House Of Treason: The Rise And Fall Of A Tudor Dynasty (42 page)

1614: 16 June
Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, dies from gangrene of the leg, unmarried, at his house in Charing Cross, London. His will says that he died ‘a member of the Catholic and Apostolic church’ after being secretly received into the Catholic Church earlier in the year.

1619:
Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, dismissed from government office for gross corruption.

1624: 14 December
Death of Charles Howard, second Baron Effingham and Earl of Nottingham, at Haling House, Croydon, Surrey.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Richard III
(1452-85). Youngest son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, killed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460. Created Duke of Gloucester at the age of eight. In 1472, he married the Prince of Wales’s widow, Anne, younger daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, ‘the Kingmaker’. Edward IV died on 9 April 1483 and Richard was appointed Lord Protector over the heir to the throne, twelve-year-old Edward V, who, with his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, disappeared mysteriously in the Tower of London. Richard Duke of Gloucester seized power and was crowned on 6 July 1483 in Westminster Abbey. His army was defeated and he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August I485 by invading forces commanded by the Lancastrian pretender, Henry VII. Richard III was the last reigning English monarch to be killed on the battlefield.

 

Henry VII
(1457-1509). Exiled in 1471 after the defeat of the Lancastrian cause in the Wars of the Roses and spent the following fourteen years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. He snatched the throne of England after his defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, Leicestershire, on 22 August 1485. Crowned as the first of the Tudor monarchs at Westminster on 30 October and married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville in 1486. They had two sons and two daughters: Arthur, who married Catherine of Aragon on 14 November 1501 but died six months later; Henry VIII; Margaret, who married first James IV of Scotland, then Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus and finally Henry Stuart, Lord Methven; Mary, who married firstly Louis XII of France and then Charles Brandon, first Duke of Suffolk.

 

Henry VIII
(1491-1547). Second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Succeeded to the throne 24 April 1509 and married six times - (1) his elder brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) on 11 June; one surviving child, Mary Tudor, later Mary I. Marriage annulled by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 23 May 1533. (2) Anne Boleyn (
c
. 1501-36), niece of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, on 25 January 1533. One surviving child: Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I. Anne Boleyn was executed on 19 May 1536 for incest and adultery. (3) Jane Seymour (?1509-37), daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Savernake, Wiltshire. Died from puerperal fever and septicaemia following birth of Prince Edward, later Edward VI, at Hampton Court, 24 October 1537. (4) Anne of Cleves (1515-57), at Greenwich Palace, 6 January 1540; the marriage was annulled in July 1540 and she was pensioned off. (5) Catherine Howard, another niece of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands, near Weybridge, Surrey. Beheaded on 13 February 1542 for treason - adultery. (6) Katherine Parr (?1512-48). Married on 12 July 1543 at Hampton Court. Following Henry’s death on 28 January 1547, she married Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral, probably early in June 1547. Died from puerperal fever following the birth of a daughter, 5 September 1548.

 

Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond
(1519-36). Illegitimate son of Henry VIII and Elizabeth Blount, a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Created Duke of Richmond on 18 June 1525. Under care of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. Married, on 26 November 1533, Mary Howard, daughter of Norfolk. Died 23 July 1536 of a pulmonary infection at St James’s Palace, London. The marriage was never consummated.

 

Edward VI
(1537-53). Legitimate son and heir of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Proclaimed king 31 January 1547 at the Tower of London. Died of tuberculosis after suffering attack of measles, Greenwich Palace, 6 July 1553.

 

Mary I
(1516-58). Fourth and only surviving child (from at least six pregnancies) of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Proclaimed queen 18 July 1553. Reintroduced Catholicism to England after the Protestant policies of the governments of her half-brother, Edward VI. Married Philip, son of Charles V of Spain at Winchester, 25 July 1554. Died, childless, from ovarian or stomach cancer, St James’s Palace, London, 17 November 1558.

 

Elizabeth I
(1533-1603). Daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Succeeded her half-sister Mary I as queen, 17 November 1558. Secured Protestantism as state religion. Died, unmarried, probably from broncho-pneumonia and dental sepsis, Richmond Palace, 24 March 1603.

