by Alison Weir
Katherine
She was the daughter of Ferdinand V, King of Aragon, by Isabella I, Queen of Castile, a descendant of John of Gaunt, and she was born on 16 December, 1485, at Alcala de Henares in Spain. After the death of Arthur, she married secondly Henry VIII ( see here, under Henry VIII for further details of her life).
2 Margaret ( see here, under James IV of Scotland, whom she married).
3 Henry VIII ( see here).
4 Elizabeth
She was born on 2 July, 1492, and died on 7 October or 14 November, 1495, at Eltham Palace, Kent, of ‘atrophy’. She was buried in Westminster Abbey.
5 Mary
She was born on c.18 March, 1495/6, either at Richmond Palace, Surrey, or at the Palace of Westminster. She married firstly Louis XII, King of France (1462–1515), by proxy on 13 August, 1514, at Greyfriars Church, Greenwich Palace, again by proxy on 2 September, 1514, at the Church of the Celestines in Paris, and in person on 9 October, 1514, at Abbeville Cathedral, France. She was crowned on 5 November, 1514, at St Denis’ Cathedral, Paris. She married secondly Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk (1484–1545), secretly on 3 March, 1515, at the Chapel in the Palais de Cluny, Paris, and in public on 13 May, 1515, in the Church of the Observant Friars, Greenwich, Kent, and had issue:
1 Henry, Earl of Lincoln (1516–1534).
2 Frances ( see here, under Queen Jane).
3 Eleanor (1519–1547); she married Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland (1517–1570), and had issue.
Mary died on 25 June, 1533, at Westhorpe Hall, Suffolk, and was buried in the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; her remains were later removed to St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds.
6 Edmund
He was born on 21 February, 1499, at Greenwich Palace, Kent; he was perhaps styled Duke of Somerset from birth, but was never formally so created. He died on 19 June, 1500, at the Old Palace, Hatfield, Herts., and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
7 Edward
He was the fourth and youngest son. The dates of his birth and death are not known. He died very young, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
8 Katherine
She was born on 2 February, 1503, in the Tower of London, and died there on c.18 February, 1503. She was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Henry VII also had the following illegitimate issue:
By a Breton lady whose name is not known:
1 Roland de Velville, Constable of Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey; he married a Welshwoman, and had issue.
HENRY VII
He died on 21 April, 1509, at Richmond Palace, Surrey, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
He was succeeded by his son Henry.
Henry VIII
* * *
FATHER: Henry VII ( see here).
MOTHER: Elizabeth of York ( see here, under Henry VII).
SIBLINGS: ( see here, under Henry VII).
HENRY VIII
He was born on 28 June, 1491, at Greenwich Palace, Kent. He was made a Knight of the Bath on 31 October, 1491, and created Duke of York on 31st October, 1494. He was made a Knight of the Garter on 17 May, 1495. He succeeded his brother Arthur as Duke of Cornwall on 2 April, 1502, and was created and invested as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 18 February, 1504, at the Palace of Westminster. He succeeded his father as King of England on 22 April, 1509, and was crowned on 24 June, 1509, in Westminster Abbey. In 1521, he added to the royal style the title ‘Fidei Defensor’ (‘Defender of the Faith’), conferred upon him by Pope Leo X. This title is still borne by the Queen today. Henry styled himself King of Ireland from 1542.
Henry VIII married firstly, on 11 June, 1509, in the Queen’s closet at Greenwich Palace, Kent:
Katherine
She was the daughter of Ferdinand V, King of Aragon, by Isabella I, Queen of Castile, a descendant of John of Gaunt, and she was born on 16 December, 1485, at Alcala de Henares in Spain. She married firstly Henry’s elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, in 1501 ( see here, under Henry VII). She was crowned Queen Consort on 24 June, 1509, in Westminster Abbey. Her marriage to Henry VIII was annulled on 23 May, 1533, by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the grounds that she had been the wife of her husband’s brother and that, according to the Levitical Law, her second marriage was uncanonical and incestuous, and the Pope had no power to dispense in such a case. She died on 7 January, 1536, at Kimbolton Castle, Hunts., probably of cancer, and was buried in Peterborough Cathedral. Her original tomb was destroyed in 1642, but its site may still be seen, and her bones still lie beneath the flagstones.
Issue of marriage:
1 Stillborn daughter
She was born on 31 January, 1510.
2 Henry
He was born on 1 January, 1511, at Richmond Palace, Surrey, and was Duke of Cornwall from birth. He was also styled Prince of Wales. He died on 22 February, 1511, at Richmond Palace, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
3 Unnamed son
He was born in November, 1513, at Richmond Palace, Surrey, and was Duke of Cornwall from birth. He died in November, 1513, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
4 Unnamed son
He was born in February, 1515, at Greenwich, and died soon after birth. While he lived, he was Duke of Cornwall.
5 Mary I ( see here).
6 Unnamed daughter
She was born on 10 November, 1518, and died the same day.
Henry VIII married secondly, in secret, on 25 January, 1533, at York Place, London:
Anne
She was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn or Bullen, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde, by Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. She was born around 1500/1501 at Blickling Hall, Norfolk. She was created Lady Marquess of Pembroke in her own right (the first time a female had been created a peer in her own right) on 1 September, 1532. She was crowned Queen Consort on 1 June, 1533, in Westminster Abbey. On 15 May, 1536, Anne Boleyn was tried and found guilty of high treason, and condemned to death in the Great Hall of the Tower of London. Her marriage to Henry VIII was declared invalid on 17 May, 1536; the grounds for this are not known. She was executed on 19 May, 1536, on Tower Green, within the Tower of London, and was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London.
Issue of marriage (declared illegitimate on 17 May, 1536):
1 Elizabeth I ( see here).
2 Stillborn child? (sex unknown).
It was born in August/September, 1534; this was nearly a full-term pregnancy, but details of the birth were kept secret.
3 Stillborn son
He was born on 29 January, 1536, at Greenwich Palace.
Henry VIII married thirdly, on 30 May, 1536, at Whitehall Palace, London:
Jane
She was the daughter of Sir John Seymour by Margaret, daughter of Sir Henry Wentworth of Nettlestead, Suffolk, and she was born in 1507/8, probably at Wulfhall in Savernake Forest, Wiltshire. She was never crowned. She died on 24 October, 1537, at Hampton Court Palace, in childbed, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Issue of marriage:
1 Edward VI ( see here).
Henry VIII married fourthly, on 6 January, 1540, at Greenwich Palace:
Anne
She was the daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, by Mary, daughter of William III, Duke of Jülich and Berg, and she was born on 22 September, 1515, at Düsseldorf, Cleves, Germany. Her marriage to Henry VIII was not consummated, and it was annulled on 9 July, 1540, on the grounds of Anne’s alleged precontract with the Duke of Lorraine. Anne died on 16 July, 1557, at Chelsea Old Palace, London, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. There was no issue of the marriage.
Henry VIII married fifthly, on 28 July, 1540, at Oatlands Palace, Surrey:
Katherine
She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard by Joyce or Jocasta, daughter of Sir Richard Culpeper, and she was born in c.1525, either at Lambeth in London, or at Horsham, Sussex. She was never crowned. Katherine was attainted for high treason, and was executed on 13
February, 1542, on Tower Green within the Tower of London. She was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London. There was no issue of the marriage.
Henry VIII married sixthly, on 12 July, 1543, at Hampton Court Palace:
Katherine
She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr by Maud, daughter of Sir Thomas Green of Green’s Norton, Northants., and she was born probably in 1512 at her father’s house at Blackfriars, London. She married firstly Edward de Burgh, 2nd Baron Borough of Gainsborough (1463–1528) after 26 June, 1526. She married secondly John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer (1493–1542), perhaps in 1530, and certainly before the end of 1533. After the death of Henry VIII, her third husband, she married fourthly Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Sudely (1508?–executed 1549), brother of Queen Jane ( above), shortly before the end of April, 1547, and had issue:
1 Mary (1548–?); she either died young in c.1560, or grew up and married Sir Edward Bushel, and had issue. However, the evidence for this marriage dates from the 18th century only, and should therefore be regarded with caution.
Katherine died on 7 September, 1548, at Sudely Castle, Gloucs., in childbed, and was buried in Sudely Castle Chapel. There was no issue of her marriage to Henry VIII.
Henry VIII also had the following illegitimate issue:
By Elizabeth Blount (1502?–1539/41), daughter of Sir John Blount of Kinlet, Shropshire, afterwards wife of Gilbert, Lord Tailboys:
1 Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519–1536); he married Mary (1519?–1557), daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. He was the only bastard acknowledged by Henry VIII.
By Joan Dobson or Dingley:
2 Ethelreda or Audrey (d.1555); she married John Harington, and had issue.
By Mary Berkeley (?):
3 Sir John Perrot (1527?–1592) (?).
By an unknown mother:
4 Thomas Stucley or Stukely (1525?–1578) (?); he married Anne Curtis. It is highly unlikely that Henry VIII was the father of Thomas or Sir John Perrot.
HENRY VIII
He died on 28 January, 1547, at Whitehall Palace, London, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
He was succeeded by his son Edward.
Edward VI
* * *
FATHER: Henry VIII ( see here).
MOTHER: Jane Seymour ( see here, under Henry VIII).
SIBLINGS: Edward VI did not have any full siblings.
EDWARD VI
He was born on 12 October, 1537, at Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, and was Duke of Cornwall from birth. He succeeded his father as King of England on 28 January, 1547, and was crowned on 20 or 25 February, 1547, in Westminster Abbey.
EDWARD VI
He died unmarried on 6 July, 1553, at Greenwich Palace, Kent, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
He was succeeded by his second cousin Lady Jane Grey.
Queen Jane
* * *
FATHER: Henry
He was the son of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, by Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Wotton, and he was born on 17 January, 1517. He married firstly Katherine (d. after 1552), daughter of William FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, before 1530. He succeeded his father as Marquess of Dorset, Baron Ferrers of Groby, Baron Harington and Baron Bonville on 10 October, 1530. He repudiated his first wife before 1533, and married secondly Frances Brandon in May, 1533, at Suffolk Place, Southwark, London. He was made a Knight of the Bath on 30 May, 1533, and a Knight of the Garter on 17 February, 1547, and was created Duke of Suffolk, in right of his wife, on 11 October, 1551. Henry was attainted, and his estates were declared forfeit, on 17 February, 1554, as a result of his treasonous involvement in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary I; he was executed on 23 February, 1554, on Tower Hill, London, and was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London.
MOTHER: Frances
She was the daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, by Mary, daughter of Henry VII, and she was born on 16 July, 1517, either at Bishop’s Hatfield, Herts., or at Westhorpe Hall, Suffolk. After the execution of her first husband, the Duke of Suffolk, she married secondly Adrian Stokes (1533–1585), her Master of Horse, on 9 March, 1554, and had issue:
1 Elizabeth (b.&d. 1554).
2 Son (d. young).
3 Son (d. young).
Frances died on 20 or 21 November, 1559, at the Charterhouse, Sheen, Surrey, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
SIBLINGS:
1 Unnamed brother
He died young before 1537.
2 Unnamed sister
She died young before 1537.
3 Katherine
She was born in August, 1540, perhaps at Dorset House, Westminster. She married firstly Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (after 1538–1601), on 25 May, 1553, at Durham House, Strand, London. The marriage was annulled in 1554, and Katherine married secondly Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539–1621), in secret around November/December, 1560, at Hertford House, Cannon Row, Westminster, and had issue:
1 Edward, Baron Beauchamp (1561–1612); he married Honora (d. after 1608), daughter of Sir Richard Rogers of Bryanston, Dorset, and had issue.
