henry Stafford, Edward's father, gained the title. He is infamous for first supporting Richard III and then rebelling against him. He was executed after being denied an audience with the king. Because of Henry's treason, his son, Edward, did not inherit the title until it was granted to him by King Henry VII in 1485. Given his history, one might have expected Edward Stafford to live and speak carefully. One would be wrong.

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Edward had been a child when his father was executed, and he does not seem to have learned the lessons he should have from his demise. Proud of his royal lineage that he traced back to Edward III, Edward was also a cousin to the king through his mother, Katherine Woodville. He was not the only one to notice that his blood was equally royal as Henry VIII's.

But did he commit treason? Edward's most serious sins seem to be pride, vanity, and an uncontrollable mouth. His household was always splendidly dressed and decorated with a coat of arms that included the Plantagenet lions and French fleur de lis, claiming his royal lineage. He was not shy about pointing out his close relation with the king and may have even claimed he could do a better job at it than cousin Henry. He arranged excellent marriages for his children, including securing Ursula Pole of royal York blood for his son.

However, Edward had also served alongside Henry in France, served as an ambassador, and been a member of the Privy Council. Buckingham had failed to please the king in controlling Welsh marcher lords, but seems to have served him well besides. Contemporary reports describe his astonishment and grief when arrested.

So what made Henry change his mind?

Coat of Arms of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham

In 1521, Henry VIII was the father of a single daughter and husband to a wife who had proven her inability to provide him with a son. Where Henry had once embraced his extended family in a way that his father never had, this situation made him look more suspiciously at families such as the Staffords, Poles,  Courtenays, and de la Poles. These families, each with noble blood to rival his own, were no longer trusted by him and each paid the price for thriving while he could only pray for a son.

Besides the king's obsession with the future of his dynasty, a problem that would mar the remainder of his reign, a bill of attainder also enabled him to obtain Buckingham's great wealth, including the beautiful, newly built Thornbury Castle.

Edward Stafford was one of the first to pay the ultimate price (Edmund de la Pole had been executed in 1513). He was accused of "imagining and compassing the death of the king," a controversial and doubtful charge at best. But Henry VIII's desires were known. Therefore, Stafford was found guilty and executed on May 17, 1521. His son, Henry Stafford, never received the Buckingham title but was created Baron Stafford decades later.


Don't miss the rest of the Defying Henry VIII series!

Edward Stafford is a character in Faithful Traitor: The Story of Margaret Pole, 

available on Kindle, paperback, hardcover, or audiobook.

Defying Henry VIII: Thomas More

Like many people who defied Henry VIII, Thomas More had reason to believe that he may be able to speak his mind while retaining the relationship that he had built with the king over the years. Also like many others, he was fatally incorrect.

Sir Thomas More
by Hans Holbein the Younger

More became one of the thousands of religious martyrs of the sixteenth century or, perhaps more accurately, one of the large number sacrificed on the altar of the Church of Henry. King Henry had counted Thomas More as a close friend and confidant for years. A scholar and humanist with friends like Erasmus, More was welcome at court where the king appreciated great thinkers and theological conversation. More and the king both wrote at length against the reformer Martin Luther. Yet when Henry decided to make his own protest against the Catholic Church, he expected More to give him his support.

More did not. And Henry should not have been surprised, for he knew More's past and understood his passion for the church better than most. Even as a young lawyer with a bright future ahead of him, More had considered becoming a monk and had lived as much like one as possible while practicing law at Lincoln's Inn. A desire for marriage and statesmanship kept the devout young man from committing himself to the life of a Carthusian.

Even as a married man, More had lived much less ostentatiously than the typical Tudor courtier. He was generous and hospitable but never glamorous. The habit of wearing a hair shirt beneath his clothing that he had picked up while living in the monastery was maintained for the remainder of his life. Striving to serve his country and the people, More was hesitant to become too close to the king. Despite being Henry's confidant and having been awarded several lucrative positions, More maintained that, "If my head would win him a castle in France, it should not fail to go."

Although More had a clear understanding of his king's willingness to sacrifice others to gain his desires, he was unafraid to challenge him. In writing Utopia, More courageously pointed out immorality and corruption in all areas of society, including government and church. As a new member of Parliament, he spoke passionately against the king's request for funds that More felt placed an unfair burden on the populace. When Henry first presented his evidence for annulment from Katherine of Aragon, More promised to research the issue but not to give his unconditional support.

Sir Thomas More Bids Farewell to his Daughter
by Edward Matthew Ward

Nothing he read and nothing the king could say convinced More of the righteousness of Henry's divorce. As England's Lord Chancellor, it was More's duty to serve the king and enforce the Act of Succession, which required signed oaths recognizing Henry as Head of the Church. As he refused to sign it himself, More resigned his position. Henry accepted the resignation, and More retired to his estates.

Perhaps he would have been safe yet had More studied and lived the quiet life of a country gentleman. However, he was compelled to write defenses of his faith, and he refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn. More was arrested and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered - the death of a traitor - when he continued to refuse the oath. In his benevolence, Henry reduced this sentence to beheading. Before his execution, More said he was, "the king's good servant but God's first."

Thomas More, believed innocent by Protestants and Catholics alike, was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1886 and canonized in 1935.


Don't miss the rest of the Defying Henry VIII series!

Defying Henry VIII: Richard de la Pole

It took a lot of nerve to defy King Henry VIII, but the remaining sons of York gave him a run for his money. While Reginald Pole stood up to Henry through intellect and the written word, Richard de la Pole was a soldier worthy to become the ideal sixteenth century king.

Like the Poles, the de la Poles were also cousins to the Tudors. Richard's mother was Edward IV's sister, Elizabeth, and his brother, John, is believed to been named heir of their uncle, Richard III, after his son's death. John de la Pole died in the Battle of Stoke in 1487, an unsuccessful attempt to remove Henry VII from the throne of England. He was survived by three brothers carrying equal amounts of royal blood: Edmund, Richard, and William.

Edmund was the next oldest after John, so he inherited his title, though Henry VII reduced him from duke to Earl of Suffolk. Edmund was betrayed by his Burgundian allies in 1506 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London until executed by Henry VIII in 1513. William was imprisoned alongside him, but lived there until he died in 1539. Richard, however, remained on the Continent. It was his alliance with the French that brought the English king's wrath down on his brother. With Richard out of reach, Edmund was sacrificed to Henry VIII's lust for blood.

Richard de la Pole

Richard learned from the older brothers' failures and worked to build a name for himself in Europe before attempting to gain allies and build an army that could invade England. After all, if John, already in England and with the support of Yorkists relatively close to Henry Tudor's rise, had failed, what hope did Richard have of a successful invasion a quarter of a century later? Edmund had depended upon the support of European leaders and had been turned over to Henry, leaving his remaining followers living in squalor.

The younger de la Pole brother was clever and patient, seeing that leaders of Europe might recognize him as a challenger to the English king but not back it up with cold, hard cash in support. He claimed the family title of Duke of Suffolk and became known as White Rose, although he had not set foot in England since years before Henry VIII became king. Richard wanted to succeed where his brothers had failed, and to do so he would need to convince people that he was a risk worth taking. Those searching for someone to challenge the Tudor tyrant found their man in the shrewd and capable Richard de la Pole.

King Louis XII recognized both Richard's talent as a soldier and the opportunity to rid himself of the Tudor king. He awarded Richard with a pension and large French force to command, making Richard an obvious threat to Henry VIII. Plans to invade England were considered multiple times, but Richard never felt that his chances of success were worth the risk.

Henry attempted to delegitimize Richard's claim by making his friend, Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk in 1514, taking away the de la Pole's ancestral title and giving it to an upstart. In response, Richard accumulated troops and ships with the help of the French king and prepared for invasion. Before it could commence, Henry and Louis made peace, and Richard was sent to Lorraine.

Francis I became king of France in 1515. In the meantime, Richard had grown comfortable in Metz where he was treated like a prince, even sometimes referred to as Richard IV, without having to go through the trouble of attacking England. As he would in later decades with Reginald Pole, Henry sent assassins after Richard de la Pole. They were no more successful than was Henry himself on the field against the French. Henry's actions sent more support Richard's way without any effort on his own part. Francis vowed to assist Richard in claiming the English throne.

Battle of Pavia by Bernard van Orley

Richard evaded assassins as he raised troops and conspired with Francis. Rumors occasionally hounded Henry that Richard would soon attack. In 1522, France and England were again at war. However, a more opportune time to claim England's throne never arrived. Richard discarded plans made with Francis I and the Duke of Albany to invade England in 1523. Instead, he was serving Francis when he was killed at the Battle of Pavia in 1525.


Don't miss the rest of the Defying Henry VIII series!

Anne Boleyn's apology to Princess Mary

Anne Boleyn in the Tower
by Edouard Cibot

Anne Boleyn enjoys much popularity today, almost certainly more than she did while alive. From our modern, enlightened point-of-view, we like to make her out to be a proud, independent woman in a time when women were told to be submissive. The only woman often held up as a better example of 16th century feminism is her daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth I.

Although I do not admire neither Anne nor Elizabeth anywhere near as much as some, I can appreciate that both did make their mark on history. If I see them as a little more self-serving than bold, I hope their fervent fans will forgive me.

Clearly, Anne realized that she had indeed been wrong in her treatment of Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Mary. Anne caused Mary to lose the title of princess that she had held since birth, and Mary refused to recognize Anne as queen. It was a relationship doomed from the start, and neither desired to make any effort toward improving it. Both were known to wish for the death of the other.

