The Other Tudors (12 page)

Richmond’s tutors were John Palsgrave and Dr Richard Croke, a Greek scholar who taught him Greek and Latin. Thanks to Croke, Richmond wrote ‘in a clear Italian hand’, which appears in letters to his father. Croke was also proud of the fact that, at eight, Richmond was translating Caesar’s texts unaided. Apparently Henry had promised his son that, as soon as he was able to translate Caesar’s
Commentaries
, he should have his first suit of armour.

Bessie also kept in touch with her son. Palsgrave wrote to her that he was ‘inclined to all manner of virtuous and honourable inclinations as any babe living.’
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He went on to report, ‘… the King’s Grace said unto me in the presence of Master Parr [Sir William Parr, Chamberlain] and Master Page [Sir Richard Page, Vice-Chamberlain], “I deliver,” quoth he, “Unto you three my worldly jewel …”.’
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As Richmond’s aunt, Margaret, Queen of Scotland, took a natural interest in the Duke, particularly as he might one day be king of England. A letter from the Queen to Sir Thomas Magnus (surveyor and general receiver of Richmond’s estates), dated 25 November 1525, mentions: ‘… our good nephew the duke of Richmond and Somerset … We desire you affectionately to have us recommended unto him, as we that shall entertain our dutiful kindness, as natural affection aright towards him, as we that is right glad of his good prosperity, praying the same to continue.’
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Queen Margaret was determined to put herself and her son, the future James V of Scotland, in Richmond’s good graces and, by doing so, to gain her brother Henry’s approval as well.

In 1525, the question of a marriage for Henry’s only surviving lawful daughter was raised again. Since the Spanish were now no longer Henry’s preferred allies, he was looking to France for a new alliance. As part of negotiations, the question of the marriage of Princess Mary was raised. This time, she was to marry Henri, second son of Francis I, and Richmond was to marry one of his daughters. Thus, eventually one of the French King’s children would share the English throne, thereby creating an alliance between France and England against Spain. As it was, nothing came of the plan as events were developing in another direction. Two weeks after the formal betrothal of Princess Mary to Prince Henri, a church court was assembled in London to discuss the question of Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon.

In 1526, as the French marriage for Richmond had come to nothing, the situation in Italy caught English attention. On 11 February 1527, Wolsey received a letter from Sir John Russell in Rome, concerning Pope Clement VII’s niece, Catherine de Medici. This extremely wealthy heiress had attracted the attention of Monsieur de Vaudemont (the future Duke of Lorraine), who wanted to marry her, as did James V of Scotland and the Duke of Ferrare. ‘… then I showed Sir Gregory [Casale, Ambassador to Spain]that I thought she should be a mete marriage for my lord of Richmond.’ Russell reported that he had not pressed the matter and would not do so without Wolsey’s agreement. It was not forthcoming and Russell allowed the matter to drop.
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Speculation was rife as to who would be chosen as Richmond’s bride. Spain was once more a potential ally, and Sir Richard Lee approached Charles V about his female relatives. The daughters of the Queen of Denmark (Charles’s sister), Dorothea and Christina, were mentioned. Princess Maria, the daughter of the Queen of Portugal (another sister) was already promised in marriage, although Wolsey suggested Richmond should marry her and that the couple should be given the Duchy of Milan. Once again, the marriage plans came to nothing. Foreign kings were reluctant to marry their sisters and daughters to a royal bastard while there was still a chance that Henry would have a legitimate son.

In May 1528 the sweating sickness had reached Pontefract. The Council moved Richmond to Ledestone, a priory house near Castleford, with just five servants to reduce the risk of infection, and asked for a physician, just in case. Having received remedies concocted by the King, Richmond wrote to Henry: ‘… thanks be to God and to your said highness, I have passed this last Summer without any peril or danger of the ragious sweat that has reigned in these parts and other, and much the better I trust with the help of such preservatives as your highness did sent unto me, whereof most humble and most lowly I thank the same.’

On 9 August 1529, aged just 10, Richmond was summoned to attend Parliament as one of the House of Lords. From then on, he would live in London, closer to his father, with a suite of rooms at Windsor usually assigned to the Prince of Wales (Princess Mary was given rooms of lesser magnificence). On 2 December, the new Duke of Northumberland replaced Richmond as Warden of the Northern Marches. However, Richmond did not remain without a major role in government for long. On 22 June 1530 Richmond was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with Sir William Skeffington as his Deputy. It was a courtesy title only; Richmond never visited Ireland.

In April 1530, Gilbert Tailboys, Richmond’s stepfather, died and was buried at Kyme. In 1532, the widowed Lady Tailboys was approached by Lord Leonard Grey, brother of the Earl of Dorset and later Lord Deputy of Ireland. He wrote to Cromwell: ‘Written at Kayme, my lad Taylbusshe house, the 24 day of May, at 12 of the clock at noon … so it is I have been hunting in Lincolnshire, and so came by my lady Taylbusshe homewards, and have had communication with her in the way of marriage, and so I have had very good cheer with her ladyship, ensuring you that I could be better contented to marry with her (God and the king pleased) than with any other lady or gentlewomen living.’
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Whereas Lord Leonard Grey was enthusiastic for the match, Lady Tailboys was less so. She may have had her eye on a greater prize. Now Henry VIII was talking about a divorce, why shouldn’t he marry his old mistress and legitimise their son? Unfortunately for Bessie, Henry had already fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. Two years later, she married again, to the young and handsome Edward Fiennes Clinton. One of the King’s attendants, Clinton was the son of Thomas, Lord Clinton and Saye, and had been made a royal ward when his father died during his minority.

According to the
Dictionary of National Biography
, ‘she [Bessie] was old enough to be her boy-husband’s mother.’ Actually Bessie was in her mid-thirties and her husband Clinton (born in 1512) was 22, hardly a ‘boy-husband’. She was already the mother of four children, and with Clinton, Bessie had three daughters: Bridget, who married Robert Dymoke (a cousin of Lord Tailboys); Katherine, who married William, Lord Burgh; and Margaret, who married Charles, Lord Willoughby of Parham.

Clinton went on to forge a formidable career. A charming and talented young man, in 1540 he started in the service of Lord Lisle, the Lord High Admiral, and in 1544 led the fleet supporting an attack on Edinburgh. For his services, he was knighted by Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford and Duke of Somerset ( Jane Seymour’s brother and Lord Protector under Edward VI). Between 1547 and 1550, Clinton was governor of Boulogne and in May 1550 he was appointed Lord High Admiral. A year later he became a Knight of the Garter. His skills were recognised so that, although he was deprived of his post during the early years of Queen Mary’s reign, he was reappointed and carried on as Lord High Admiral under both Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Henry VIII kept a firm eye on his beloved son, Richmond, moving him between royal palaces so as to always have him near. Between 1530 and 1532 he principally lived at Richmond Palace. His life at Court is beautifully described in a poem written by his dearest friend and brother-in-law, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey:

Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial Ambassador (1529–45), wrote that when travelling in the company of the Duke of Norfolk, he had been told that the King himself had selected Surrey as Richmond’s ‘preceptor and tutor … so that a friendship thus cemented promises to be very strong and fair.’
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Thus, Surrey was to be Richmond’s mentor as Mountjoy had been the King’s. The young men hunted deer and played tennis, but mostly turned their attentions to the young ladies of the Court. In the evenings there was dancing and the young men pleaded each other’s case to the giggling girls. Marriages would be arranged, but it was no sin for a young lady of the gentry or the minor nobility to become the mistress of a Royal Duke, like Richmond, or the heir to the country’s premier dukedom, like Surrey. If Richmond should become king, and Surrey, then Duke of Norfolk, should be his closest friend and adviser, a mistress of either might expect to do very well out of any liaison. It was common for members of the nobility to break the rules and indulge in love affairs outside matrimony.

One fascinating reference is to the tennis matches: it was the fashion for the ladies to watch from an upper gallery when observing a game of tennis. However, a young lady could slip downstairs and hide behind the barriers that lined the court. Thus the young man would ‘lose’ his ball and be obliged to go and look for it behind those selfsame barriers.

Henry VIII had chosen well for his son’s mentor. The King had an affection for the young Earl of Surrey who was seen as an ornament to the Court, growing into a soldier and poet. Surrey and Richmond lived together at the palace as closest friends. After Richmond’s death Surrey was arrested for striking a man in Hampton Park who had cast doubts on Surrey’s loyalty. However, the King reduced his sentence to a period of confinement at Windsor during which he wrote a number of poems including one as a testament to his love for his friend.

In autumn 1532, Henry went over to France to meet with Francis I, accompanied by a vast retinue, including Richmond. The
Chronicles of Calais
recorded the event: ‘The 11 day of October, Henry the Eighth, king of England, landed at Calais, with the Duke of Richmond, his bastard son …’
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Richmond remained there and by 25 October Henry VIII and Francis I were returning from their meeting at Boulogne, when ‘without the town [Calais] about the distance of two miles, the Duke of Richmond, the king’s base son, with a great company of noblemen which had not been at Boulogne, met them, and saluting the French king, embraced him in a most honourable and courteous manner.’
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Henry had brought Anne Boleyn with him as his consort on this state visit, not Catherine of Aragon. As a result, neither Francis I’s wife, Eleanore, nor his sister, Marguerite, attended. Francis’s hostess on this occasion was his mistress, Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly, duchess d’Étampes. It was an odd royal visit for the King of England, to bring his mistress and bastard child, and leave his wife and daughter at home.

When Henry VIII and his retinue returned to England, Richmond and Surrey stayed on in France. The French King was pleased to entertain such a promising youth, and Richmond and his followers were proud and pleased to be feted by the French Court. Richmond enjoyed the company of the dauphin Francois and his brother, Henri d’Orléans, as well as their sisters. They hunted, played tennis, gambled and, if rumour is to be believed, behaved like teenage hooligans, riding the streets at night, beating people up and raising riot.

Everyone seemed keen to praise the Duke. There is, however, one dissenting voice that shows Richmond in a different light. A poem–history of the life of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (a younger son with no hope of inheritance), included the following description of his life as a page to a temperamental young man, during his time at the French Court: