The Tudor Brandons

by Sarah-Beth Watkins

  While Charles was learning the ways of the court and how to be a loyal servant to the king, a princess was born who would later shape his life. Princess Mary came into the world on 18 March 1496, five years after her brother Henry, at Sheen Palace (later known as Richmond Palace) on the banks of the River Thames – the favourite home of Henry VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York. The palace would be almost burnt to the ground a year later whilst the family were in residence and Mary would be bundled from the nursery into the grounds watching as the flames lit the Surrey skyline.

  Ordinary days were spent in the royal nursery at Eltham where Mary played with her older siblings, brother Henry and sister, Margaret; Arthur, her oldest brother and heir to the crown, having being moved to his own household. Her mother had recently lost her fourth child, also called Elizabeth, and the nursery must have seemed bare without the young princess’s presence. Mary filled that gap by being a lively and precocious baby, but her arrival doesn’t seem to have been particularly marked or celebrated. Elizabeth Denton ran the nursery for a time until Anne Cromer took over to keep charge of the young royals. A French maiden also joined the nursery in 1498 to teach the girls, Margaret and Mary, their French lessons. This was probably Jane Popincourt, a maid of honour from the French court, who would remain with Mary for many years.

  Mary’s own household was soon formed of ‘waiting-women and gentlewomen, &c., a wardrobe-keeper and a schoolmaster, receiving each 66s. 8d. a quarter, and a physician who had a salary of 1s. 5d. per day’.3 Her education at such a young age began with studying languages, French and Latin, and learning the ways of a lady at court including music and dance. Mary had an ear for music and showed great promise in playing the lute, a gift from her father, and later the clavichord and regal, a small type of organ.

  A wardrobe warrant of 1499 ordered befitting clothes for the Princess – ‘a gown of green velvet, edged with purple tinsel, and lined with black buck ram; a gown of black velvet, edged with crimson; kirtles of tawny damask and black satin, edged with black velvet; and two pairs of knitted hosen’.4 The next year a dress of crimson velvet was ordered, requiring 4½ ells of material and also a dress of blue velvet, and another of black, furred with ermine. Mary dressed and acted as a quintessential Tudor princess.

  The world was watching as she grew up and at the age of two years old, an offer was made for Mary’s hand in marriage. Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, told his ambassador in England ‘as his Majesty has two daughters, and we understand that the younger is of an age corresponding to that of the Count of Pavia, our firstborn, you will tell his Highness that if it pleases him to give his younger daughter as wife to the Count, we shall gladly receive her as our daughter-in-law’.5 But it didn’t please Henry, and he refused to consider any match for his daughter until she was at least seven. Two years later, he would change his mind. In 1500, Henry VII met with Philip, the Duke of Burgundy, at Calais. Amongst their agreements, negotiations were started for Prince Henry to wed Philip’s daughter Eleanor and for Mary to wed his son, Charles, who was only four months old at the time.

  Meanwhile the other Charles, who would truly capture Mary’s heart, was learning how to be a man at court. When he wasn’t attending the king, Charles was learning how to be the ultimate pleasure-seeking courtier, excelling in hunting, socialising and jousting. His uncle Thomas had been knighted after the Battle of Blackheath in 1497 and Charles’ grandmother, the wife of Sir William Brandon, had died the same year. Her will is the last time that Charles’ older brother William is mentioned along with Charles and their sister, Anne. Sir Thomas inherited the Brandon house in Southwark and here Charles was taken under his wing. Thomas was a keen jouster and became Master of the Horse in 1499, encouraging Charles’ love of the tournament. The joust would be where Charles showed his true skills, not only of horsemanship but of friendship and devotion to Mary’s older brother, the young Prince Henry.

  Edward IV had loved the Burgundian way of tournaments, jousts, festivals, huge banquets and celebrations. Burgundy was far bigger than it is now, and encompassed the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Northern France. It was the epicentre of chivalry, known worldwide for its lavish ceremonies and extravagant tournaments. In 1430, the Duke of Burgundy created the Order of the Golden Fleece and defined the twelve chivalric virtues that its knights should abide by as Faith, Charity, Justice, Sagacity, Prudence, Temperance, Resolution, Truth, Liberality, Diligence, Hope and Valour – values that all knights could aspire to across the European royal courts.

  At Henry VII’s court, the ideal of chivalrous knights still held true. Henry VII read heroic, chivalrous Franco-Burgandian stories and enjoyed the chivalric tales produced by William Caxton’s first printing press, including Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, published in 1485. His palaces were decorated with Arthurian images, reviving tales of chivalry and romance. His first born was named for Arthur, the one true king of England, and it was hoped that he would embody chivalric tradition and rightful kingship from the moment of his birth at Winchester, legendary home of King Arthur’s Round Table.

  All hope for an ongoing Tudor dynasty was pinned on the prince. In 1501, he married the Spanish princess, Katherine of Aragon in a ceremony for which Henry VII had spared no expense. After their wedding in old St Paul’s Cathedral, there were two weeks of celebration including a most lavish and extravagant tournament. Charles served Arthur on the morning after his wedding – something he would later have to testify to – and jousted for the first time at the marriage celebrations, already receiving admiring glances from the gathered ladies.

  Hall’s Chronicle tells us that:

  Then shortely after the kynge and the quene with the new wedded spouses went from Baynardes castell by water to Westmynster, on whome the Mayre & comminaltye of London, in Barges garnished with standardes, strerners and penons of their deuice, gaue their attendaunce. And there in the paleys were suche marciall feates, suche valiaunt iustes, suche vygorous turneys, suche fierce fight at the barreyers, as before that tyme was of no man bad in remembraunce. Of thys royall triumphe lord Eduarde duke of Buckynghatn was chiefe chalengeour, and lorde Thomas Grey Marques dorcet was chiefe defepdoure which wyth their aydes and compaygnions, bare theim selfes so valyauntly that they obteyned great laude and honoure, bothe of the Spanyardes and of their countrymen.

  In time Charles would be chief challenger at the jousts and defender too. The joust was his sport, the tiltyard his playfield. Based on the Burgundian model, Henry VII invigorated and dramatized what used to be a military practice, calling for decorative pageant cars, symbolic disguises for the participants and shields to be displayed on a Tree of Chivalry. The court came alive in theatrical fashion for such celebrations. In honour of the royal wedding, the Earl of Essex entered the jousts in a pageant car pulled by a red dragon, whereas William Courtenay’s pageant car was a red dragon itself – Henry’s banner image – and was pulled by a giant. Charles himself was dressed in ‘an oriental costume such as St Palomides might have worn in Malory’s Morte d’Arthur, the guise of a Turk or a Saracen, with a white roll of fine linen cloth about his head, the ends hanging pendant wise’.6 Drama and the joust were now entwined and it would be where Charles was truly in his element.

  There were more celebrations in January 1502 for the proxy marriage of Princess Margaret – Mary’s sister – to James IV of Scotland, which included a joust at Richmond. But nothing was yet decided about Mary. The agreement Henry VII had made with Philip, Duke of Burgundy, had stalled when the duke swapped his allegiance from England to France arranging his son’s marriage to King Louis’ daughter, Claude, instead of the princess. In an age where women were pawns to be used to make political alliances, Mary was being negotiated for and then spurned before she even knew it. Her marriage must have been the furthest thing from her father’s mind however when they heard the most devastating news. On 2 April 1502, Arthur had died at Ludlow castle. As Prince of Wales, he had been sent to the Welsh borders, a dan
k and wet environment, with his wife, Katherine. Arthur had been suffering poor health for some time, but in March, both the prince and his wife became ill. Only Katherine recovered. The son Henry VII had lost was meant to be the next Arthur, a king of legend, but now there was only Prince Henry to inherit the throne. It would be some time before any more tournaments or other celebrations were held.

  A further blow to the family came on 11 February 1503. Elizabeth of York, queen and mother, died, just nine days after giving birth to a baby girl, Katherine, who had also died at just eight days old. The princesses were left without a mother but their grandmother, the formidable Lady Margaret Beaufort, stepped into the breach, helping her namesake Margaret to prepare for her wedding to the Scottish king and guiding the bereft Mary.

  On 5 July Princess Margaret left her sister behind in the nursery to begin married life. She travelled at first to Lady Margaret Beaufort’s house at Collyweston with the king. Saying goodbye to her father and grandmother there, she was entrusted into the care of the Earl of Surrey for her thirty-three day progress to Edinburgh and her new life as the new Queen of the Scotland.

  Now there was only one eligible Tudor princess left at Henry’s court.

  Charles’ command of a horse, displayed at his first joust when he was just seventeen, and the training and encouragement his uncle Thomas gave him, led to his first real career rise. In 1503, he became Master of Horse to the Earl of Essex, Henry Bourchier. Essex’s house in Knightrider Street was known as ‘a centre of education for young courtiers’.7 But it was also a place where young couples met and romance blossomed.

  Charles was a dashing figure on a horse – and off it. He had grown into a handsome young man, broad of shoulder, dark haired, athletic and tall. Charles told his friend, Walter Devereux, whom he had grown up with serving Henry VI, that he was in love, and ‘resorted mu che to the company of Anne Browne’.8 Anne was another member of Essex’s household although Charles probably met her at court as she worked alongside his aunt Mary Redyng as a maid of honour to Henry VII’s queen, Elizabeth of York, from Michaelmas 1502, for the small salary of £5 a year, until the queen’s death in 1503. Anne was the only child of Sir Anthony Browne by his first wife, Eleanor Ughtred. During the reign of Henry VII, Sir Anthony was Standard-Bearer of England, Constable of Calais and Governor of Queenborough Castle. After the loss of his wife, he married Lucy Neville, niece of Warwick the Kingmaker. Anne came with connections and was a reasonable match for an up and coming courtier. Charles was swept away on the tide of his feelings for her, his first flush of young love.

  Prince Henry had moved into the royal household after a secluded existence at Eltham Palace, leaving his sister Mary behind, the only child left in the royal nursery. He had been created Prince of Wales on 18 February 1504 at Westminster and before he went on summer progress with Henry VII, his father employed four ‘spears’ for him – a personal bodyguard of noble men – including Maurice St John who had served his brother, Arthur. As well as his spears, Henry had ‘henchmen’ – young pages who served him. Boys like Edward Neville, Henry Courtenay, Nicholas Carew (all later executed for treason) surrounded the prince and provided fun and entertainment as well as being sparring partners. But amongst all of Henry’s attendants Charles stood out. Six years older than Henry, Charles taught the prince jousting techniques in the tiltyard. When the prince’s academic education finished he rushed outside to learn military skills and martial arts, enjoying the freedom of exercise every day. Charles was the big brother to look up to and learn from. But perhaps not to copy in the ways of love.

  Charles was betrothed to Anne Browne per verba licentiate presenti – by words of present assent – in 1505, a form of common law marriage consented to by both parties but without authorisation from the church or legal authorities. The Earl of Essex was possibly in attendance, but it was not an official engagement nor did it continue onto marriage at this time even though his betrothed was pregnant. His treatment of Anne was a far cry from the chivalric virtues of a knight in shining armour.

  In the same year of his unofficial betrothal, Charles jousted at Richmond again, the first joust after a period of mourning for Prince Arthur. A tournament could last weeks, but on a daily basis the tournament could include jousting, riding at the ring and foot combat displays. The joust saw each knight riding on the right hand side of a 4ft high tilt barrier, his lance carried in his right hand, as he tried to hit his opponent for around six courses. Points were scored on where the lance struck. Changes in the type of lance used meant it was less damaging for the jousters but there were still injuries. A knight needed to absorb the blows and stay in their saddles to be claimed the victor. Something Charles was well able to do.

  Jousts were not just celebratory entertainments. They were a way to show wealth and power. Henry VII, although known for being austere and strict, knew the value of showing his kingship and authority through tournaments which were held throughout his reign. One of the most spectacular was in honour of Philip of Burgundy or Philip the Handsome and his wife, Joanna of Castile, Katherine of Aragon’s sister, who had been shipwrecked off the coast of Dorset near Weymouth on their way to Spain to claim their right to the lands of Castile.

  Charles’ uncle Thomas had been sent out to greet them and escort them to the king. It was an unexpected visit but one Henry VII would make the most of. Relations with Philip were tenuous. He had called off the marriage of his son to Mary and he had given his support to the traitor Suffolk. The Duke of Suffolk at this time was Edmund de la Pole, the son of Edward IV’s sister, Elizabeth. After Prince Arthur died, Henry VII had become more suspicious of the known Yorkists in his realm and those that might challenge his crown. Edmund, known as the ‘White Rose’ was a threat along with his brothers, William and Richard. A fourth brother, Humphrey was a monk and therefore nonpolitical and safe. William was imprisoned and Richard fled to the continent but Edmund was continually stirring up support for his claim as the rightful king of England. He had fled to the court of Philip’s father, Maximilian, the Holy Roman Emperor, but by 1505, he was in the Duke of Burgundy’s custody.

  Henry distrusted Philip and wanted him where he could see him, ultimately to sign a treaty ensuring his fidelity and the return of Suffolk. The royal couple were guests to impress but also hostages until the treaty had been signed. The Treaty of Windsor, also called the Malus Intercursus, was a defence agreement. It recognised Philip and his wife as the King and Queen of Castile and included Suffolk’s return to England along with other rebels. Ever the astute king, Henry also included trade arrangements. It allowed English merchants to import duty free cloth to the Low Countries which spurred the Netherlands to coin it the ‘evil agreement’.

  Early in 1506, Henry and Philip agreed on the finer points of the treaty and it was duly signed. In celebration, and to conclude the duke’s stay of nearly three months, a joust was held at Richmond. Philips’ men, the formidable Burgundian jousters were known as the best, shining knights of chivalry. They were challenging opponents for Charles and his contemporaries and truly put their skills to the test. The crown purchased four ounces of gold so that Henry VII could give gifts of gold rings to the winners, and the young Prince Henry watched on as Charles once again showed off his expertise. Charles was by now listed as one of Henry’s spears and was paid £6 9s 4d for his part in the jousts along with nine other spears including Maurice St John, Edward Neville, John Car, William Par and Christopher Willoughby.9 Prince Henry even had a new horse for the occasion and although he didn’t joust – he was too precious to risk – he showed off his horsemanship before Philip, a man he had grown to admire.

  Mary was also trotted out to meet the duke. The marriage arrangement for his son Charles to marry Claude had fallen through when King Louis decided another match was more appropriate and a revived match with Mary now seemed possible. Mary seemed to enjoy her time as first lady of the court. Although she missed her mother and her older sister who was now in Scotland, she entertained t
he gathered court by dancing and singing – ‘And after that my lady Mary had danced two or three dances she went and sat by my lady princess upon the end of the carpet which was under the cloth of estate and near where the king and the king of Castile stood’ and continued to entertain the court by playing both the clavichord and the lute. Mary ‘played very well, and she was of all folks there greatly praised that of her youth in everything she behaved herself so very well’.10

  There is no record of further negotiations for Mary to marry Charles although it was reported in Venice that ‘The ambassador has also given Quirini to understand that another marriage is being negotiated between the Duke Charles, Prince of Spain, the King of Castile’s eldest son, and an infant daughter of the King of England, and that he considers it settled’.11

  The May celebrations in the same year ran from 14th – 21st at Greenwich. In a dramatic entrance, a letter was presented to the Princess Mary and read out to the spectators. Lady May spoke of a tournament held in February (for Philip) in honour of her enemy, Winter. Now she called upon her knights to defend her honour ‘in exercise of chivalry’.12 Charles was one such knight, but as one of Prince Henry’s spears was already borrowing 10 marks to be repaid from his wages. Jousts were a chance for the men of the court to show off their wealth, even if they had to borrow to afford them. Jousting was a costly business with at least one horse needed, highly decorated, an impressive suit of armour, lances, colourful livery for the knight’s retainers and the organisation and production of a dramatic entrance.