The Tudor Brandons

by Sarah-Beth Watkins

  And the cost to the crown was huge, the ground needed to be prepared, a tilt barrier erected if it wasn’t a permanent fixture, stands built for the spectators, especially the royals, decorations and pageant displays as well as rewards for the victors. Displays of chivalry were an expensive business.

  Unbeknownst to Mary, Charles was not such a chivalrous knight away from the tiltyard. Anne, his betrothed, bore a daughter, also named Anne in 1506 but she was borne out of wedlock and Charles was already looking elsewhere. His love for Anne had burned fast and hard and his next conquest would be loved just for her money. Charles left the spurned Anne to one side, and married her aunt, Margaret Mortimer instead. Margaret was almost twenty years his senior and a rich widower. Anne’s family were furious and they began legal proceedings against Charles. His wandering eye and lust for money and power would have consequences. Poor Anne in the meantime probably returned to her family home at Betchworth in Surrey.

  The jousts in May and June 1507 were held at Kennington, the prince’s residence, two miles south of London Bridge. Henry VII was ill – his health was in decline – but he rallied at times and stayed either at Richmond or at Greenwich, always having Prince Henry close by, although the young prince was allowed to organise this tournament himself. Charles was in attendance too as an esquire of the body to Henry VII. In May, Charles, William Hussey, Giles Capel and Thomas Knyvet challenged all comers to combat including ‘jousts, archery, tourneying on foot with sword and spear, wrestling and casting of the bar’.13 They entered the joust as Lady May’s knights dressed in green with the lady’s cockleshell badge around their necks.

  The drama again centred on the Lady May whose letter was read out:

  Most highe and excellent Princesses, vnder your patient supportacion I, which am called the Ladye Maie in all monethes of the yeare to lustye hearts most pleasant, certifye your Highnes howe that vnder signe and seale fully authorized by the hand of my Lady and soueraigne Dame Sommer I haue free licence during the tyme of my short raigne to passe my tyme and a fortnight of my sister June as shalbe to my comfort and most solace.14

  The Princess Mary, at the age of eleven, presided over the jousts, summoning the knights to combat and giving rewards to the victors, Charles included. Mary must have looked at this dashing, handsome young man and been easily smitten. She was at the centre of the enactment of chivalry where ladies gave their favours, ribbons and scarves, to their knights who would be rewarded with garlands or a chaste kiss. The Princess Mary may even have played Lady May as an excerpt from the poem The Justes of the Monthe of May seems to suggest:

  She and her seruauntes clad were all in grene

  Her fetures fresshe none can dyscryue I wene

  For beaute she myght well haue ben a queen

  She yonge of aege

  Was set moste goodly hye vpon a stage

  Under a hauthorne made by the ourage

  Of Flora that is of heuenly parage

  In her hande was

  Of halfe an houre with sande rennynge a glas

  So contryued it kepte truely the space

  Of the halfe houre and dyde it neuer passé

  But for to tell

  How this lady that so ferre dyde excel

  Was named yf I aduyse me well Lady of

  May she hyght/ after Aprell

  Began her reygne.15

  The jousts in June were ferocious and violent. Perhaps the young men of the court got carried away showing off in front of the young prince who it was said gave them ‘courage to be bold’.16 Charles, dressed in blue enamelled armour, was the top jouster along with Richard Grey, Earl of Kent.

  Pyeces of harneys flewe in to the place

  Theyr swerdes brake they smote thycke and a pace

  They spared not cors/ armyt/ nor yet vambrace

  They lyst not sporte.17

  Both the jousts of May and June had been privately funded rather than being paid for by the Crown. Perhaps this allowed the young men of the court to act more rashly, joust more ferociously, seeing it as a way to prove themselves and their standing. Charles must have absorbed some of the cost, because in August 1507 he was selling his new wife, Lady Margaret’s manor in Okeford, Devon for £260. Charles also helped Lady Margaret to sell Goathill manor in Somerset to the same buyer, Lewis Pollard, sergeant-at-law, as well as Burgh Hall in Swaffham Burbeck, Cambridgeshire, which she had inherited in 1502, to a William Mordaunt. Chesterton Vessis in Huntingdonshire was also sold to a John Castel. Charles’ help wasn’t just an act of kindness. On their marriage a Venetian courtier is supposed to have remarked that in England, young men marry old ladies for their money. His marriage had the court talking not just about Charles’ treatment of Anne, his previously betrothed, but about his mercenary nature with an older widow’s wealth. The sale of the properties amounted to somewhere in the region of £1,000. Charles was now a rich man, to his wife’s detriment, although Lady Margaret must have been aware of how her husband could nefariously benefit from her property. Charles was her third husband but a dashing one at that.

  Pressure was mounting from Anne Browne’s family at the way she had been treated. Charles was forced to annul his marriage to Lady Mortimer, seeking a divorce from the Archdeacon of London, who granted his petition on three accounts; that the Lady Margaret and himself were in the second and third degree of affinity, that Charles was a first cousin once removed from Lady Margaret’s former husband and that the Lady and Anne herself were within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. It was reported that Charles ‘For these causes, feeling that he could not continue to cohabit with Margaret Mortymer without sin, he caused his marriage with her to be declared null’.18 Having sold her property and spent her money, Charles rode out to Essex to get Anne with his band of friends.

  Mary was just a child when Charles was misbehaving on and off the tiltyard but she was still a princess to be bargained for. The Spanish ambassador, de Puebla, reported in October that ‘a marriage between the Prince of Spain and a princess of England had been concluded’.19 A treaty of ‘perpetual peace’ was signed in December 1507 which as well as agreeing to mutual aid in event of war, finally betrothed Mary to Charles, the late King Philip’s son. Philip of Burgundy who had stayed as a guest of Henry VII’s in 1506 died soon after his visit of typhoid fever. His son, Charles, inherited his lands as his heir but as he was a minor, his aunt Margaret of Savoy acted as regent in his stead. His other aunt was Katherine of Aragon, Prince Arthur’s widowed bride, and she was delighted by the match between their houses. The marriage was to take place within two months of Charles’ fourteenth birthday in 1514. Henry VI was delighted with the treaty and Mary’s betrothal and he ordered that the good news should be rung out across the country with free wine being supplied to the people.

  As Mary was being betrothed, another marriage was being planned. In early 1508 Charles married Anne in a secret ceremony at Stepney attended by Edward Guildford and Edward Howard. But Anne’s family were not impressed and wanted their marriage to be public. Charles had spurned Anne once, they did not want a repeat performance, so a second ceremony was held at St Michael’s, Cornhill and for a time, the couple were happy together, spending their days with Charles’ relations at the Redyng household.

  Charles was jousting again at Greenwich in June 1508 when Prince Henry took part in his first tournament even though he was only allowed to run at the ring. Riding at the ring was a test of precision. A rider galloped full pelt at a ring which was suspended by a thread. The idea was to get the lance through the ring, snap the thread and hold aloft the ring. Henry may well have had skills in this part of the tournament but he still wasn’t allowed to compete in the real joust and it must have galled him to watch Charles and his other companions like Edward Howard, Thomas Knyvet, Edward and Henry Guildford jousting while he still watched from the stands.

  In December 1508, there were even more jousts for the Princess Mary’s betrothal to Charles, Prince of Spain. Before political alliances could change
, it was felt that a proxy marriage should be held to cement the alliance and the betrothal. On 17 December, the Sieur de Berghes, one of the great lords of Brabant, with an entourage of dignitaries, attended the ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Mary entered the chapel at Richmond attended by Princess Katherine and other ladies. She joined de Berghes on a dais beneath a luxurious canopy, where he vowed his loyalty and admiration, on behalf of Prince Charles, to the Princess Mary.

  Mary, at twelve years of age, replied in fluent French:

  I, Mary … do accept the said Lord Charles to be my husband and spouse, and consent to receive him as my husband and spouse. And to him and to you for him, I promise that henceforth during my natural life, I will have, hold and repute him as my husband and spouse, and hereby I plight my troth to him and to you for him…20

  The celebrations were merry. After one banquet Mary was presented with a letter from Charles which came with three fantastic jewels from her family-to-be; a balas ruby surrounded by pearls from his aunt Margaret of Savoy, a diamond and ruby brooch from his grandfather Maximilian and a ring from Charles monogrammed with the letter K for ‘Karolus’ and inscribed with the words: Maria optimam partem elegit que non auferetur ab ea – ‘Mary has chosen the best part, which will not be taken away from her’.

  Dancing and feasting enlivened the court and three days of jousting placed Charles Brandon in Mary’s view yet again. She may have been promised to Charles of Castile and as a Tudor princess, she would do her duty, but she could still watch the young man who had first stirred her heart. He could not be part of her life for now, nor would she have wanted him. He was beneath her, albeit a true friend of her brother’s and a rising star at court, but nowhere near the match she deserved. A marriage to the Prince of Castile came with her own rise in power and arrival in Europe.

  1509 began with a celebration for Charles too. His uncle Thomas, his friend and mentor, was made a Knight of the Garter in January at Black Friars. It was something Charles could aspire to. He was still Henry VII’s squire although his friendship with the prince was growing stronger.

  And then the king died on 21 April. There was a delay in announcing his death but on the 24th, Prince Henry rode from Richmond to the Tower of London and was proclaimed king. Charles’ career would now soar.

  Mary Tudor

  Chapter Three

  1509–1513

  Henry VIII’s Court

  Henry married his brother’s widowed wife, Katherine of Aragon on 11 June 1509 at Greenwich in a small and private ceremony with only two witnesses, the Lord Steward and a groom of the king’s privy chamber, present. Unwilling to return her dowry, Henry VII had decided she should marry his second son, but there was a delay of seven years in which Katherine was kept in isolation at Durham House, neglected and poverty stricken, until Henry inherited the crown. With his father’s death, already the young king was thinking of his future political alliances and his marriage cemented England’s relationship with Spain.

  Twelve days later, Mary watched her brother’s coronation procession from the window of a house in Cheapside. Lady Margaret Beaufort had hired the house so that they could watch his triumphant progress to Westminster Palace. London’s shops and houses had been adorned with tapestries, cloth of arras and cloth of gold, making the city come alive for its new king. Henry’s newly created Knights of the Bath rode at the head of the procession, wearing splendid flowing blue robes. Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, came next carrying a silver baton as a mark of his role as Constable of England. He was followed by Henry himself, riding a horse draped in ermine and cloth of gold, over which the four barons of the Cinque Ports held a golden canopy. Henry looked resplendent in a regal crimson and ermine robe that revealed a golden jacket underneath covered in a sumptuous display of jewels; pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds.

  His lords followed him, including Charles’ uncle Thomas, Master of the Horse, wearing a doublet of golden roses and leading the king’s charger with silk reins. Katherine, the new queen, was next transported in a litter drawn by two white horses, herself dressed in virginal white with her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders, adorned with a small coronet of gold and pearls. She was followed by her ladies and then some three hundred men of the king’s guard – a show of wealth and power.

  On the morning of 24 June, Henry and Katherine proceeded to Westminster Abbey for their coronation. The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service and loud cries of ‘vivat rex’ – long live the king – echoed around the abbey. Henry was anointed and crowned closely followed by Katherine, his new queen of England. Festivities started immediately with a lively banquet back at the Palace.

  Several days of celebration followed with more feasting and jousting. As Hall commented in his Chronicle:

  To further enhance the triumphal coronation, jousts and tourneys were held in the grounds of the palace of Westminster. For the comfort of the royal spectators, a pavilion was constructed, covered with tapestries and hung with arras cloth. And nearby there was a curious fountain over which was built a sort of castle with an imperial crown on top and battlements of roses and gilded pomegranates. Its walls were painted white (with) green lozenges, each containing a rose, a pomegranate, a quiver of arrows or the letters H and K, all gilded.

  The shields of arms of the jousters also appeared on the walls, and on certain days red, white and claret wine ran from the mouths of the castle’s gargoyles. The organisers of these jousts were Lord Thomas Howard, heir to the earl of Surrey, Admiral Sir Edward Howard, his brother, Lord Richard Grey, Sir Edmund Howard, Sir Thomas Knyvet and Charles Brandon esquire. The trumpets sounded and the fresh young gallants and noblemen took the field.

  The new king turned eighteen on the 28 June but the celebrations were short-lived. The next day, Lady Margaret Beaufort died. Although Henry must have mourned the passing of his grandmother, he was now freer than he had ever been. Margaret was in Scotland and the teenage Mary was all of his immediate family that was left. He was now head of the country and head of the Tudor family.

  Charles was close to the new king but rapidly becoming closer. Henry now had the power to invest upon his friends, titles, positions and riches. In October 1509, Henry established the ‘company of kings spears’ as started by his father, a close band of men to support him, Brandon included. A close bodyguard, the fifty men were ‘trapped in Cloth of Gold, Silver and Gold Smiths worke, and their servants richly apparelled also’.1 Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex was made captain with Sir John Pechy as his lieutenant, at the head of this dashing and extravagant band of brothers. Yet they were not just for show, each man was selected for his fighting skills as well as his loyalty to the king.

  Charles and his fellow spears had to swear an oath of absolute allegiance:

  I shall be a true and faithful subject and servant to our sovereign lord King Henry the Eight and to his heirs, Kings of England, and diligently and truly give my attendance in the room of one of his Spears and I shall be retainer to no man, person or persons of what degree or condition, whosoever he be by oath, livery, badge, promise or otherwise but only to his grace without his special licence.

  I shall not hereafter know or hear of anything that shall be hurtful or prejudicial to his most royal person, especially in treason, but I shall withstand it to the uttermost of my power and the same with all diligence to me possible, disclose to the King’s Highness or the Captain of the Spears or his deputy, or such other of his council as I know will discover the same unto his Grace.2

  On 22 November, Charles was also awarded the position of chamberlain of the principality of North Wales, the first of many favours that Henry would grant him. Henry had been kept so close to his father before his death that now he could choose who he had about him and what their role would be. Hall describes the new king as being ‘natural, young, lusty and courageous’, like Charles, and now he had the chance to shine at what he really wanted to do. His love of military skills and combat on horse and fo
ot added to his lust for war. France was his target. His contempt for any French ambassadors at this time was extremely noticeable.

  But while he was planning his strategy for attacking France, there was something he could now do without being held back by his father or grandmother. The winter joust of early 1510 saw Henry compete for the first time. Although Henry preferred his other palaces it was held at Richmond due to plague in the city. Will Compton was another of Henry’s close companions, perhaps the closest to his body as Groom of the Stool, and they both conspired to disguise themselves as wild knights to amuse the gathered crowds and allow Henry to compete incognito. They rode out with visors closed and no coat of arms on display, excelling in the jousts until disaster struck. Will Compton was paired with Sir Edward Neville, a seasoned jouster, who thrashed him. Will was seriously injured but the rumour had gone round that the injured knight could be the king. Panic ensued when someone cried out ‘God save the king’ and Henry was forced to reveal his identity.

  Hall’s Chronicle states:

  The kyng ranne never openly before, and there were broken many staves, and greate praise geven to the two straungers, but Specially to one, whiche was the kyng: howebeit, at a course by misfortune, sir Edward Nevell Esquire, brother to the Lorde of Burganie,- did runne against Master Cumpton, and hurte hym sore, and was likely to dye. One persone there was, that knew the kyng, and cried, God save the king, with that, all the people wer astonied, and then the kyng discovered hymself, to the greate comforte of all the people.

  Compton recovered and continued to be Henry’s right-hand man in mischief, aiding him with his next disguise. This time Henry wanted to surprise Katherine. At Christmas, Henry burst into Katherine’s rooms with twelve of his close companions, disguised as Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Charles surely amongst them, to dance with herself and her ladies. Katherine was heavily pregnant with their first child that sadly would be lost to them in just a few weeks.