However, when Anne's execution was approaching, she decided to apologize to Lady Mary. She had no reason to go out of her way to do so in her last hours, but she called for Lady Kingstone, wife of the Constable of the Tower, and asked her to relay her message of repentance. According to Martin Haile, Anne knelt before Lady Kingstone and requested that she, 'throw herself in like manner at the feet of Lady Mary, and beseech her to forgive the many wrongs which the pride of a thoughtless, unfortunate woman had brought upon her.'

Since she applied for permission to visit Lady Mary after Anne Boleyn's execution, it is believed that Lady Kingstone delivered the message. While Anne may have owed Mary that apology, one can easily argue that both women's problems were much more due to Henry VIII than each other. A bastardized daughter and insecure queen were unlikely to ever make amends before faced with their own mortality.

4 August 2022 NOTE: Because of continuous comments on this post that do not add to civil discourse, I am shutting off commenting for this post. Please, still feel free to use my contact form or join in other discussions on this blog! I apologize to those many dear readers who are not part of the problem. Thank you for your understanding. ~ Samantha

Elizabeth of York on Henry's Great Matter

The Family of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

I am frequently asked what I believe Elizabeth of York would have thought of her son's Great Matter, which welcomed the Reformation to England though that was far from Henry VIII's intent. As a woman who clung to her faith during turbulent times and who chose peace at great personal cost, how would Elizabeth have advised her son when he planned to rid himself of Katherine of Aragon? It is not a simple question, and, of course, I cannot answer it with certainty, but I can share my thoughts.

Elizabeth's opinions on events that occurred outside her lifetime can be difficult to guess because there are important issues that she did live through that remain mysteries. We do not know how she felt about Richard III or if she plotted to assist Henry Tudor in coming to power. We do not know how she felt about Perkin Warbeck or if she thought he might be her brother, Richard Duke of York. She kept her ideas about the controversies of the day close and submitted to her husband, Henry VII, as she saw as her duty.

The Family of Henry VIII

Henry VIII inherited the devotion to the Catholic faith that his parents shared. However, he also became a man who always expected to get what he wanted. When he formed the Church of England and broke with Rome, the faith that he created was Catholicism with himself as the Head of the Church in place of the pope. Protestants would continue to be punished for their heretical ideas until Henry's son, Edward VI, took the throne. What would Elizabeth have thought of this act?

On one hand, Elizabeth understood the importance of an heir. The disappearance of her brothers is what cleared the way for her to become queen with the first Tudor king at her side. She risked her own life to bear another child when Prince Arthur died, leaving Henry an only son. Elizabeth would have understood that it was a precarious position to leave the kingdom with a single young girl as heir. Elizabeth had never put forth her own right to the crown over her husband's. Would she have fought for the rights of Princess Mary?

Katherine of Aragon

Even though Elizabeth would have believed that her son would be better off with more children, she may have accepted the situation as God's will. After living through extraordinary times, Elizabeth was accustomed to leaning on her faith and accepting that worldly matters do not always turn out the way we think they should. I believe it would be difficult to convince her of the necessity of setting Katherine aside. It is very possible that Elizabeth would have been just as vehement that Katherine was Henry's true wife as Katherine was.

If Elizabeth could have been convinced that Henry really did require a more fertile wife, I still believe that she would have been horrified by his decision to break with Rome. The very idea would have been more shocking than we can imagine to almost any monarch who ruled before Henry VIII. The pope was God's representative on earth and the final authority in all matters. For Henry to set himself up as equal or above him would have been blasphemy to his mother. She may have been convinced to encourage Katherine to retire to a nunnery, but I do not believe Elizabeth of York would have ever supported her son's more extreme measures.

Would the Church of England have been formed if Elizabeth had still been alive? Would Henry have listened to his mother to any greater degree than he took the advice of anyone else who did not tell him what he wanted to hear? That may be speculation that is beyond me, but I can fairly confidently state that Elizabeth of York would have opposed her son's actions and at least attempted to steer him along a different path.

Elizabeth of York

I would like to think that Elizabeth would have seen possibilities for her granddaughter that had not existed for herself and that Henry would have been convinced that Princess Mary was a more than adequate heir, especially with the right husband at her side. Surely, the Reformation would have made it to England one way or another, but maybe the Dissolution of the Monasteries could have been erased. History might have missed out on Queen Elizabeth I, but maybe the reign of a happily married Queen Mary I would have been much more peaceful. Maybe Henry would have gone on to have a son after Katherine naturally departed this world instead of tearing the kingdom apart to make way for Anne Boleyn.

Or maybe Henry would have completely ignored his mother and done whatever he wanted anyway. But it is fun to think of the possibilities.