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| 6 | content="Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk and Princess Mary Tudor: Biography, Portrait, Primary Sources Mary Tudor sister of King Henry VIII grandmother of Lady Jane Grey">
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| 9 | content="Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk and Princess Mary Tudor: Biography, Portrait, Primary Sources">
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| 11 | <meta name="author" content="Marilee Mongello">
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| 21 | <title>Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk and Princess Mary Tudor: Biography,
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| 22 | Portrait, Primary Sources</title>
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| 23 |
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| 30 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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| 35 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"> <br>
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| 50 | </td>
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| 51 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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| 52 | <p align="center"> <img border="0"
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| 53 | src="brandon1.gif"
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| 54 | alt="Cloth of Gold and Cloth of Frieze" width="492" height="116">
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| 55 | </p>
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| 56 |
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| 57 | <p align="center"> <img border="0"
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| 58 | src="brandon2.gif"
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| 59 | alt="Charles Brandon and Princess Mary Tudor" width="494" height="65">
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| 60 | </p>
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| 61 |
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| 62 | <blockquote>
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| 63 | <hr> </blockquote>
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| 64 |
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| 65 | <p align="center"> <img border="2"
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| 66 | src="brandonpage2.jpg"
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| 67 | alt="The marriage portrait of Charles Brandon and Princess Mary Tudor"
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| 68 | width="324" height="363">
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| 69 | <br>
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| 70 | </p>
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| 71 |
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| 72 | <blockquote>
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| 73 | <p align="left"><font size="+1" face="Arial">Charles Brandon, duke
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| 74 | of Suffolk, was Henry VIII's closest friend. Brandon's father was Henry
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| 75 | VII's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth Field and died defending
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| 76 | the future king. Henry VII repaid his loyalty by educating young Charles
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| 77 | with his own children, and from the beginning Charles and the future Henry
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| 78 | VIII were devoted friends. But their friendship was sorely tested when
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| 79 | Brandon secretly married Henry's favorite sister, the beautiful Princess
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| 80 | Mary Tudor. At this page, you can learn more about their romantic story
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| 81 | and its aftermath.</font></p>
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| 82 | </blockquote>
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| 83 | </td>
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| 88 | </tbody>
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| 89 | </table>
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| 90 |
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| 91 | <blockquote>
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| 92 | <blockquote>
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| 93 | <p> </p>
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| 94 |
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| 95 | <p><font face="Times New Roman">Charles Brandon had an inauspicious beginning
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| 96 | and his rise to wealth and prominence was due largely to two things: his
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| 97 | father's death at Bosworth Field and his own personal magnetism. Upon his
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| 98 | death in 1545, Brandon was perhaps the only person in England who had successfully
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| 99 | retained Henry VIII's affection for over forty turbulent years. </font>
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| 100 | </p>
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| 101 |
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| 102 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> His father was William Brandon, Henry
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| 103 | Tudor's standard bearer at Bosworth Field in 1485. He was reportedly killed
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| 104 | there by Richard III himself. Around 1480 or so, William had married the
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| 105 | daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Bruyn of South Ockendon in Essex. But
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| 106 | unlike his respectable, middle-class forebears who had led exemplary and
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| 107 | cautious lives, William had a tasste for politics. When the Duke of Gloucester
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| 108 | seized the throne in 1483 and declared himself Richard III, William and
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| 109 | his younger brother Thomas decided to make a stand. They joined the duke
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| 110 | of Buckingham's rebellion; it failed and the brothers fled to Brittany where
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| 111 | they joined other Lancastrian exiles who supported Henry Tudor, the earl
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| 112 | of Richmond. </font> </p>
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| 113 |
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| 114 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> When William fled England, his wife
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| 115 | was already pregnant. Charles Brandon was born sometime in late 1483 or
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| 116 | early 1484. His mother died in childbirth and, upon his grandfather's death
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| 117 | in 1491, the orphaned boy went to the royal court. This was the custom
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| 118 | of the time but since Brandon was not heir to an important title or great
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| 119 | wealth, his case was decided more on sentiment. He had a claim on Henry
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| 120 | Tudor's affections since his father had died in his service. That demonstration
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| 121 | of loyalty at Bosworth meant a great deal to the first Tudor king. Since
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| 122 | Charles was just two years older than Henry's first son, Prince Arthur,
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| 123 | it is probable that they were playmates. </font> </p>
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| 124 |
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| 125 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> When Arthur married the Spanish princess
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| 126 | Katharine of Aragon in 1502, his court moved to Ludlow Castle in the Welsh
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| 127 | Marches, the traditional seat of the Prince of Wales. Charles did not accompany
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| 128 | the royal couple but remained in London as companion to Arthur's younger
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| 129 | brother, Henry duke of York. </font> </p>
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| 130 |
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| 131 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Though seven years older than Henry,
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| 132 | Charles shared his most prominent characteristics - natural athleticism,
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| 133 | robust physical health (unlike the delicate Arthur), and a devotion to all
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| 134 | sports (wrestling, hunting, tilting and jousting, etc.) During these adolescent
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| 135 | years, the two boys laid the foundation for a lifelong friendship. Arthur
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| 136 | died just months after his wedding and, in 1509, the duke of York succeeded
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| 137 | to the throne. This marked the real beginning of Charles Brandon's rise
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| 138 | to prominence and privilege. </font> </p>
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| 139 |
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| 140 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> But before 1509, young Charles had
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| 141 | undergone an embarrassing marital situation which revealed his ambition
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| 142 | and callousness. In 1505, he had become engaged to Anne Browne, a young
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| 143 | woman of impressive lineage; her father was Anthony Browne, Governor of
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| 144 | Calais, and her mother was Lucy Neville, niece of the 'Kingmaker.' Charles
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| 145 | and Anne were betrothed <i>per verba de praesenti</i>, a binding contract
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| 146 | under canon law. In such cases, there was no ceremony or witnesses; as
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| 147 | one can imagine, this led to several unpleasant cases of men and (more rarely)
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| 148 | women repudiating their betrothed <i>if</i> they lacked proper respect
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| 149 | for church law. Charles apparently did. He and Anne slept together, as
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| 150 | evidenced by the birth of a daughter in 1506, but he did not marry her.
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| 151 | Instead, he married her aunt, a very wealthy widow named Margaret Neville
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| 152 | Mortimer. The marriage was never taken seriously due to its mercenary
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| 153 | nature and, more importantly, legal action begun by Anne's angry family.
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| 154 | Eventually, the Mortimer marriage was annulled due to the previous contract
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| 155 | and Charles married Anne in a well-attended public ceremony. They had another
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| 156 | daughter in 1510; Anne Browne died just two years later. </font> </p>
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| 157 |
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| 158 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> By late 1512, Charles had recovered
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| 159 | from his grief enough to contemplate yet another union. This was perhaps
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| 160 | even more mercenary since his betrothed was an eight-year-old orphan. It
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| 161 | was common practice for the Crown to assume guardianship of an orphaned
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| 162 | minor child who had inherited property. The Crown then sold the guardianship
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| 163 | to the highest bidder, often the child's own relatives who wanted to receive
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| 164 | the property revenues until the child came of age and decide whom they would
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| 165 | marry. Charles had been given the wardship of Elizabeth Grey, the heiress
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| 166 | to Lord Lisle of Sparsholt in Berkshire. This, along with various offices,
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| 167 | grants & pensions, was a mark of Henry's continued favor. In early
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| 168 | 1513, Charles announced his engagement to the girl and, on 15 May 1513,
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| 169 | the king created him Viscount Lisle, in right of his betrothed wife. Charles
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| 170 | Brandon finally had a noble title and even more property. </font>
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| 171 | </p>
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| 172 |
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| 173 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> That same year, the new Lord Lisle
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| 174 | accompanied the king to France and also helped entertain the Hapsburg Emperor
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| 175 | Maximilian and his twice-widowed, 33-year-old daughter, Margaret, Regent
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| 176 | of the Netherlands. For Henry, the meeting was also a diplomatic necessity
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| 177 | since, in 1508, his father had entered into a formal contract of marriage
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| 178 | between his youngest daughter, Mary, and Maximilian's son, Charles of Castile.
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| 179 | But over the next few years, little mention had been made of the contract.
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| 180 | Henry used the visit to broach the subject; the end result was an agreement
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| 181 | that Princess Mary and Charles would wed in 1514, after Charles had reached
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| 182 | his 14th birthday. </font> </p>
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| 183 |
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| 184 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Meanwhile, Lord Lisle made a fool
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| 185 | of himself by flirting with Margaret. There is little chance she truly
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| 186 | favored him, and certainly none that she planned to marry him, but they
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| 187 | flirted, Henry translating for his friend. Once again, Charles Brandon
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| 188 | was demonstrating his heavy-handed flair for the ladies. In the end, he
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| 189 | greatly offended Margaret by encouraging gossip about their meeting. In
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| 190 | particular, it stressed her attraction to him and a possible marriage.
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| 191 | As a Hapsburg princess, she was not amused and Henry VIII was forced to
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| 192 | make a public apology. But he was not angry with his friend; on 1 February
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| 193 | 1514, he created Charles the duke of Suffolk, the title once held by the
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| 194 | Yorkist de la Poles. He also received the majority of their confiscated
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| 195 | estates. This elevation was remarkable; it meant that Suffolk was one of
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| 196 | only three dukes in the kingdom. The other two were Thomas Howard, duke
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| 197 | of Norfolk (reinstated to the title after his victory at Flodden in 1513),
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| 198 | and Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham and descendant of Edward III.
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| 199 | Of course, many were surprised that a yeoman's son was now one of their
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| 200 | greatest peers but Brandon's friendship with Henry explained matters. In
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| 201 | Europe, it was said that <a
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| 202 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html">Cardinal Wolsey</a>
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| 203 | and Brandon truly ruled England through influence upon Henry VIII. </font>
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| 204 | </p>
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| 205 |
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| 206 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> In 1514 as well, the usual tangle
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| 207 | of European diplomacy had made Henry distrustful of the Hapsburgs. Also,
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| 208 | the deadline for Charles of Castile's marriage to Princess Mary had come
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| 209 | and passed with only dismissive explanations from the emperor. So when
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| 210 | Louis XII of France offered a peace treaty to England, Henry was eager to
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| 211 | accept it. Louis considerably sweetened the offer by offering to wed the
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| 212 | Princess Mary. For Henry, this was a diplomatic coup. For his sister,
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| 213 | of course, it was considerably different. </font> </p>
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| 214 |
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| 215 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary Tudor, born 18 March 1495, was
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| 216 | the baby of the Tudor family and widely considered the most beautiful princess
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| 217 | of her time. She shared her brother Henry's exuberance for spectacle and
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| 218 | was the star of his court. Like him, she loved dancing, masques, and parties;
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| 219 | they were also close emotionally. So when Henry told her that she would
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| 220 | marry the widowed King of France, a man in his fifties with gout and a pock-marked
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| 221 | face, she poured out her heart. Certainly she would do her duty as a Princess,
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| 222 | she told Henry, but when the marriage was over, she wanted to choose her
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| 223 | next spouse - and choose him for love alone. Itt was an extraordinary
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| 224 | demand for any woman of that time but Henry VIII loved his sister and he
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| 225 | agreed. Why? Partly because he loved her but also because he wanted her
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| 226 | to leave for France peacefully and willingly; and also, perhaps more troubling,
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| 227 | because she had confessed her secret love to him. It was none other than
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| 228 | his best friend, Charles Brandon. </font> </p>
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| 229 |
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| 230 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary had enjoyed unprecedented freedom
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| 231 | at Henry VIII's court. Just fourteen when her father died, she had spent
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| 232 | the next five years virtually unchaperoned in his hectic court, her brother
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| 233 | openly encouraging her participation in every event. In 1514, she was nineteen
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| 234 | years old, very beautiful, and very willful. She had developed an attachment
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| 235 | to Charles Brandon; she had known him all her life. It may have begun
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| 236 | as a child's awe of a robust, attractive man, successful in all sports
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| 237 | (so important at the Tudor court) and very charming. But it had changed
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| 238 | into something more and, by 1514, most of the king's inner circle knew
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| 239 | of her affection. There was no scandal, however. Mary believed her brother's
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| 240 | promise and married the aged Louis XII at Greenwich Palace on 13 August
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| 241 | 1514. The Duc de Longueville acted as the king's proxy in every respect;
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| 242 | he even lay down on a bed with Mary and touched her body with his naked
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| 243 | leg, thus 'consummating' the marriage.</font></p>
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| 244 |
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| 245 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary enjoyed herself at her wedding
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| 246 | festivities and its attendant celebrations. It would have been impossible
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| 247 | to feel otherwise. She had a splendid trousseau, marvelous jewels sent
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| 248 | over from France, and all the honors due to the queen of France. All contemporary
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| 249 | accounts remark on her great beauty, particularly her clear complexion and
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| 250 | long red-gold hair, the Tudor trademark. Her husband was eager to see
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| 251 | her, telling the English ambassador that he had many gifts for his bride
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| 252 | and expected a kiss for each one. </font> </p>
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| 253 |
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| 254 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary eventually traveled from Dover
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| 255 | to Boulogne on 2 October, after waiting weeks for stormy weather to end.
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| 256 | She actually left in the midst of more storms since Henry VIII had grown
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| 257 | bored waiting for them to end. Upon her departure, she kissed her brother
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| 258 | and reminded him of his promise about her future. Henry, eager to leave,
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| 259 | committed her to God and her husband and left. There were fourteen ships
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| 260 | in Mary's retinue but the weather was so terrible that only four reached
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| 261 | port on time; the rest docked at various ports on the French coast. Poor
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| 262 | Mary, suffering from seasickness and constant rain, was carried ashore by
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| 263 | one of her gentlemen, Sir Christopher Garnish. She journeyed from Montreuil
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| 264 | to Abbeville and contemporary chroniclers recorded her outfit; they were
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| 265 | much impressed with her beauty and charm. She wore cloth of gold on crimson
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| 266 | with tight sleeves in the English style and a hat of crimson silk which
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| 267 | she wore cocked over one eye. Her husband met her at a carefully arranged
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| 268 | 'accident' outside Abbeville and, on 9 October, they married in that city.
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| 269 | </font> </p>
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| 270 |
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| 271 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> The marriage lasted for eighty-two
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| 272 | days. On 31 December 1514, Louis died quite abruptly. Despite his ill
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| 273 | health, he had been notably active during his marriage. This may have contributed
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| 274 | to his demise; he boasted that on their wedding night, he had 'crossed
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| 275 | the river' three times. Before his death, he was visited by the duke of
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| 276 | Suffolk on a diplomatic trip and Charles wrote to Henry that his sister
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| 277 | was discreet and dignified. This undoubtedly relieved both men; they had
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| 278 | perhaps wondered how Mary would greet her true love. Mary, however, was
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| 279 | aware of her position as Queen of France and, during her brief marriage,
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| 280 | conducted herself with aplomb. </font> </p>
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| 281 |
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| 282 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> The King of France's death changed
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| 283 | her world considerably. Now a queen dowager in a foreign country she had
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| 284 | barely begun to settle in, she was suddenly pushed into strict seclusion
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| 285 | for 40 days. This was French custom; after all, the widowed queen might
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| 286 | be pregnant and the child's paternity must be certain. Mary was not pregnant
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| 287 | but she was sent to the Hotel de Cluny for her period of mourning, without
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| 288 | even the comfort of her English attendants. The new king, Francois, had
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| 289 | appointed several Frenchwomen to attend her and dismissed her women. May
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| 290 | was undoubtedly terrified. She was closed off from the world, shut behind
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| 291 | heavy black drapes, and once more a pawn for her brother. Would Henry
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| 292 | arrange another marriage or would he keep his promise? Frantic, Mary wrote
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| 293 | to him from Cluny in early January 1515, just two weeks after her husband's
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| 294 | death; she begged him to contact Francois and have her sent home to England
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| 295 | and reminded him: "Sir, I beseech your grace that you will keep all the
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| 296 | promises that you promised me when I took my leave of you by the waterside.
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| 297 | Sir, your grace knoweth well that I did marry for your pleasure at this
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| 298 | time and now I trust you will suffer me to marry as me liketh for to do...
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| 299 | wherefore I beseech your grace for to be a good lord and brother unto me."
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| 300 | If Henry did not keep his promise, Mary said she would enter a nunnery
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| 301 | and "never no man shall know joy of me." </font> </p>
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| 302 |
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| 303 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary also had to deal with visits
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| 304 | from the new French king, Francois I. He was twenty-one and knew the English-French
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| 305 | alliance was breaking down. He did not want Mary wed by Henry to some Hapsburg
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| 306 | prince. He suggested two of his own kinsmen as husbands and then hinted
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| 307 | that Henry was trying to marry her to Charles of Castile again. Alone
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| 308 | and in a fragile state, Mary was terribly frightened; Francois's words
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| 309 | touched on her greatest fears. She eventually confessed her love for Suffolk
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| 310 | to Francois. Surprisingly, she found him sympathetic and kind. He promised
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| 311 | to help secure her future happiness, a promise which Mary found generous
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| 312 | and Francois found opportunistic. For, by this time, he knew the duke
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| 313 | of Suffolk was on his way to France to bargain for Mary's return, specifically
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| 314 | the return of her jewels, plate, and dower rights. With the dowager queen's
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| 315 | confession, Francois had a powerful bargaining tool <i>and</i> peace of
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| 316 | mind - if Mary wed her English duke, she was no longer Henry's political
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| 317 | pawn. </font> </p>
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| 318 |
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| 319 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Charles had been sent to France by
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| 320 | Henry, specifically promising to keep his relations with the widow on a
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| 321 | formal basis. Henry had no reason to distrust him. Charles was his creation,
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| 322 | dependent on him for everything, and also ambitious. Why would he bite
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| 323 | the hand that so generously fed him? So Suffolk departed on his most important
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| 324 | mission ever; it was well-known that the matter would be complicated. The
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| 325 | French would not want to surrender any property to Mary and she would naturally
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| 326 | want her rightful share. Beyond that, perhaps Henry meant to keep his
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| 327 | promise. After all, he knew his sister's feelings - and now he sent her
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| 328 | true love to bring her home. But rattled by Francois's suggestions of
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| 329 | a Hapsburg marriage, Mary was set on a course which nearly ruined her and
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| 330 | Suffolk. </font> </p>
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| 331 |
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| 332 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Suffolk arrived on 27 January; five
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|---|
| 333 | days later, he met Francois at Senlis. Francois summoned Suffolk to a private
|
|---|
| 334 | audience and bluntly dropped his bombshell - the duke had come to marry
|
|---|
| 335 | the Dowager Queen, had he not? Poor Suffolk was taken aback and protested
|
|---|
| 336 | vehemently. Francois went on to share Mary's confession and reassure the
|
|---|
| 337 | duke. He was their friend, Francois said, and he would write to the English
|
|---|
| 338 | king and explain all. Suffolk took no chances; he dashed off his own account
|
|---|
| 339 | of the interview to Wolsey and then went to see Mary. It was a most emotional
|
|---|
| 340 | reunion. She accused him of taking her to England only to have her married
|
|---|
| 341 | off again against her will. He protested but she would have none of
|
|---|
| 342 | it. She issued an ultimatum - either marry me now or never marry me at
|
|---|
| 343 | all. There would be no better time, she said, for he had jealous enemies
|
|---|
| 344 | on the Privy Council who would prevent it in England. She had her brother's
|
|---|
| 345 | explicit promise that she could follow her heart and Henry knew her greatest
|
|---|
| 346 | desire. What was the risk for him, anyway? She was a princess and queen,
|
|---|
| 347 | very beautiful, and imperious. Why would any man deny her? Suffolk was
|
|---|
| 348 | understandably torn between his obedience to Henry and his desire for Mary.
|
|---|
| 349 | </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 350 |
|
|---|
| 351 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> But he was always ambitious and rarely
|
|---|
| 352 | foolish. He knew that Mary would be a great prize; after all, he harbored
|
|---|
| 353 | no overt dynastic ambitions but six years of marriage had produced no living
|
|---|
| 354 | child for Henry VIII. Perhaps Suffolk and Mary would create a new royal
|
|---|
| 355 | line. And she was a royal princess and queen, just twenty years old and
|
|---|
| 356 | madly in love with him. Suffolk was swayed by tears and ambition and, sometime
|
|---|
| 357 | in February 1515, they married secretly at the Cluny chapel. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 358 |
|
|---|
| 359 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> The consequences were rapid and hardly
|
|---|
| 360 | comforting. Francois demanded Suffolk's acquiescence in several disputes
|
|---|
| 361 | over Mary's dowry as payment for their 'secret.' Meanwhile, <a
|
|---|
| 362 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html">Wolsey</a>
|
|---|
| 363 | and Henry wanted the duke to be firm and reject all the French king's demands.
|
|---|
| 364 | Furthermore, news of the wedding was circulating throughout Paris and Mary
|
|---|
| 365 | suspected she might be pregnant. Suffolk knew he could no longer delay
|
|---|
| 366 | confession and wrote to Wolsey, now Archbishop of York. He wanted to
|
|---|
| 367 | arrange a more public wedding ceremony since he knew their secret wedding
|
|---|
| 368 | could easily be invalidated; certainly he knew that better than most. And
|
|---|
| 369 | he feared that the king's council was urging an annulment. Many didn't
|
|---|
| 370 | consider Suffolk a fit match for a princess and others wanted to promote
|
|---|
| 371 | pro-Hapsburg policy of which Mary's remarriage could play a part. </font>
|
|---|
| 372 | </p>
|
|---|
| 373 |
|
|---|
| 374 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> But most important was Henry's reaction.
|
|---|
| 375 | How would he consider the betrayal of his best friend and favorite sister?</font></p>
|
|---|
| 376 |
|
|---|
| 377 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 378 |
|
|---|
| 379 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 380 |
|
|---|
| 381 | <hr width="100%">
|
|---|
| 382 | <p><font face="Times New Roman">Henry's reaction was not favorable. Brandon
|
|---|
| 383 | had written to Wolsey for support and he received a prompt reply but it
|
|---|
| 384 | hardly comforted him; the king could not believe his most trusted friend
|
|---|
| 385 | had betrayed him but, if it were true, the newlyweds had to pay a stiff
|
|---|
| 386 | penalty - literally. They must pay back Mary's marriage portion in annual
|
|---|
| 387 | installments of 4000 pds, leaving her just 6000 pds to live on. She must
|
|---|
| 388 | return all the plate and jewels she had taken to France as her dowry as
|
|---|
| 389 | well as the many gifts King Louis had given her. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 390 |
|
|---|
| 391 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Beyond that, they must hasten to beg
|
|---|
| 392 | the king for forgiveness. Suffolk and Mary did just that, both blaming
|
|---|
| 393 | her for the hasty marriage. Suffolk wrote: "Sir, for the passion of God,
|
|---|
| 394 | let it not be in your heart against me, and rather than you should hold
|
|---|
| 395 | me in mistrust, strike off my head and let me not live." Mary knew her
|
|---|
| 396 | brother well so, along with her letter, she sent him the most sumptuous
|
|---|
| 397 | jewel Louis had given her - a diamond called the Mirror of Naples wwhich
|
|---|
| 398 | formed part of the French crown jewels. She assured her brother that she
|
|---|
| 399 | had not acted out of 'sensual appetite'; instead, she had been subject to
|
|---|
| 400 | 'consternation, fear and doubt' which made her force Suffolk's hand. Henry
|
|---|
| 401 | did not reply. Francois eventually allowed her to keep some of Louis's
|
|---|
| 402 | gifts and, on 16 April, they set out for the French coast. Mary wrote to
|
|---|
| 403 | Henry again at Calais, telling him that she was now under his jurisdiction
|
|---|
| 404 | since Calais was an English possession and that she would not sail for England
|
|---|
| 405 | until he gave permission. She reminded him of 'the great and tender love'
|
|---|
| 406 | they had always shared and promised to remain in Calais if that is what
|
|---|
| 407 | he wished. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 408 |
|
|---|
| 409 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> It was not. Henry sent permission
|
|---|
| 410 | for them to cross the Channel in early May and met them privately at the
|
|---|
| 411 | manor of Barking outside London. There is no record of that meeting, of
|
|---|
| 412 | course, and one must assume that Wolsey had perhaps exaggerated Henry's
|
|---|
| 413 | displeasure since he wanted Suffolk's gratitude. Henry was willing enough
|
|---|
| 414 | to forgive his best friend and favorite sister, <i>after</i> she turned
|
|---|
| 415 | over all her jewels and plate from France and signed a contract to repay
|
|---|
| 416 | the 24000 pds spent on her first marriage in the annual installments of
|
|---|
| 417 | 4000 pds. It was obvious that Henry was not surprised by the marriage;
|
|---|
| 418 | he was mostly angry at Suffolk for breaking his word.</font></p>
|
|---|
| 419 |
|
|---|
| 420 | <p> <img border="2"
|
|---|
| 421 | src="brandonpage1.jpg"
|
|---|
| 422 | alt="another version of the Brandon marriage portrait" align="left"
|
|---|
| 423 | width="300" height="363">
|
|---|
| 424 | </p>
|
|---|
| 425 |
|
|---|
| 426 | <p> <font face="Times New Roman"> Suffolk and Mary were wed again
|
|---|
| 427 | at Greenwich Palace on 13 May with Henry and <a
|
|---|
| 428 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html">Katharine of
|
|---|
| 429 | Aragon</a> in attendance. There was feasting and celebration but it was
|
|---|
| 430 | strictly a family affair and foreign ambassadors wondered if they should
|
|---|
| 431 | congratulate the couple. After all, the situation was odd and there were
|
|---|
| 432 | some (mostly on the king's council) who disapproved of the match. But,
|
|---|
| 433 | for the most part, there were no hard feelings or grudges. Suffolk was
|
|---|
| 434 | a popular man, good-looking and charming, and few - even in Tudor England
|
|---|
| 435 | - could resist such a grand love story. After all, they had risked everything
|
|---|
| 436 | to be together. Before long, the Suffolks were back in the king's good
|
|---|
| 437 | graces. They are recorded as extending all the great court celebrations
|
|---|
| 438 | of the next few years. Mary's pregnancy in France had been a false alarm
|
|---|
| 439 | but she did become pregnant a few months later. In fact, she was now pregnant
|
|---|
| 440 | along with her sister-in-law Katharine. Due to the queen's history of
|
|---|
| 441 | miscarriages and stillbirths, few were hopeful of the outcome; but, on 18
|
|---|
| 442 | February 1516, she gave birth to her only surviving child, a princess called
|
|---|
| 443 | Mary after her aunt. The new duchess of Suffolk, however, was more fortunate
|
|---|
| 444 | - on 11 March 1516, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy called Henry after
|
|---|
| 445 | the king. Henry and Wolsey stood as the child's godfathers. </font>
|
|---|
| 446 | </p>
|
|---|
| 447 |
|
|---|
| 448 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary and Henry's older sister Margaret
|
|---|
| 449 | of Scotland visited that summer, bringing her six-month-old daughter, Lady
|
|---|
| 450 | Margaret Douglas. She had been in Scotland for thirteen years but her visit
|
|---|
| 451 | was pleasant enough. Henry had never tired of lecturing Margaret on morality
|
|---|
| 452 | (she had married the Earl of Angus after James of Scotland's death at Flodden);
|
|---|
| 453 | this, of course, is laughable when one considers his own matrimonial career.
|
|---|
| 454 | But Margaret's visit was some ten years before Anne Boleyn entered Henry's
|
|---|
| 455 | life. In 1516, the king was just seven years into his reign, still handsome
|
|---|
| 456 | and bluff. Still, Margaret had little in common with her siblings after
|
|---|
| 457 | her years away; also, her first husband had been killed by the English at
|
|---|
| 458 | Flodden Field. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 459 |
|
|---|
| 460 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary Tudor was far closer to her foreign
|
|---|
| 461 | sister-in-law than to Margaret. After all, she and Katharine had spent
|
|---|
| 462 | their formative years together. When, in 1517, Katharine went on a pilgrimage
|
|---|
| 463 | to pray for a son, Mary accompanied her. Both Mary and Brandon understood
|
|---|
| 464 | the queen's heartfelt desire to bear her husband a prince and successor
|
|---|
| 465 | and were sympathetic supporters. There was a passing cloud in 1516 - Mary's
|
|---|
| 466 | revenues from France had fallen off and she was behind in payment of her
|
|---|
| 467 | debt - but the cloud passed quickly. In early summer 1517, they were at
|
|---|
| 468 | Richmond Palace again. Mary was once more pregnant and, on 16 July 1517,
|
|---|
| 469 | she went into labor on her way home. A daughter was born, called Frances
|
|---|
| 470 | after the French king; the Suffolks had another daughter, Eleanor, in
|
|---|
| 471 | 1519. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 472 |
|
|---|
| 473 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> In 1518, Mary and Suffolk were at
|
|---|
| 474 | court again, attending the betrothal of the infant Princess Mary to the
|
|---|
| 475 | infant dauphin of France. And they attended the famous Field of Cloth of
|
|---|
| 476 | Gold at Guines, near Calais in 1520. Mary was widely considered the most
|
|---|
| 477 | beautiful woman there. A French admiral commented, "Madame, you are the
|
|---|
| 478 | rose of Christendom. You should have stayed in France. We would have appreciated
|
|---|
| 479 | you." Mary was now in her mid-twenties and, when Katharine of Aragon was
|
|---|
| 480 | pregnant or ill, acted as her brother's hostess. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 481 |
|
|---|
| 482 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Back in England, however, things began
|
|---|
| 483 | to change. In the new year of 1522, Mary first met <a
|
|---|
| 484 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn.html">Anne Boleyn</a>.
|
|---|
| 485 | She knew Anne's older sister Mary quite well for she had been one of her
|
|---|
| 486 | ladies-in-waiting when Mary Tudor wed Louis XII in France. She had also
|
|---|
| 487 | remained in France until dismissed by Francois. Anne wanted to join Queen
|
|---|
| 488 | Katharine's household as a lady-in-waiting, a much-sought-after position.
|
|---|
| 489 | It is likely that Mary repaid Mary Boleyn's service by helping Anne.
|
|---|
| 490 | Certainly she may have liked the girl; Anne had spent time at the French
|
|---|
| 491 | court and was fashionable and high-spirited, much like Mary. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 492 |
|
|---|
| 493 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Anne entered Katharine's service but
|
|---|
| 494 | was sent home in disgrace for three years. In just a matter of months,
|
|---|
| 495 | she had managed to attract the attention of Henry Percy, heir to the powerful
|
|---|
| 496 | Earl of Northmberland. The young couple entered into an understanding but
|
|---|
| 497 | Percy was under the guardianship of Wolsey. The king's most trusted advisor
|
|---|
| 498 | and Percy's powerful father were understandably angry at the secret romance.
|
|---|
| 499 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-percy.html">Anne and Percy were
|
|---|
| 500 | brought to heel</a>; there were better matches for him and she had overstepped
|
|---|
| 501 | her bounds. Anne was openly furious, so much that she was banished from
|
|---|
| 502 | court. However, she was allowed back in late 1525, around the time that
|
|---|
| 503 | Henry VIII was first beginning to contemplate his lack of heirs. </font>
|
|---|
| 504 | </p>
|
|---|
| 505 |
|
|---|
| 506 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Katharine of Aragon had delivered
|
|---|
| 507 | the Princess Mary in 1516, when she was thirty-one years old. Since then,
|
|---|
| 508 | there had been no other surviving children. In 1525, she was forty and
|
|---|
| 509 | it was obvious she would have no further children. Her husband was nervous;
|
|---|
| 510 | his dynasty was just forty years old. It would not survive with just one
|
|---|
| 511 | princess as heir. He knew the problem was not his fault - after all, in
|
|---|
| 512 | 1519, a mistress called Bessie Blount had born a son. In summer 1525, this
|
|---|
| 513 | child, called Henry Fitzroy, was made the duke of Richmond and Somerset.
|
|---|
| 514 | Suffolk was present at the grand ceremony. Katharine was normally a patient,
|
|---|
| 515 | dignified wife but the lavish ceremony, involving all the important nobility,
|
|---|
| 516 | offended her. She argued with Henry, telling him it insulted her and their
|
|---|
| 517 | daughter Mary. Henry was unused to such criticism and responded by dismissing
|
|---|
| 518 | three of her favorite ladies. The Suffolks were not critical of their benefactor
|
|---|
| 519 | since Henry had created his nephew the Earl of Lincoln at the same ceremony.
|
|---|
| 520 | Also, Mary's repayment of her debt was still in limbo. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 521 |
|
|---|
| 522 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> She was also in failing health. She
|
|---|
| 523 | had suffered through the sweating sickness in 1518 and never completely
|
|---|
| 524 | recovered. She may also have been exhibiting the first signs of the disease
|
|---|
| 525 | which eventually killed her; most historians believe it was cancer. She
|
|---|
| 526 | was present at several court functions over the next few years (a summer
|
|---|
| 527 | 1526 party for European ambassadors, for example) but came to court with
|
|---|
| 528 | less and less frequency. Her physical condition was deteriorating but
|
|---|
| 529 | she was also uncomfortable with her brother's course of action. </font>
|
|---|
| 530 | </p>
|
|---|
| 531 |
|
|---|
| 532 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> In 1527, Henry's infatuation with
|
|---|
| 533 | Anne Boleyn had begun. He was determined to annul his marriage to Katharine,
|
|---|
| 534 | arguing that it had never been legal in the first place. He asserted that
|
|---|
| 535 | Katharine and Arthur had consummated their marriage and, once again, his
|
|---|
| 536 | old friend Suffolk acted in the king's interest. He dug out some heretofore-lost
|
|---|
| 537 | memories that hinted at consummation. Meanwhile, Wolsey had lost Henry's
|
|---|
| 538 | trust because of the many delays in the annulment; the king used Suffolk
|
|---|
| 539 | to openly attack his once powerful advisor. At a public hearing on the
|
|---|
| 540 | case, Suffolk banged his fist on the table and shouted "It was never merry
|
|---|
| 541 | in England whilst we had cardinals among us." Of course, Suffolk would
|
|---|
| 542 | not have dared to attack Wolsey without Henry's implicit support. It was
|
|---|
| 543 | the downfall of the Cardinal. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 544 |
|
|---|
| 545 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> In 1531, Henry banished Katharine
|
|---|
| 546 | of Aragon from court. He and Anne were constantly together and he made
|
|---|
| 547 | no secret of his intention to marry her. The Suffolks were not happy about
|
|---|
| 548 | this but what could they do? They depended on Henry for everything. Mary
|
|---|
| 549 | made a cutting remark about Anne sometime in early 1532 and refused to accompany
|
|---|
| 550 | Henry and Anne on a state visit to France. Her husband warned Henry that
|
|---|
| 551 | Anne may have slept with Sir Thomas Wyatt. But that is all they dared.
|
|---|
| 552 | They were concerned about their own family. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 553 |
|
|---|
| 554 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> By this time, Suffolk's daughters
|
|---|
| 555 | with Anne Browne were wed to titled men. His eldest daughter with Mary,
|
|---|
| 556 | the lady Frances, was engaged to Henry Grey third Marquess of Dorset, descendent
|
|---|
| 557 | of the famous <a
|
|---|
| 558 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/plant/queens/elizwood.html">Elizabeth
|
|---|
| 559 | Woodville</a>; before Edward IV, she had been married to a Grey and had
|
|---|
| 560 | two sons by him. It was from the elder son that Henry Grey was descended.
|
|---|
| 561 | Frances and Henry were the parents of <a
|
|---|
| 562 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/janegrey.html">Lady Jane
|
|---|
| 563 | Grey</a>. The celebration of Frances's wedding to Henry Grey was held at
|
|---|
| 564 | the Suffolk home in London. It was Mary's last visit to the city. She
|
|---|
| 565 | was increasingly ill and also uncomfortable with her brother. His favor
|
|---|
| 566 | was no longer certain. He had married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in a secret
|
|---|
| 567 | ceremony. Suffolk was put in charge of the new queen's <a
|
|---|
| 568 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/primary.html">coronation</a>.
|
|---|
| 569 | Therefore, he was not with his wife when she passed away quietly at their
|
|---|
| 570 | home in Westhorpe on 26 June 1533. She was thirty-eight years old. Her
|
|---|
| 571 | death was not considered important news since most people were concerned
|
|---|
| 572 | with the impending birth of Anne Boleyn's child, destined to be <a
|
|---|
| 573 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz1.html">Elizabeth I</a>.
|
|---|
| 574 | Mary had seen her husband in early May but his duties kept him busy; it
|
|---|
| 575 | was a hurried visit and she simply wasted away in the next few weeks. </font>
|
|---|
| 576 | </p>
|
|---|
| 577 |
|
|---|
| 578 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Her brother ordered requiem masses
|
|---|
| 579 | to be sung at Westminster Abbey but showed no other sign of mourning. He
|
|---|
| 580 | was, after all, in the midst of the Reformation. Charles Brandon did not
|
|---|
| 581 | attend the funeral but it was a marvelous affair. The coffin lay in state
|
|---|
| 582 | for a month at Westhorpe and was interred at the church of Bury St Edmunds
|
|---|
| 583 | on 22 July. The abbey church and her monument were destroyed during the
|
|---|
| 584 | dissolution of the monasteries. Her coffin was saved, however, and moved
|
|---|
| 585 | to a nearby church called St Mary. In 1784, it was moved yet again within
|
|---|
| 586 | that church. The movers ghoulishly opened the coffin; they found a good
|
|---|
| 587 | set of teeth and two feet of hair which was still red-gold. Souvenir hunters
|
|---|
| 588 | cut off pieces of the hair. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 589 |
|
|---|
| 590 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Mary's death was perhaps most mourned
|
|---|
| 591 | in Suffolk county where she had been a popular and respected figure. Her
|
|---|
| 592 | husband replaced her quickly enough - and, as was typical of Brandon, with
|
|---|
| 593 | aplomb. He decided to marry his son's betrothed. The girl was called Catherine
|
|---|
| 594 | Willoughby and she as a baroness in her own right, heiress to 15000 ducats
|
|---|
| 595 | a year. She was also just fourteen-years-old, the same age as his youngest
|
|---|
| 596 | child. Brandon himself was almost fifty. But he needed money badly
|
|---|
| 597 | and she was very rich; he married her quite rapidly. The exact date is unknown.
|
|---|
| 598 | His and Mary's son, the eighteen-year-old Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln,
|
|---|
| 599 | would be betrothed elsewhere easily enough. But that was not to be. After
|
|---|
| 600 | his father's wedding, the young earl died, probably of the Tudor scourge,
|
|---|
| 601 | tuberculosis. Brandon was not particularly grieved; six months after his
|
|---|
| 602 | death, he and Catherine had a son and named him Henry Brandon. This usage
|
|---|
| 603 | of a dead child's name was common practice in England. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 604 |
|
|---|
| 605 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Suffolk remained in Henry's favor.
|
|---|
| 606 | The king gave his old friend the unpleasant task of persuading Katharine
|
|---|
| 607 | of Aragon to accept the break with Rome and the new title Princess Dowager.
|
|---|
| 608 | He was also to move her to Somersham near Cambridge, a manor known for
|
|---|
| 609 | its dank and unhealthy atmosphere. Katharine would not be bullied; she
|
|---|
| 610 | told Suffolk that he would have to bind her in ropes if he wanted to move
|
|---|
| 611 | her anywhere. After a week of such talks, Suffolk left, having accomplished
|
|---|
| 612 | precious little. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 613 |
|
|---|
| 614 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> He never saw Katharine again. He
|
|---|
| 615 | did attend all the momentous events of the 1530s - he sat at the trials
|
|---|
| 616 | of <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/more.html">Thomas More</a>
|
|---|
| 617 | and Anne Boleyn, he was even present at the scaffold when <a
|
|---|
| 618 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/primary.html">she was beheaded</a>.
|
|---|
| 619 | He also helped lead forces to end the <a
|
|---|
| 620 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/primary.html">Pilgrimage of Grace</a>,
|
|---|
| 621 | one of the most serious problems of Henry's reign. Meanwhile, his wife
|
|---|
| 622 | gave birth to a second son called Charles and his daughter Frances, after
|
|---|
| 623 | two still-births, gave birth to a healthy baby girl, named <a
|
|---|
| 624 | href="http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/janegrey.html">Jane Grey</a>,
|
|---|
| 625 | probably after Queen Jane Seymour. The exact date of birth is not known,
|
|---|
| 626 | but it was probably October and eclipsed by the birth - finally! - of Henry's
|
|---|
| 627 | son, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html">Prince
|
|---|
| 628 | Edward</a>. Suffolk acted as godfather to the new prince. </font> </p>
|
|---|
| 629 |
|
|---|
| 630 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> The last years of his life were quite
|
|---|
| 631 | happy. He and Catherine Willoughby were affectionate, they had two healthy
|
|---|
| 632 | sons, and the dissolution of the monasteries allowed the king to grant him
|
|---|
| 633 | more lands and pensions. He and his wife entertained the king and his
|
|---|
| 634 | new wife <a
|
|---|
| 635 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/howard.html">Catherine
|
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| 636 | Howard</a>; and, of course, Suffolk was one the men who arrested and extracted
|
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| 637 | a confession from that queen. He died quite suddenly on 22 August 1545,
|
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| 638 | his last official business being plans for an invasion of France. But
|
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| 639 | he was sixty years old, a good age at the time, and - once the news was
|
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| 640 | known - it was not suurprising.</font></p>
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| 641 |
|
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| 642 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> Suffolk requested a quiet funeral
|
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| 643 | but the king would have none of it - he ordered a lavish ceremony at St
|
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| 644 | George's Chapel in Windsor. Henry planned and paid for the service. It
|
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| 645 | was undoubtedly an emotional occasion for him; after all, Charles Brandon
|
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| 646 | had been his companion for virtually his entire life. In fact, Suffolk
|
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| 647 | was one of the few men who could still remember the Bluff King Hal of legend.
|
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| 648 | Henry was now overweight, bald, and suffering from a variety of physical
|
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| 649 | ailments. He would only outlive his friend by about eighteen months. In
|
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| 650 | that time, he had good cause to regret the death of his one true friend.</font></p>
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| 651 |
|
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| 652 | <center>
|
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| 653 | <p> </p>
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| 654 |
|
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| 655 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"> <a
|
|---|
| 656 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/janegrey.html">Learn about
|
|---|
| 657 | Charles and Mary's granddaughter, Lady Jane Grey, who was queen of England
|
|---|
| 658 | for nine days in 1553</a>.</font></p>
|
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| 659 |
|
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| 660 | <p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="-1"><a
|
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| 661 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relatives.html">to Tudor Relatives</a></font><br>
|
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| 662 | <font size="-1"><a
|
|---|
| 663 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens.html">to Tudor Citizens</a></font></font></p>
|
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| 664 |
|
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| 665 | <p><font size="-1" face="Times New Roman"><a
|
|---|
| 666 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html"> to Tudor England<br>
|
|---|
| 667 | </a></font></p>
|
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| 668 |
|
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| 669 | <p><font size="-1" face="Times New Roman"><a
|
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| 670 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html"><br>
|
|---|
| 671 | </a></font></p>
|
|---|
| 672 | </center>
|
|---|
| 673 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 674 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 675 | <br>
|
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| 676 | <script type="text/javascript"><!--
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| 679 | google_ad_slot = "6531007903";
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| 680 | google_ad_width = 468;
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| 681 | google_ad_height = 60;
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| 683 | </script>
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| 684 | <script type="text/javascript"
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| 685 | src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
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| 686 | </script>
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| 687 | </body>
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| 688 | </html>
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