Louis XII
(1462-1515). Succeeded his cousin Charles VIII in 1498. His first marriage to the pious Joan of France was annulled so that he could marry his predecessor’s widow, Anne of Brittany. After her death in 1514, he married Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England, on 9 October. He died on 1 January 1515, reputedly through overexertion in the marital bed.

 

Francis I
(1494-1547). Crowned at Reims, 1515, as the cousin of his father-in-law, Louis XII. Fought four wars against Charles V of Spain. Died at Château Rambouillet, thirty miles (48 km.) south-west of Paris, and succeeded by his son, Henry II.

 

Henry II
(1519-59). Reigned 1547-59. Married Catherine de Medici (1519-89) on 28 October 1533. Became Dauphin when his elder brother, Francis, died after a game of tennis in 1536. Father-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots. Recaptured Calais from England, 1558. Died, following a jousting tournament to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth of Valois to Philip II of Spain, 30 June 1559, in the Place des Vosges, Paris. A splinter from the broken lance of Gabriel de Montgomery, Seignour de Lorges, an officer in his own Scottish Guard, went through his visor, pierced his eye and penetrated his brain.

 

Francis II
(1544-60). Reigned 10 July 1559-5 December 1560. Second son of Henry II. Became King Consort of Scotland after marrying Mary Queen of Scots on 24 April 1558 aged fourteen, in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris. Died 5 December 1560 at Orléans after an ear infection caused an abscess on the brain.

 

Charles IX
(1550-74). Reigned 1560-74. Third son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici. Witnessed the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of Huguenots in Paris on 24 August 1572.

 

Henry III
(1551-89). Reigned 1574-89. Fourth son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici.

Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon
(c. 1487-1553). Ambassador November 1537- December 1538.

 

Charles de Marillac
(c. 1510-60). Ambassador 1538-43. Later Bishop of Vannes (1550); Archbishop of Vienne (1557).

 

Odet de Selve
(c. 1504-63). Ambassador 6 July 1546-50. Later served in Venice and Rome.

 

Bertrand de Salignac de la Mothe Fénelon
(1523-89). Ambassador 1568-75. Returned briefly on a new embassy to London in 1582, but returned to France, via Scotland, the following year.

 

Michel Castelnau, Seignour de la Mauvissière
(c. 1520-89). Ambassador 1575-85.

 

Claude de l’Aubespine de Châteauneuf.
Ambassador from August 1585.

Charles V
(1500-58). King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. Nephew of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. Acceded to Spanish throne 1516. Abdicated in favour of his son, Philip (husband of Mary I of England), 1556. Retreated to monastery of Yuste, dying two years later.

 

Philip II
(1527-98). King of Spain, 1556-98, and King of Portugal (as Philip I), 1580-98. Married four times - (1) on 15 November 1543, to his cousin, Princess Maria of Portugal who died in 1545, a few days after giving birth to his only son Don Carlos (1545-68); (2) Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth I’s half-sister, on 25 July 1559; she died 17 November 1558; (3) Elizabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry II of France, in 1559; she died 3 October 1568; and (4) his niece, Anne, Archduchess of Austria, in 1570. Despatched Spanish Armada against England, 1588.

Eustace Chapuys
(1489-1556). Lawyer, born in Annecy in Savoy. First embassy 1529-38, then served in Antwerp. Second embassy 1540-45. Retired to Leuven in the Low Countries and founded a grammar school.

 

Francis van der Delft.
Ambassador from 1545.

 

Diego de Guzman de Silva.
Canon of Toledo. Ambassador June 1564-8, and afterwards ambassador to Venice, November 1569-October 1577.

 

Guerau de Spes.
Ambassador from September 1568 to December 1571 when he was expelled because of his involvement in the Ridolphi plot.

 

Bernardino de Mendoza.
Ambassador 1578-84 and supporter of Mary Queen of Scots. Implicated in the Throgmorton plot and banished in January 1584. As Spanish ambassador in Paris from November 1584, he was involved in the Babington plot. Born before 1541, the son of the Count of Corunna, he served as a cavalry captain with Spanish forces in the Low Countries. Stricken by blindness in 1590, he died in the convent of San Bernardo of Madrid in 1604.

James IV
(1473-1513). Married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England, 1503. Signed treaty with France 1512 and sent a fleet to help Louis XII against Henry VII. Invaded Northumberland with a large army and captured Norham and other castles. Defeated by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, at Flodden Field on 9 September 1513 and was killed.

 

James V
(1512-42). Son of James IV and Margaret Tudor, succeeded on death of his father at Flodden. Married Madeleine, daughter of Francis I of France, in 1537 and after her death married Mary of Guise in 1538. Succeeded by Mary Queen of Scots, his only legitimate daughter.

 

Mary Queen of Scots
(1542-87). Only daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. On 7 August 1548, aged six, Mary sailed for France after being betrothed to Francis, son of Henry II of France and his wife, Catherine de Medici. They married on 24 April 1558 at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, and after the death of Mary I of England she quartered the arms of England with those of France and assumed the style and titles of the Queen of England. Her husband succeeded to the French throne on the death of his father but reigned only until 5 December 1560, when he died of a brain abscess. She returned to Scotland as queen and, in July 1565, married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, elder son of Matthew Stuart, fourth Earl of Lennox, and his wife Margaret Douglas (daughter of Mary Tudor). Darnley was an arrogant squanderer and sought equality with her as King of Scotland. Mary suffered his indiscretions and cruelty and a son, James (later James VI of Scotland and James I of England) was born in June 1566. Darnley became infected with syphilis and was sent, for his health, to a house outside Edinburgh, at Kirk o’ Field. Early on 10 February 1567 the house was blown up, and Darnley’s body was found outside; he had clearly been strangled before the explosion. Mary then married James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, at Holyrood on 15 May 1567 and her forces were defeated by the Scottish Lords at Carberry Hill, near Edinburgh, the following month. She was forced to abdicate and escaped imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle in 1568 but another of her armies was defeated at Langside, near Glasgow, on 13 May that year. She fled to England and endured nineteen years of imprisonment at the hands of Elizabeth I, before being tried for treason in October 1586 and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, on 8 February 1587.

 

James VI
(later James I of England) (1566-1625). Son of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Crowned on his mother’s abdication in 1567 and, after many years of bitter struggle between Catholic and Protestant factions among the Scottish nobility, assumed full powers. Although he made formal protests and intercessions for his mother, James quickly reconciled himself to her execution. Before the death of Elizabeth I on 24 March 1603, he engaged in secret correspondence with Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, second son of the beheaded Earl of Surrey. Succeeded to the throne of England, 1603.

John Howard, first [Howard] Duke of Norfolk
(c. 1422-85). Son of Sir Robert Howard and Lady Margaret, elder daughter of Thomas Mowbray, first [Mowbray] Duke of Norfolk. Married Katherine Moleyns in the early 1440s, and son Thomas, born in 1443. Fought in the second Battle of St Albans and Towton in 1461 and created Lord Howard by Edward IV in the late 1460s. Lord Treasurer of the [royal] Household, 1466-74. After death of first wife in 1465, he married Margaret Chedworth in 1467. Commanded the English fleet in a successful action against the Scots in the Firth of Forth in 1482. Supported Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as Lord Protector and was one of the nobles who extracted Richard, Duke of York, from sanctuary in Westminster Abbey in 1483. Within days of the accession of Richard III to the throne was created first [Howard] Duke of Norfolk. Officiated at Richard’s coronation on 6 July as Lord High Steward and Earl Marshal and on 25 July appointed Lord High Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine and Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster for life. Killed at Battle of Bosworth, 22 August 1485, and attainted.

 

Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey
, and later
second Duke of Norfolk
(1443-1524). Married twice - (1) Elizabeth Tylney in 1472, who provided five surviving children, and, after her death in 1497, married her cousin, Agnes Tylney, who had six children. Badly wounded at Bosworth in 1485, attainted and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Freed in 1489 and appointed Chief Justice in Eyre, North of Trent, and, the following year, Vice-Warden of the East and Middle Marches on the Scottish borders. Lord High Treasurer of England from 1501 until his resignation in 1522, when he passed the position on to his son and heir, Thomas Howard. Victor of Flodden over the Scots army on 9 September 1513. Created second duke 1 February 1514.