2 Thomas (1563–1619); he married Isabella, daughter of Edward Onley of Catesby, Northants.
3 Edward (d.1602); his existence is doubtful.
4 Katherine (d. young); her existence is doubtful.
Katherine’s union with Edward Seymour was declared ‘no marriage’ on 12 May, 1561, and deemed never to have taken place; it was, however, declared valid in 1608. Katherine died on 26/27 January, 1568, at Cockfield Hall, Yoxford, Suffolk, and was buried in Yoxford Church, Suffolk. Her remains were later removed to Salisbury Cathedral.
4 Mary
She was born in 1545, and was a hunchback. She married Thomas Keyes (d.1571) on 10 or 12 August, 1564/5, at the Water Gate Lodge, by the Palace of Westminster. She died on 20 April, 1578, at the Barbican, by Red Cross Street, London, and was buried either in St Botolph’s Church, Aldersgate, London, or in Westminster Abbey.
QUEEN JANE
She was born in October, 1537, at Bradgate Manor, Leics. The Will of Henry VIII left the crown, in order of succession, to his children, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, and then, if their lines failed, to the heirs of his sister Mary, Duchess of Suffolk. When Edward VI died on 6 July, 1553, the Duke of Northumberland, who had governed the country in the boy King’s name as Lord Protector, wished to see the continuance of his own power and the maintenance of the newly-established Protestant religion in England. The next heir, Mary Tudor, was a staunch Catholic, therefore it had not been difficult for Northumberland to persuade the dying Edward – a fervent Protestant – to sign a Device changing his father’s Will. Mary was set aside, and also Elizabeth, whose religious convictions were uncertain, and the crown was willed by Edward to Lady Jane Grey, bypassing her mother Frances, who was rightful Queen after Mary and Elizabeth. Jane was proclaimed Queen of England on 10 July, 1553.
Queen Jane married, on 25 May, 1553, at Durham House, Strand, London:
Guilford
He was the son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, by Jane, daughter of Sir Edward Guilford, and he was born in 1536. He was executed on 12 February, 1554, on Tower Hill, London, and was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter and Vincula within the Tower of London. There was no issue of the marriage.
QUEEN JANE
She reigned for only nine days. The people of England rallied to the cause of Mary Tudor, and Jane, the usurper, was deposed on 19 July, 1553. She was executed on 12 February, 1554, on Tower Green, within the Tower of London, in the aftermath of Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion. Jane was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London.
She had already been succeeded by her second cousin Mary.
Mary I
* * *
FATHER: Henry VIII ( see here).
MOTHER: Katherine of Aragon ( see here, under Henry VIII).
SIBLINGS: ( see here, under He
nry VIII).
MARY I
She was born on 18 February, 1516, at Greenwich Palace, Kent. She was proclaimed Queen of England upon the deposition of Queen Jane on 19 July, 1553, although her regnal years were dated from 24 July. She was crowned on 1 October, 1553, at Westminster Abbey. She assumed the title Queen of Spain upon the accession of her husband, Philip II, to the throne of Spain on 16 January, 1556.
Mary I married, on 25 July, 1554, at Winchester Cathedral:
Philip
He was the son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, by Isabella, daughter of Manuel I, King of Portugal, and he was born on 21 May, 1527, at Valladolid, Spain. He married firstly Mary (1527–1545), daughter of John III, King of Portugal, on 12 November, 1543, at Salamanca, Spain, and had issue:
1 Charles (Don Carlos) (1545–1568).
Philip was designated King of Naples, Jerusalem and Savoy in preparation for his marriage to Mary I (to give him equal rank), and was made a Knight of the Garter on 24 April, 1554. He succeeded his father as King of Spain on 16 January, 1556. After Mary’s death, he married thirdly Elizabeth (1545–1568), daughter of Henry II, King of France, in 1559 at Toledo, Spain, and had issue: