11.5 A Royal Wedding
Henry focused his remaining days on executing the marriages negotiated over the preceding few years. For Prince Henry, the only ladies of suitable standing ladies were Joan, Princess of Portugal and Margaret, Duchess of Berry in France. While both ladies made fine candidates, Anne—as could be expected—favored the French candidate. Margaret was 24 in 1547, a highly refined and sophisticated daughter of King Francis I, and the sister of the current King Henry II of France. The dowry paid to England for this marriage would be sizable, but the King would gladly negotiate the handing back of control over Calais to the English in place of a cash dowry.
The pre-contract was drawn up April 1547 for the marriage of Prince Henry to Duchess Margaret in 1550 when the Prince was to turn 13. Margaret was 13 years older than her betrothed, but that mattered little, she had no formal proposals of marriage up until that point, and her brother feared that none may come. When the offer was on the table, the French King immediately embraced it. The English were willing to take Margaret immediately to introduce her to the Prince and life here in England. King Henry II gladly took Henry’s offer, but he rejected the Calais proposal, instead promising a dowry of 2 million pounds and sending Margaret on her way to Dover in May 1547 to meet her future husband.
The King and Queen celebrated handsomely over this joyous news, inviting the French Ambassador to visit the English court as guest of honor. By the time Margaret and her marriage contract arrived, the renovations at Hampton Court had been completed. The French delegation were greeted to stunning surroundings, and the Queen herself gave Margaret a two carat ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings from the West Indies, and cloth of gold for preparation of her upcoming wedding gown. Anne also offered to have her own tailor fashion the cloth into any piece she would like for her wedding.
With his masculine features and height of 5'11”, at only 13, Prince Henry was a force to be reckoned with. He truly was his father’s son, with bright blue eyes, dark hair, and a fair complexion. His father’s health now in question, the Prince needed to be continually groomed for his time to take the reins of power should the need arise. Henry had been a loving, even doting father to his first born. He showered him with gifts, personally taught him the Greek classics and how to hunt. He had also made the Prince a member of the Privy Chamber and given him several estates, so that he could begin to practice developing the habits of command.
A magnificent joust was held for Prince Henry to celebrate his betrothal. It would be a chance to show the court and foreign dignitaries all that he had learned under his father’s strict but guiding hand. The Prince was measured for armor, and fitted with appropriate weaponry. Artisans were even brought in to sculpt the Prince in all his regal glory; the resulting statue was made of marble and served as another example of his father’s brilliant public relations stunts. He wanted everyone to know that Prince Henry was to have a glorious reign ahead of him and that the succession would at last be confirmed. The sculpture took months to complete. Anne also commissioned yet another portrait of the entire family by Hans Holbein; it was to be displayed at Hampton Court with copies to be reproduced for the elite to hang in their homes. This great work was, unfortunately, lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666, while on display in St. Paul’s cathedral.
To increase his accounts, in the face of this continued profligacy, Henry increased the tax on ale, wheat, and licensing fees for midwifery and to operate as a surgeon. This may have made up only a small portion of the revenue and require additional revenues be found. The nobles had been hoarding their properties and cash for years, so Thomas Howard suggested that Henry increase land taxes by 2%. Henry agreed and instructed Howard to draw up the proposal for his signature and post the proclamation immediately. He then summoned Parliament to tell them of the measure, which was met with jeers and boos. The King’s programs were proving popular, however, leaving Parliament without much ability to deny the King anything he might wish.
Prince Henry was about to turn 14 in June and the Queen had been busy preparing for his reception at Hampton Court. During the three years of their betrothal, Henry and Margaret enjoyed themselves immensely. Ladies of the court had attempted to turn his head, but he stayed true. Margaret had turned out to be stunningly beautiful and Prince Henry took an immediate liking to her. Not only gorgeous, but also highly intelligent, she challenged the Prince’s intellect and he respected her for her wit.
One would think the significant age difference between the two would have caused an issue, especially for such a refined lady, but instead he made her laugh and she found him moldable to her whim. As a result, age did not often arise as a concern and for the most part the two became great friends. The two seemed to enjoy a genuine courtship, spending long walks together, playing chess, reading with one another, and discussing the classics. As far as anyone could tell, they both genuinely fell in love, a rare feat for any politically arranged match. Both Henry and Anne happy at the success of their son’s union.
The pair was warm with one another and it was Anne’s hope that Margaret would provide her with several grandchildren. Anne was nervous about Margaret’s true religious leanings but found her a great comfort and a dear friend. She treated her already as a daughter and often Margaret, the Queen, and the Princess Elizabeth would dine together.
Henry thanked his parents for finding such an agreeable match and requested if possible that the wedding be moved up sooner, to 1550. This was quite an unusual request, but it could be done. Since France had paid Margaret’s dowry in full upon her arrival there was no reason to hold off, beyond allowing more time to gather guests and supplies for the wedding day. For all intents and purposes, the future heir was truly happy and had every reason to be. Theirs would prove a lifelong marriage of contentment and happiness. With Prince Henry betrothed, now it was Elizabeth’s turn. She was 24 in 1547 and it was appropriate for her to find a husband.
The marriage took place February 2nd, 1550 at Westminster Abbey. Archbishop Cranmer presided over the union, Tyndale assisted Henry in writing his vows, and Anne helped her new daughter-in-law design her wedding dress using the Queen’s personal tailor. She would wear gold silk with a three-foot lace train, pearls and diamonds about the square neckline, and her Valois family crests as a broach. Her earrings were pearl and diamond drops of three layers. Elizabeth was Margaret’s maid-of-honor and the Queen let the bride borrow her own 3.5-carat diamond necklace, an anniversary gift from the King. Per tradition, King Henry II of France happily walked his sister down the aisle. After the exchanging of vows and rings, Cranmer pronounced them man and wife.
King Henry VIII then publicly announced their new titles to the waiting crowd of nearly 300 guests, introducing them formally as His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Richmond, Prince of England, Ireland and Wales and Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret Valois of Berry. The King kissed them both on the cheek and declared them married to much joy. Both Anne and Henry wept during the ceremony. A grand reception was held in the new couple’s honor at the Grand Hall in Greenwich Palace. The palace was granted to Prince Henry as his wedding gift, along with an increase in his income. Anne had her jeweler tailor-make a crown for Princess Margaret to wear at formal events made of brilliant sapphires, emeralds and diamonds; apparently Margaret’s favorite combination of gems.
News of the marriage was welcomed in Europe, except in the Vatican. The Pope vehemently opposed the match, claiming that the King of France was foolish to let his sister marry an illegitimate heir to the English throne. Thankfully, King Henry II paid no attention to this insult and for at least a period of several years kept a close relationship with England. Henry II and the future Henry IX shared many interests and got on together well. Within the first year of their marriage, Margaret was pregnant with the first of their five children. This child, born in December 1550, would be named Princess Anne of England.
11.6 The Death of Henry
VIII
1551 marked the beginning of the end for Henry VIII. His health had been fading rapidly in the last few months and the harsh cold of winter did little to better his constitution. The King had come down with consumption, or tuberculosis. Because tuberculosis is an airborne pathogen, the disease is spread as people talk, laugh, and cough. It is difficult to pin down a precise day when Henry contracted the disease, but he began showing the early stages of it in late 1550. He displayed flu like symptoms in October of that year, with heavy coughing and fever, chills, fatigue, and lack of appetite. He dismissed his physicians from treating him, feeling that their remedies often made him tired. He was still eager to impress upon his young son and the rest of the court that he was just as capable as ever. This led him to over exert himself, staying hours in Privy Council meetings arranged merely for show, even when there were no substantive issues at hand.
Other times he was seen in the royal chapel praying more heavily than ever before, possibly a sign of his growing realization that his body was failing him. Once so Active, now his frail immune system was keeping him in his chambers. He complained often of humidity in the middle of cold winters, and of a chronic slight cough that seemed to get deeper as the months grew by. His doctors were concerned that Henry would not survive his battle with this affliction. The King was also prone to night horrors and would on occasion cough up blood.
Whether wet or dry, as 1551 wore on Henry coughed more and more constantly, and his chest bothered him at all hours of the day. As a result he slept little and was often irritable. Despite his size, he was now starting to lose weight at a rapid pace. Royal household records show that tailors were redesigning clothes for him every few months, each time a smaller size than before. He woke up in sweats with fevers. Each time the groom wanted to call for a doctor he forbade it. Never one to want to face his own mortality he demanded instead that his groom remove himself so he could rest. When Henry did manage to sleep, he would wake at strange intervals experiencing a high fever his doctors were unable to break.
Physicians bled him often, sometimes twice a week to relieve the chills but to no avail. His doctors did not have the resources or technology available to recognize that it was a deadly bacterium killing the King. If it was not treated, it would prove fatal. Even with modern medicines, tuberculosis is a deadly illness that requires that patients in later stages to be isolated to prevent infecting others. It would be another four centuries before a cure for this would be developed. A weakened immune system would allow the bacteria to flourish virtually unstoppable. In the 21st Century, multiple therapies are used for the successful treatment of the condition; including heavy doses of strong antibiotics which would not have been available during Henry’s time. X-ray exams are also used to verify the progression of the disease and to assist doctors in advising correct treatment therapies.
All that Henry’s physicians would have known is the color of his vomit, which would have been dark. They would have analyzed the waste and compared it with the four bodily humors to determine the appropriate cause for the illness in question. The only remedy they had was to quarantine him, alter his diet, ensure he got plenty of fresh air, bleed him, monitor his vital signs, and make him comfortable as the disease ravaged his body. His doctors were in a precarious position. Since it was treason to speak of the King’s death, they could not truly advise their highest patient of the full extent of his illness. Henry was never told the official condition that made him sick.
With Henry sick, Anne became increasingly occupied with the hygiene habits at court. She demanded that upon entry to court each person be checked by a physician. She also limited the size of the court in the summer in a vain attempt to prevent infection by plague, lice, and possibly to ward off another round of the sweat, should it appear. The King gave strict instructions that no one, not even the Queen, was to know his weak condition. He mustered up the strength to show himself to the court, hold Privy Council meetings and meet with Anne, all while maintaining appearances that he had only a mild cold. It did little good, she knew all too well he was sick and she received regular reports in secret from his doctors about his condition. She played Henry’s game and disavowed knowledge of his illness.
For weeks this charade went on until, finally, in May 1550 Anne wrote the Ottoman Ambassador to seek his guidance on any new remedy for the King’s condition. The Ottoman Empire had been known for unique herbal concoctions that treated a variety of ailments, and while it was a far hope, she still had to try. Henry was very selective about whom he let treat him; he had the same physician for nearly thirty years and nearly always refused Anne’s requests that he seek out new opinions and treatments.
When Henry found out about Anne’s maneuvering behind his back he was outraged; her diplomatic activities had more than once brought ill intended consequences, but this was a new blow. She had Acted out of great concern for her husband, but Henry wanted to maintain the illusion that he was the great physical force he once was in his youth. A great row erupted between the couple lasting for hours; the grooms knew better than to interrupt these violent tirades. The arguments were usually intense but brief, with the couple perfect friends thereafter. His ego had been bruised but Anne knew well how to manipulate these arguments to her benefit and persuaded him to her cause. In the end he finally relented to trying new treatments.
The Ottoman Ambassador received the Queen’s letter warmly. He responded that he had dispatched the famous surgeon Ambroise Paré to come examine Henry as discreetly as possible. Pare had gained an international reputation in healing important 16th century clients such as Dukes, Earls, and several Kings of Europe. He had learned his great craft treating war wounds and had blazed the trail for surgery in modern medicine, being credited with introducing the suture technique for closing wounds. While his craft was impressive, he typically did not deal with infections, unless there was a need for operation. His reputation greatly preceded him; he was a man of few words and great talent. As recently as 1549 he had been employed in the service of King Henry II of France. Paré was released for his special errand to examine Henry VIII in January of 1551.
When Paré arrived he found Henry in a terminal state. He could do little for him beyond provide him means of finding comfort. His new methods would do little beyond buy him additional time; he could promise nothing. He left the Queen and aging Dr. Butts with additional herbal supplements unique to the East and left copious amounts of Opium—used for centuries by the Chinese—for Henry’s pain. He warned Dr. Butts not to let the King have all the drug he would want, as it would become addictive. He wished the Queen well and headed back home with a handsome payment and absolute certainty that King Henry VIII would be dead within the year.
Henry did the best he could to take short walks in the garden with Anne, write Elizabeth, and on occasion attend to matters of state. Over the summer of 1550 he appointed what he called a “temporary state minister” and had the Privy Council insert a clause that Prince Henry would take over his role as soon as he returned from tending to his estates with his new bride. Soon Henry’s condition became too severe to keep up pretenses. In March 1551 he finally took to his chamber. He never made another public appearance and was not to be disturbed.
The management of the kingdom was left up to the Privy Council and the Queen as regent. Life at court thereafter began to slow down; no new tournaments or jousts were prepared for any reason. Gossip was rife in London that Henry had already died and that Anne was holding the notice from going public so that her evil council could proclaim her monarch in full, instead of their son. Privy councilors met with the Queen to discuss arrangements for implementing the Act of Succession of 1547. The Queen refused to hear it and sent them from her presence.
By April, the King’s condition had rapidly deteriorated; he started coughing up blood in large amounts and the coughing rarely ceased. He was barely conscious and spoke in delusional sentences. His doctors had gi
ven up all hope of him being able to beat the disease; he was simply too far gone and used up great reserves of his energy in the weeks before, while attempting to prove he was someone he no longer was. The physicians had called for Anne to attend her husband on April 29th and she resolved to stay with her husband for as long as possible, for he was about to greet God. Cranmer, Prince Henry, and Princess Elizabeth also were summoned by the Queen. All of Henry’s family was at his side in his final days. Anne sat with him the entire time, praying over him as he lay slowly dying. She was present when he lapsed into a coma the following day. His last words were unrecorded.
At 4:38 on the morning of May 1st, 1551, King Henry VIII died from consumption at Whitehall Palace. He was survived by his wife and his children, Prince Henry and the Princess Elizabeth. Anne stayed by his bedside for nearly two hours after his death, wailing loudly. Only the Archbishop was allowed to stay with her; she clutched him by the arm as they prayed together for Henry’s soul. The bells at Westminster Abbey tolled, and word was quickly spread that Prince Henry would be crowned the new King.
Chapter 12
King Henry IX
Henry VIII was buried at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. His body was encased in lead and taken in a solemn procession from Whitehall to St. George’s. Henry’s coffin had a wax effigy of his likeness and was carried through the streets with blue and gold velvet over his casket, while the people mourned his death. They had come out in record numbers to watch as the King’s body moved through the streets, the Queen and Princess Elizabeth trailing behind it in mourning. Due to restrictions to preserve his health, the new King, Henry IX, was not allowed to attend his father’s funeral, but he grieved for weeks in private. The subjects removed their caps and many sank to their knees as the coffin passed. Anne would now be referred to as the Queen Mother, per custom, and Elizabeth would remain Princess. Margaret was now the official Queen Consort.
Had the Queen Lived: Page 37