Henry VIII's wives and mistresses
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Dragon King
The Many Wives, Mistresses and Children of King Henry VIII
(1491-1577)
The series’ title Dragon King derived from one of Henry VIII's badges, the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr.
The Many Wives, Mistresses and Children of King Henry VIII
(1491-1577)
The series’ title Dragon King derived from one of Henry VIII's badges, the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr.
In 2015, History Channel 2 launched Dragon King, an ambitious TV series about the life of England's longest-ruling King Henry VIII, the "Grandfather of Europe". Starring an international cast of both world-famous and little-known or unknown actors, the series met with great success, so much that spin-offs are now being made.
Eight years after the release of the first episode, here is a quick overview of the historical characters who inspired the series.
Henry VIII (1491-1577)
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A family affair: father and son Ruaidhrí and Conchobhar Ó Seachnasaigh played Henry VIII at the different stages of his life.
A family affair: father and son Ruaidhrí and Conchobhar Ó Seachnasaigh played Henry VIII at the different stages of his life.
Born in 1491, Henry was the second son of King Henry VII Tudor and Elizabeth of York, and the third of four siblings who lived past infancy, the other three being his elder brother and sister Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Margaret, the future Queen of Scotland, and his younger and favourite sister Mary, the future Holy Roman Empress. At the age of two, Henry was created Duke of York.
In 1502, both Arthur and his wife, Catherine of Aragon, fell ill with the sweating sickness. Although Arthur was severely affected, he eventually recovered but died a few months later, leaving a pregnant widow. In February 1503, Catherine of Aragon gave birth to a daughter and King Henry VII decided to betroth the newborn baby to his son. The Pope granted a dispensation and the betrothal took place in August 1503.
Succeeding his father in 1509 as King jure uxoris, Henry would reign for 68 years, becoming England's longest-reigning monarch.
Henry’s many liaisons and marriages, as well as his struggle to have a living son to secure the Tudor dynasty, quickly earned him a reputation as a womaniser, and he is now remembered as the Grandfather of Europe.
Lady Muriel Howard (c.1486-1552)
Henry’s mistress from 1506 to 1515
Muriel Howard was the second daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Tilney. She married John Grey, 2nd Viscount Lisle, by whom she had a daughter, Elizabeth.
While betrothed to his niece, Henry met the older Muriel, whose husband had died less than two years before, and who soon became his mistress. After the birth of their son in 1510, Henry acknowledged Muriel’s children as his own. However, he soon dismissed her after meeting Elizabeth Blount and Muriel returned to her family with her children.
Children
1 Muriel FitzRoy (1506-1564)
2 Marcella FitzRoy (1508-1582)
3 Henry FitzRoy (1510-1545)
4 Edmund FitzRoy (1511-1587)
5 Jasper FitzRoy (1513-1569)
6 Edward FitzRoy (1514-1556)
7 Frederica FitzRoy (1516-1574)
2 Marcella FitzRoy (1508-1582)
3 Henry FitzRoy (1510-1545)
4 Edmund FitzRoy (1511-1587)
5 Jasper FitzRoy (1513-1569)
6 Edward FitzRoy (1514-1556)
7 Frederica FitzRoy (1516-1574)
Elizabeth Blount (c.1500-1547)
Henry’s mistress from 1514 to 1517, then from 1520 to 1526
The discovery of the year 2015 was Phyllis Dougherty, cast as Bessie Blount for her first-ever – but certainly not last – role.
Elizabeth “Bessie” Blount met the King in December 1514. They fell in love “at first sight”, as she later wrote in a letter to their daughter, and soon became lovers, until Henry met Mary Boleyn and became infatuated with her. Bessie was wise enough not to protest and stepped back. Henry arranged a marriage with Gilbert Tailboys for her. Soon after Mary Boleyn’s dismissal in 1521 and while Henry’s wife was pregnant, they became lovers again, until another Boleyn girl appeared in the King’s life.
Children
1 Henry FitzRoy (1516-1571)
2 John FitzRoy (1517-1564)
3 Elizabeth FitzRoy (1521-1587)
4 Katherine FitzRoy (1523-1564)
2 John FitzRoy (1517-1564)
3 Elizabeth FitzRoy (1521-1587)
4 Katherine FitzRoy (1523-1564)
Elizabeth I, Queen of England (1503-1514)
Henry’s wife from 1509 to 1514
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Child actresses Winnie and Betsy Hammer played young Elizabeth I, England’s “Queen in name only”.
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Child actresses Winnie and Betsy Hammer played young Elizabeth I, England’s “Queen in name only”.
Born in 1503 as the posthumous daughter of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon, she was betrothed to her uncle as soon as her grandfather got the needed dispensation. As the Duke of York was not very keen on marrying so young a wife, an ailing Henry VII had the wedding be celebrated in March 1509, lest his son would try to break the betrothal after he died. However, Elizabeth, a frail child, died from a bout of influenza in February 1514 before the marriage was consummated.
Although she had been acknowledged as her grandfather’s heiress and designated successor, Elizabeth was never considered a Queen of England in her own right by her contemporaries, who saw Henry VIII as the true King and not a mere sovereign jure uxoris, and thus became known as the “Queen in name only”.
Children
None
Catherine of Aragon (1485-1543)
Henry’s wife from 1514 to 1515
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After much discussion between the producers, Spanish-born Jimena de la Cerda was cast to play Catherine of Aragon, a part that required her to dye her chestnut hair red.
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After much discussion between the producers, Spanish-born Jimena de la Cerda was cast to play Catherine of Aragon, a part that required her to dye her chestnut hair red.
Widowed in 1502, Catherine remained in England after her daughter’s birth. Henry soon became more interested by his widowed sister-in-law than by his young fiancée, and Catherine herself grew very fond of the dashing prince – so much so that soon after Elizabeth’s death Henry decided to marry her. Catherine, despite her feelings toward Henry, was more than hesitant, as technically they were twice related, Catherine having been married to Henry’s brother and Henry to Catherine’s daughter. Henry would not be deterred though, claiming that his first wedding had been null and void as Elizabeth had been under age and he himself unwilling when it had been celebrated, and successfully talked (or more likely threatened) the Archbishop of Canterbury into granting them a dispensation. He married Catherine in April 1514.
The King’s second union caused an uproar: as soon as news of the wedding reached Rome, the Pope insisted that the marriage be annulled. The birth of a son in 1515 only strengthened Henry’s determination to stick to Catherine, until the Queen suffered a miscarriage and the infant Prince of Wales sickened and died only a few months later.
Catherine, devastated by the loss of her three children, and feeling her union to Henry had caused the death of the last two, decided to persuade Henry to have their wedding annulled, even giving him advice as to who he should remarry. By the time Henry agreed however, she was pregnant again and her child, Mary, was considered born out of wedlock at the time, although she would later be legitimised by Henry. Catherine then retired on a quiet estate Henry granted her and raised their daughter.
The King’s second union caused an uproar: as soon as news of the wedding reached Rome, the Pope insisted that the marriage be annulled. The birth of a son in 1515 only strengthened Henry’s determination to stick to Catherine, until the Queen suffered a miscarriage and the infant Prince of Wales sickened and died only a few months later.
Catherine, devastated by the loss of her three children, and feeling her union to Henry had caused the death of the last two, decided to persuade Henry to have their wedding annulled, even giving him advice as to who he should remarry. By the time Henry agreed however, she was pregnant again and her child, Mary, was considered born out of wedlock at the time, although she would later be legitimised by Henry. Catherine then retired on a quiet estate Henry granted her and raised their daughter.
Children
1 Henry, Prince of Wales (1515)
2 miscarriage (1515)
3 Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Pembroke (1516-1584)
2 miscarriage (1515)
3 Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Pembroke (1516-1584)
Claude, Duchess of Brittany (1499-1520)
Henry’s wife from 1516 to 1520
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Lily MacGregor had been considered for the part of Catherine of Aragon but was eventually recast as Claude, Duchess of Brittany.
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Lily MacGregor had been considered for the part of Catherine of Aragon but was eventually recast as Claude, Duchess of Brittany.
The eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and Duchess Anne of Brittany, Claude was her mother’s heiress presumptive, even after the birth of her brother François in 1509, although her father hoped to keep Brittany in French hands. Louis’s unexpected death while he and Anne returned from a pilgrimage to thank Saint Anne for giving them their long-awaited son, strengthened Claude’s position.
While Anne, pregnant with a posthumous third child, held the regency for her infant son, François d’Angoulême asked for Claude’s hand in marriage. Anne refused and considered renewing Claude’s betrothal to Charles of Ghent but the young Duke of Burgundy showed more interest in Henry VIII’s beautiful younger sister, Mary.
When the Pope demanded the annulment of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage, Anne saw her chance and offered Claude’s hand. Catherine advised Henry to agree: a foothold on the continent was not to be sneezed at. Henry eventually accepted the proposal and the two were married in February 1516. Anne, eager to preserve Brittany’s autonomy at all costs, insisted that a marriage contract similar to her own be established: by it, Claude agreed to bequeath the Duchy to her second surviving son, or, if she had none, to her daughter. It also specified that should Brittany be inherited by Claude’s daughter, the new Duchess would marry a Breton cousin, preferably among the Houses of Rohan or Chalon-Arlay.
Although very different in character, husband and wife seem to have gotten along quite well, Claude being content to be a dutiful wife and mother while her husband jousted, hunted and flirted around during her many pregnancies.
She gave Henry several children. Her eldest son Henry was a delicate child and she and Henry feared he would not survived, especially after his twin brother Edmund died of smallpox, but the baby clung to life. In 1520, shortly after giving birth to her third (but second surviving) son Arthur, she insisted on visiting her recently deceased mother’s tomb and making a pilgrimage to Saint Anne, in order to thank her for giving her another boy. Although Henry asked her to wait till she was completely recovered from the birthing, Claude stood up to him for the first time in her life and returned to her duchy.
The journey proved difficult for the young mother and after resting for a few weeks in Brittany, she decided to sail back to England. However, her ship was caught in a storm on the journey back and sank; the young Queen died of exposure in the craft that was taking her to safety. One of her ladies-in-waiting, Lady Mary Talbot, who survived the shipwreck, later said the Queen’s last words had been: “tell my lord husband the King that I love him dearly and beg him pardon for not listening to his advice; tell my dear Madeleine to take care of my poor children; and tell my children that their Mama loves them and will watch over them from Heaven.”
Her second son Arthur would succeed her as Duke of Brittany but would die a few years later, leaving his eldest sister Elizabeth as his heiress.
Children
1 Elizabeth I, Duchess of Brittany (1516-1583)
2 Henry, Prince of Wales (1517-1532)
3 Edmund, Duke of York (1517-1518)
4 Anne of England (1518-1548)
5 Claudia of England (1519-1585)
6 Margaret of England (1520-1545)
7 Arthur IV, Duke of Brittany and Richmond (1520-1525)
2 Henry, Prince of Wales (1517-1532)
3 Edmund, Duke of York (1517-1518)
4 Anne of England (1518-1548)
5 Claudia of England (1519-1585)
6 Margaret of England (1520-1545)
7 Arthur IV, Duke of Brittany and Richmond (1520-1525)
Mary Boleyn (1499-1543)
Henry’s mistress from 1517 to 1520
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Oleta Parker-Smith played the eldest of the Boleyn sisters, ancestress of the Anglo-American House of Cambria.
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Oleta Parker-Smith played the eldest of the Boleyn sisters, ancestress of the Anglo-American House of Cambria.
Mary Boleyn had accompanied her father to the Low Countries and later to France, where she had been placed in the household of princess Claude. While in France, her beauty had caused a sensation and she was rumoured to have been the mistress of François d’Angoulême. When Claude married Henry, Mary accompanied her to England as one of her maids of honour.
Henry VIII seems to have noticed her soon after their arrival. He gradually lost interest in his then-mistress Bessie Blount, who was by then heavily pregnant with their second child, and soon wooed the newcomer, who became his new favourite dancing partners in balls.
Their liaison only began in 1517 however, while Queen Claude was pregnant for the second time. Eventually, the King grew tired of this easy conquest: saddened by the loss of his wife, he turned to another for solace, putting an end to their relationship. Mistress Boleyn returned home, dedicating herself to her children’s upbringing. Years later, her eldest son Edmund would leave England for the New World and found the House of Cambria.
Children
1 Katherine FitzRoy (1518-1572)
2 Edmund FitzRoy, Duke of Cambria (1520-1587)
3 George FitzRoy (1521-1592)
2 Edmund FitzRoy, Duke of Cambria (1520-1587)
3 George FitzRoy (1521-1592)
Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, Countess of Auvergne (1498-1530)
Henry’s wife from 1521 to 1530
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Award-winning French actress Valentine La Roche-Mesnil was cast as Queen Madeleine.
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Award-winning French actress Valentine La Roche-Mesnil was cast as Queen Madeleine.
Madeleine had accompanied Claude of Brittany to England and become one of her maids of honour. An accomplished young lady, she caught the King’s eye more than once while the Queen was pregnant but she always demurely refused to become his mistress. Maybe that was why Henry took the much-less reluctant Mary Boleyn as his mistress instead. Madeleine, however, became his confidante and soon after Claude died, the two married and Madeleine became a mother to Claude’s children, just as her dying dear friend had wished.
A strong-willed woman, Madeleine did not object to her husband having mistresses while she was pregnant, but she was adamant that he should be faithful to her the rest of the time and when Henry began to show too marked an interest in Anne Boleyn, she promptly sent her away from court, fearing she would become her rival.
Henry and Madeleine’s wedding was a happy one and they had many children. However, in July 1530, Madeleine was suddenly taken ill during a ball and went into labour about three weeks before she was due. She gave birth to a little girl whom she insisted on naming after her husband and died a few hours later.
Children
1 Joan, Countess of Auvergne (1521-1546)
2 Alexandra of England (1522-1584)
3 Madeline of England (1524-1528)
4 John, Duke of York and Count of Auvergne (1525-1533)
5 Edward, Duke of Somerset (1526-1528)
6 Claudine of England (1527-1562)
7 Catherine of England (1528-1602)
8 Henrietta of England (1530-1584)
2 Alexandra of England (1522-1584)
3 Madeline of England (1524-1528)
4 John, Duke of York and Count of Auvergne (1525-1533)
5 Edward, Duke of Somerset (1526-1528)
6 Claudine of England (1527-1562)
7 Catherine of England (1528-1602)
8 Henrietta of England (1530-1584)
Elizabeth Carew (1500-1546)
Henry’s mistress from 1526 to 1530
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As discreet as the woman she played, Olga Petrenko won the fans over with her heartfelt impersonation of Elizabeth Carew.
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As discreet as the woman she played, Olga Petrenko won the fans over with her heartfelt impersonation of Elizabeth Carew.
Elisabeth was probably the most discreet of Henry’s mistresses. She had been at court for several years, entertaining good relationships with the King’s successive wives. When Queen Madeleine sent Anne Boleyn away from court, Elizabeth came to Henry’s attention and became his mistress some time during Madeleine’s fifth pregnancy.
She did not like being the centre of attention however, preferring to dedicate herself to literary patronage: she had several Spanish and French pieces of literature translated into English. After Queen Madeleine’s death, she retired from court.
Children
1 Margaret FitzRoy (1528-1541)
2 Thomas FitzRoy (1529-1612)
3 Francis FitzRoy (1530-1598)
2 Thomas FitzRoy (1529-1612)
3 Francis FitzRoy (1530-1598)
Anne Boleyn (1501/07-1536)
Henry’s wife from 1531 to 1536
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Actress and opera singer Amalia Schaeffer was cast as Anne Boleyn, a part she had already played in the opera Anna Bollena by Giacomo Pellegrini (1874).
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Actress and opera singer Amalia Schaeffer was cast as Anne Boleyn, a part she had already played in the opera Anna Bollena by Giacomo Pellegrini (1874).
Anne Boleyn was one of the most unlucky of Henry’s wives. Her timing was not the best, to say the least. A maid of honour to Queen Madeleine, she had been noticed by the King while his wife was heavily pregnant with their daughter Claudine. Contrary to her sister Mary, Anne took a leaf from Madeleine’s book and refused to become his mistress. Maybe it was that behaviour that would eventually cause her downfall.
When Madeleine returned to court after her confinement, she demanded that Anne be sent to Catherine of Aragon’s household to become a companion to Henry’s eldest daughter Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Pembroke. It seems she was afraid Anne would become more than a mere royal mistress if she stayed at court. Henry granted her request and Anne left London. The king made a few trips to the country, officially to see his beloved daughter, but Madeleine was no fool and privately lectured her husband, telling him he could have as many mistresses as he wanted when she was pregnant but that she would not tolerate another woman to dishonour her at any other time. Henry gave in to his wife and ceased to pursue Anne.
However, in July 1530, the young Duchess of Pembroke visited her father. Anne, as her lady-in-waiting, accompanied her, much to the Queen’s dismay, as it became clear Henry had not forgotten her. It was said at the time that the sight of Henry flirtatiously chatting with Anne during a ball caused Madeleine to work herself up into such a state that she fell ill and went into labour, dying a few hours after the birth of her daughter.
Her death was such a shock to Henry that a whole year passed before he remarried. Anne stayed by his side during this year of mourning, a compassionate ear to his grief. In July 1531, Henry married her, which caused quite a scandal at court, as no one had forgotten that Madeleine had disliked her.
Things suddenly took a wrong turn in 1532: the Prince of Wales, Henry’s son by Claude of Brittany, fell from his horse and broke his neck. A few months later, in February 1533, both Anne and her stepson John, Duke of York and Count of Auvergne, fell ill. John died and Anne miscarried the son she was expecting, but survived. Suddenly, King Henry found himself with plenty of daughters but no sons. Doctors were doubtful that Anne would be able to conceive again after her miscarriage but the Queen was determined to give her husband an heir. Their next child was a girl and in early 1536, Anne gave birth to a stillborn son.
By that time, Henry had grown frantic. The courtiers gossiped that Anne had made a pact with the devil and hexed Queen Madeleine to take her place, then bewitched the Prince of Wales’s horse and poisoned the Duke of York so the son she carried at the time would become heir to the throne… Her inability to give the King a living son and her sympathy for the Reformation were proof enough that she was a witch. Henry gave credence to the rumours and after a resounding trial, Queen Anne, now reviled through all of Christendom, was convicted of witchcraft and murder, and beheaded. Her marriage to the King was annulled and her two daughters were declared illegitimate and sent to an isolated convent to be brought up by nuns, in the hope that their souls would thus be saved.
When Madeleine returned to court after her confinement, she demanded that Anne be sent to Catherine of Aragon’s household to become a companion to Henry’s eldest daughter Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Pembroke. It seems she was afraid Anne would become more than a mere royal mistress if she stayed at court. Henry granted her request and Anne left London. The king made a few trips to the country, officially to see his beloved daughter, but Madeleine was no fool and privately lectured her husband, telling him he could have as many mistresses as he wanted when she was pregnant but that she would not tolerate another woman to dishonour her at any other time. Henry gave in to his wife and ceased to pursue Anne.
However, in July 1530, the young Duchess of Pembroke visited her father. Anne, as her lady-in-waiting, accompanied her, much to the Queen’s dismay, as it became clear Henry had not forgotten her. It was said at the time that the sight of Henry flirtatiously chatting with Anne during a ball caused Madeleine to work herself up into such a state that she fell ill and went into labour, dying a few hours after the birth of her daughter.
Her death was such a shock to Henry that a whole year passed before he remarried. Anne stayed by his side during this year of mourning, a compassionate ear to his grief. In July 1531, Henry married her, which caused quite a scandal at court, as no one had forgotten that Madeleine had disliked her.
Things suddenly took a wrong turn in 1532: the Prince of Wales, Henry’s son by Claude of Brittany, fell from his horse and broke his neck. A few months later, in February 1533, both Anne and her stepson John, Duke of York and Count of Auvergne, fell ill. John died and Anne miscarried the son she was expecting, but survived. Suddenly, King Henry found himself with plenty of daughters but no sons. Doctors were doubtful that Anne would be able to conceive again after her miscarriage but the Queen was determined to give her husband an heir. Their next child was a girl and in early 1536, Anne gave birth to a stillborn son.
By that time, Henry had grown frantic. The courtiers gossiped that Anne had made a pact with the devil and hexed Queen Madeleine to take her place, then bewitched the Prince of Wales’s horse and poisoned the Duke of York so the son she carried at the time would become heir to the throne… Her inability to give the King a living son and her sympathy for the Reformation were proof enough that she was a witch. Henry gave credence to the rumours and after a resounding trial, Queen Anne, now reviled through all of Christendom, was convicted of witchcraft and murder, and beheaded. Her marriage to the King was annulled and her two daughters were declared illegitimate and sent to an isolated convent to be brought up by nuns, in the hope that their souls would thus be saved.
Children
1 Alice Boleyn (1532-1589)
2 miscarried son (1533)
3 Amy Boleyn (1535-1597)
4 stillborn son (1536)
2 miscarried son (1533)
3 Amy Boleyn (1535-1597)
4 stillborn son (1536)
Maria of Portugal (1521-1538)
Henry’s wife from 1536 to 1538
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The part of Maria of Portugal, mother of the “Miracle Children”, was played by Welsh actress Rhiannon Powell.
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The part of Maria of Portugal, mother of the “Miracle Children”, was played by Welsh actress Rhiannon Powell.
Anne Boleyn had not been dead for a day that the hunt for a new Queen of England began. All girls aged 15 and more were potential candidates. Henry eventually chose the King of Portugal’s half-sister Maria.
The girl was sent to England, conscious of her all-important duty: to give Henry at least two healthy sons – an heir and a spare – to secure the succession. The wedding was celebrated with great pomp in June 1536 and in September, the Queen announced her first pregnancy. The next months were spent in feverish expectation as Maria’s stomach grew rounder and rounder. In the morning of the 25th of April 1537, she went into labour. Everyone held their breath until, at 11 in the evening, news came that the young Queen had birthed a big baby boy. Although exhausted, Maria was brimming with joy – she had given Henry an heir on her first attempt!
In November, the Queen announced another pregnancy. As time passed it became clear that she was expecting twins. She had to spend most of her time lying in her chambers, too tired to walk more than a few paces. In July 1538, the birth was imminent. Maria went into labour in the early afternoon of the 15th. She gave birth to two tiny girls in the wee hours of the morning but another two babies were yet to come: at 10, she eventually delivered two even tinier boys. This incredible birthing earned the four siblings the nickname “Miracle Children”. The loss of blood Maria had suffered was too important, though, and the young Queen died not long after, whispering that she had done her duty to her king and England.
Children
1 Henry, Prince of Wales (1537-1542)
2 Maria of England (1538-1594)
3 Eleanor of England (1538-1594)
4 Edward, Duke of York (1538-1542)
5 Manuel, Duke of Richmond (1538-1541)
2 Maria of England (1538-1594)
3 Eleanor of England (1538-1594)
4 Edward, Duke of York (1538-1542)
5 Manuel, Duke of Richmond (1538-1541)
Anne Basset, 1st Marchioness of Exeter (1520-1555)
Henry’s mistress from 1537 to 1542
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Cambrian actress Sorcha Billingham played Anne Basset, “the King’s Second Queen”. Billingham can actually trace her ancestry back to another of Henry’s mistresses, Mary Boleyn.
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Cambrian actress Sorcha Billingham played Anne Basset, “the King’s Second Queen”. Billingham can actually trace her ancestry back to another of Henry’s mistresses, Mary Boleyn.
Anne Basset came to the King’s notice during Maria of Portugal’s first pregnancy. Their relationship was purely platonic at first but they became lovers about three months before the Prince of Wales’s birth. Soon after Queen Maria gave birth to her first child, Anne found she was pregnant. She delivered a healthy son in January 1538. By now, Queen Maria was pregnant again and it was quite naturally that Henry returned to Anne, flaunting her in front of the whole court. Soon enough, Anne was nicknamed “the King’s Second Queen”. What the “First Queen” thought of it is not known, as she spent most of her time hidden from court, too exhausted to make public appearances.
However, when Maria died in childbirth, everybody expected Anne to step into her shoes, especially as she herself was pregnant. Indeed, Henry went as far as to make her suo jure Marchioness of Exeter. He did not marry her though. It seems that Anne herself was content to be a royal mistress and nothing more. Their affair lasted until 1542, when another woman stole Henry’s fickle heart… Anne then settled on her estates with her children.
In the late 16th century, Anne’s youngest son Arthur Basset and his children would emigrate to Scotland and found the Scottish House Basset. Her son Thomas’s descendants would also emigrate, first to the Low Countries and then to Australia, where their descendants still live nowadays.
However, when Maria died in childbirth, everybody expected Anne to step into her shoes, especially as she herself was pregnant. Indeed, Henry went as far as to make her suo jure Marchioness of Exeter. He did not marry her though. It seems that Anne herself was content to be a royal mistress and nothing more. Their affair lasted until 1542, when another woman stole Henry’s fickle heart… Anne then settled on her estates with her children.
In the late 16th century, Anne’s youngest son Arthur Basset and his children would emigrate to Scotland and found the Scottish House Basset. Her son Thomas’s descendants would also emigrate, first to the Low Countries and then to Australia, where their descendants still live nowadays.
Children
1 John Basset, 2nd Marquess of Exeter (1538-1612)
2 Annette Basset (1539-1598)
3 Honour Basset (1540-1605)
4 Thomas Basset (1542-1611)
5 Arthur Basset (1543-1599)
2 Annette Basset (1539-1598)
3 Honour Basset (1540-1605)
4 Thomas Basset (1542-1611)
5 Arthur Basset (1543-1599)
Christina of Denmark (1521-1545)
Henry’s wife from 1538 to 1545
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Ingrid Sorensdatter was the first actress to be cast in the series. Her performance as the tormented Christina of Denmark has been critically acclaimed.
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Ingrid Sorensdatter was the first actress to be cast in the series. Her performance as the tormented Christina of Denmark has been critically acclaimed.
Christina of Denmark had been one of the many princesses considered by Henry while he was looking for a sixth wife in 1536. It was her cousin Maria who got the crown however but when she died, Christina’s was the first name that came to Henry’s mind.
The girl was not thrilled at the prospect of marrying the older king. Though he was still dashing and attractive, she was afraid she would suffer the same fate as her cousin and die in the throes of childbirth. Her father coaxed her into reconsidering Henry’s offer. The king already had three sons, after all. True, they were infants but this would put less pressure on her. She would not have to try getting pregnant as soon or as often as her cousin had. That, he said, had been Maria’s mistake but she would not repeat it. Christina eventually gave in and was sent to England, where she was lavishly welcomed by her husband-to-be. Henry and Christina were married in a double ceremony, as Henry’s daughter Alexandra married Christina’s brother Hans, Crown Prince of Denmark by proxy the same day.
Christina was accompanied by her lady-in-waiting and best friend Francesca Paleologa di Monferrato, widow of Costantino Cominato Arianiti, titular Prince of Macedonia, and Francesca’s daughter Deianira.
Henry was still deeply in love with Anne Basset when Christina arrived and the young Queen got along very well with her husband’s mistress, fervently hoping Henry’s infatuation would keep her from becoming pregnant too soon. When she eventually announced her first pregnancy in February 1539, she took all necessary precautions and was safely delivered in September. Alas! the child was a girl. Henry looked glum upon hearing the news but said nothing, finding solace in Anne Basset’s arms.
More disappointment came when in March 1540, Christina, always an avid hunter, fell from her horse and miscarried. Although she was in the early stages of her pregnancy and had not been aware of her state at the time, her husband was furious and flew into a rage, forbidding her to give herself to dangerous pastimes when she was bearing England’s future in her womb. A mortified Christina retired to Hampton Court and did not appear in public for two weeks. Husband and wife eventually reconciled and the following year, Christina was pregnant again.
If the Queen did not mind Henry’s liaison with Anne Basset, she felt cruelly betrayed when she discovered on one October evening that her friend Deianira had yielded to her husband’s courtship and was pregnant as well. The young Duke of Richmond, who had always been a frail and sick child, had died that summer and Henry was worried he would lose his other two sons, especially as the young princes had fallen sick as well. Taking advantage of her husband’s anguish, Christina insisted that Deianira be sent to a nunnery in the countryside until she was delivered of her bastard. Henry, not wanting to upset his pregnant wife, dismissed Deianira, who left London in disgrace. A few weeks later, the Queen gave birth to a son, named Christian after her father. The prince’s birth cemented Henry and Christina’s reconciliation.
In January 1542, Christina received a letter from Deianira, who had just given birth to a daughter and pleaded to return to her side, asking for forgiveness. Christina, in better spirits now that she had a son and whose fondness for her childhood friend had not died, relented and agreed.
Henry, who was doting on his newborn baby, does not seem to have paid too much attention to Deianira’s return, especially as the latter was busy preparing the coming of her recently widowed younger sister Elena, who had always been a favourite of hers. Christina was confident that Deianira and her sister would be too busy making up for lost time and that her rival would not fall into Henry’s arms again.
Christina announced a new pregnancy in the spring of 1542, which coincided with Elena’s arrival in London. The young woman did not make a great impression at the time, as she was still mourning her husband, dressed in austere black garments and more inclined to spend time in seclusion with her mother and sister than to attend revelries. Henry returned to Anne Basset, who had come back from her own confinement. However, when Anne got pregnant too, Henry approached Deianira again and the two resumed their affair, but the King soon noticed Elena’s striking beauty.
Christina immediately guessed what was going on and tried to reconquer her husband’s heart but Henry was quite besotted by his new mistress. He had three sons, after all, even though the eldest was only five and still fragile, and his young wife was expecting another child.
The birth of Dorothea was a disappointment for Christina, who had prayed for another son, hoping it would help her win Henry back. A gnawing rivalry developed between her and the sisters, especially Elena. Things took a turn for the worse when the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York fell ill with a bout influenza and died in December, quickly followed by their baby half-sister Dorothea. Christian was now Henry’s last surviving son. This caused the King to set aside his mistresses for a while and devote himself to his wife, who quickly got pregnant again. For Christina, most of the year of 1543 was spent in prayers and pilgrimages, fervently wishing for a son to be born, and so it was a great disappointment to her when the midwives told her the newborn child was a girl. She refused to hold the infant in her arms, even refused to see her, dismissing the tiny, wailing creature to the wet nurse instead.
Henry looked grim when he heard the news, especially as both Deianira and Elena had birthed sons earlier in the year. For months, he refused to see his wife, flaunting Elena and their first-born son instead, and creating both sisters Baronesses in their own right.
The crisis reached its peak in August 1544. Christina had recently gotten pregnant again, after reconciling with her husband, but so were her rivals. It is now believed that Christina was suffering from major depressive disorder. She would spend days in her apartments, refusing to see anyone or attend the revelries her husband organised, then she would suddenly reappear, often uttering malicious, abusing comments about Deianira and Elena.
Things escalated when both sisters were suddenly taken ill. Elena miscarried her child, while Deianira delivered a premature daughter who lived only a few hours, before succumbing too. Suspicion of poisoning came to Henry’s mind. The Queen had been preparing to leave court in order to visit a convent, when she was glimpsed talking with René de Chalon, Prince of Orange, who had come over to England two months before with his wife, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth, Duchess of Brittany.
Christina and René had been in love before she was betrothed to Henry, and rumours of them being lovers soon spread. To Henry, Christina was no less than a mixture of Eleanor of Aquitaine poisoning Fair Rosamund and Margaret of Burgundy cheating on her husband.
Christina fiercely denied both accusations, of course. Being pregnant and a sovereign’s daughter probably saved her life. Henry could not execute her the way he had Anne Boleyn after all. As for René de Chalon, he swore he had always been faithful to his beloved wife. Elizabeth herself pleaded for her husband, throwing herself at her father’s feet, and Henry eventually cleared both Christina and René of all suspicions, though he did order the young man to leave England at once and never come back.
On 22 March 1545, Christina gave birth to twins, one of them a boy whom she insisted on naming Maximilian, after her ancestor the Emperor, who had been born on that very day 86 years earlier, and Henry did not refuse. A letter written by Elena to her mother states that Henry believed the babies’ father to be René de Chalon and indeed, the time of his conception coincided with René and Elizabeth’s coming to England. Incidentally, Henry was later to arrange for Maximilian to enter the Church, not wanting to be succeeded by another man’s son.
A few weeks after Maximilian’s birth, a hunting party was organised. In the course of the afternoon, Christina’s horse tripped and fell, crushing her under its weight. She was conscious when servants brought her back to the Palace and ask to make her last will and testament. In it, she asked for masses to be said for the departed souls of her daughter Dorothea and her friend Deianira, whom she forgave, as well as Deianira’s daughter Francesca. This was viewed by some as the proof that she had indeed been responsible for her rival’s death. She herself said nothing about it.
The circumstances of Christina’s accident were subject to debate as well, and some have argued that it was a disguised murder, ordered by Henry himself.
Children
1 Christina of England (1539-1601)
2 miscarriage (1540)
3 Christian, Duke of Somerset (1541-1560)
4 Dorothea of England (1542-1542)
5 Isabella of England (1543-1625)
6 Dorothea of England (1545-1621)
7 Maximilian of England, Archbishop of Canterbury (1545-1610)
2 miscarriage (1540)
3 Christian, Duke of Somerset (1541-1560)
4 Dorothea of England (1542-1542)
5 Isabella of England (1543-1625)
6 Dorothea of England (1545-1621)
7 Maximilian of England, Archbishop of Canterbury (1545-1610)
Deianira Cominata Arianiti, 1st Baroness Paleologa (c.1515-1544)
Henry’s mistress from 1540 to 1544
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Greek tragedian Daphne Laskarina was cast in the role of the loving Deianira.
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Greek tragedian Daphne Laskarina was cast in the role of the loving Deianira.
Fifth daughter of Costantino Cominato Arianiti and Francesca Paleologa di Monferrato, Deianira came to England as one of Christina’s maids of honour. Her Mediterranean charm did not pass unnoticed and Henry often commented on her “dark, mischievous eyes”, finding her “quite pretty”. In April 1540, while Christina was recovering from her miscarriage and Anne Basset was pregnant with her third child, Henry and Deianira became lovers. Their liaison remained secret at first, as Deianira loved her queen dearly, often calling her her “little sister”, and she did not want to hurt her.When she got pregnant, she tried to hide her state as long as possible, until the truth was discovered by Christina. The Queen had her sent to a convent, and Deianira willingly obeyed to hide her shame.
The convent she had been sent to happened to be the one where Henry’s daughters by Anne Boleyn, Alice and Amy, were being brought up. They had been bastardised following their mother’s disgrace and Deianira was shocked by the harsh strictness the nuns displayed toward the poor girls. She herself did not complain of the way they treated her, as she felt that she deserved to be punished for yielding to her childhood friend’s husband.
Deianira took the orphaned girls under her wing, bringing them comfort and thus finding solace herself. During her stay at the convent, the only visitor she was allowed to receive was her mother. Francesca had been Christina’s friend for so long that the Queen could not bring herself to refuse her anything. It was through her mother that Deianira learnt of her brother-in-law’s death. She had just given birth to a daughter whom she had named after herself and she mustered her courage and wrote a letter to Christina, begging her to forgive her and to allow her to leave the convent.
By now Christina’s anger had subsided, and remembrances of their childhood friendship finally convinced her to relent. Deianira returned to court, determined to stay faithful to her best friend. She asked her for permission to bring her sister Elena over to England and Christina agreed again. When Elena arrived, the two sisters kept to themselves: Elena was still mourning her beloved husband, and Deianira was busy trying to comfort her and raising her daughter.
As for Henry, he spent most of his time with his wife and their youngest son, or visited his discreet mistress Anne Basset. Deianira, though still in love with the King, thought it was all for the best. But as both Christina and Mistress Basset got pregnant again, Henry eventually came back to Deianira. At first she refused to resume their relationship, invoking her friendship for Christina, but Henry would not take no for an answer, and Deianira’s feelings were still too strong to be repressed.
The two of them became lovers again and Deianira decided to take advantage of it to ask for Alice and Amy Boleyn to be released from their convent. She painted such a touching portrait of the poor girls’ plight that Henry agreed to have them brought up along with Deianira’s daughter. She even asked him to relegitimise them, arguing that whatever their mother’s crimes had been, they should not pay for them and that his marriage to Anne Boleyn had been valid, after all. This Henry refused to do however.
Deianira was happy caring for her daughter and her protégées, and enjoying Henry’s love, until Elena caught the King’s eye. From that day on, her life became an ordeal, as she watched both her relationships with Christina and Elena deteriorate. Contrary to them, she was not the kind of woman who would fight tooth and nail for the man she loved. Henry would come back to her whenever he grew tired of Christina and Elena’s constant bickering, finding peace by her side. She for her part found solace in Alice and Amy’s upbringing, watching them grow from frightened kids into blooming children, and hated being flaunted in front of the whole court.
In 1543, Henry officially made Deianira and Elena Baroness Paleologa and Baroness Di Monferrato respectively. He had two small manors built in the Italian Renaissance style for them. In August 1544, Deianira was in the seventh month of her third pregnancy when she and her sister were suddenly struck by violent nausea and cramps. She went into premature labour and gave birth to a daughter whom she named Francesca after her mother and who died two hours later. Feeling she would not live much longer, she made her will, asking to be buried in the chapel of Paleologa Manor and for a mass to be said for her soul and that of her daughter. She once more begged Henry to relegitimise the Boleyn sisters, claiming she could not die in peace otherwise, and this time was successful: Henry promised to annul their bastardisation in front of several witnesses and Deianira breathed her last.
After she died, her mother Francesca went to live to Paleologa Manor, where she raised her grandchildren and the Boleyn sisters.
A tragic figure, Deianira inspired many works of art in the following centuries and is often depicted as the most loving and selfless of Henry’s mistresses.
The convent she had been sent to happened to be the one where Henry’s daughters by Anne Boleyn, Alice and Amy, were being brought up. They had been bastardised following their mother’s disgrace and Deianira was shocked by the harsh strictness the nuns displayed toward the poor girls. She herself did not complain of the way they treated her, as she felt that she deserved to be punished for yielding to her childhood friend’s husband.
Deianira took the orphaned girls under her wing, bringing them comfort and thus finding solace herself. During her stay at the convent, the only visitor she was allowed to receive was her mother. Francesca had been Christina’s friend for so long that the Queen could not bring herself to refuse her anything. It was through her mother that Deianira learnt of her brother-in-law’s death. She had just given birth to a daughter whom she had named after herself and she mustered her courage and wrote a letter to Christina, begging her to forgive her and to allow her to leave the convent.
By now Christina’s anger had subsided, and remembrances of their childhood friendship finally convinced her to relent. Deianira returned to court, determined to stay faithful to her best friend. She asked her for permission to bring her sister Elena over to England and Christina agreed again. When Elena arrived, the two sisters kept to themselves: Elena was still mourning her beloved husband, and Deianira was busy trying to comfort her and raising her daughter.
As for Henry, he spent most of his time with his wife and their youngest son, or visited his discreet mistress Anne Basset. Deianira, though still in love with the King, thought it was all for the best. But as both Christina and Mistress Basset got pregnant again, Henry eventually came back to Deianira. At first she refused to resume their relationship, invoking her friendship for Christina, but Henry would not take no for an answer, and Deianira’s feelings were still too strong to be repressed.
The two of them became lovers again and Deianira decided to take advantage of it to ask for Alice and Amy Boleyn to be released from their convent. She painted such a touching portrait of the poor girls’ plight that Henry agreed to have them brought up along with Deianira’s daughter. She even asked him to relegitimise them, arguing that whatever their mother’s crimes had been, they should not pay for them and that his marriage to Anne Boleyn had been valid, after all. This Henry refused to do however.
Deianira was happy caring for her daughter and her protégées, and enjoying Henry’s love, until Elena caught the King’s eye. From that day on, her life became an ordeal, as she watched both her relationships with Christina and Elena deteriorate. Contrary to them, she was not the kind of woman who would fight tooth and nail for the man she loved. Henry would come back to her whenever he grew tired of Christina and Elena’s constant bickering, finding peace by her side. She for her part found solace in Alice and Amy’s upbringing, watching them grow from frightened kids into blooming children, and hated being flaunted in front of the whole court.
In 1543, Henry officially made Deianira and Elena Baroness Paleologa and Baroness Di Monferrato respectively. He had two small manors built in the Italian Renaissance style for them. In August 1544, Deianira was in the seventh month of her third pregnancy when she and her sister were suddenly struck by violent nausea and cramps. She went into premature labour and gave birth to a daughter whom she named Francesca after her mother and who died two hours later. Feeling she would not live much longer, she made her will, asking to be buried in the chapel of Paleologa Manor and for a mass to be said for her soul and that of her daughter. She once more begged Henry to relegitimise the Boleyn sisters, claiming she could not die in peace otherwise, and this time was successful: Henry promised to annul their bastardisation in front of several witnesses and Deianira breathed her last.
After she died, her mother Francesca went to live to Paleologa Manor, where she raised her grandchildren and the Boleyn sisters.
A tragic figure, Deianira inspired many works of art in the following centuries and is often depicted as the most loving and selfless of Henry’s mistresses.
Children
1 Deianira Paleologa (1542-1589)
2 Constantine, 2nd Baron Paleologa (1543-1601)
3 Francesca Paleologa (1544-1544)
2 Constantine, 2nd Baron Paleologa (1543-1601)
3 Francesca Paleologa (1544-1544)
Elena Cominata Arianiti, 1st Marchioness Di Monferrato (c.1518-1558)
Henry’s mistress from 1542 to 1558
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Charlotte Di Monferrato was cast in the role of her own ancestress Elena Cominata Arianiti, 1st Marchioness Di Monferrato
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Charlotte Di Monferrato was cast in the role of her own ancestress Elena Cominata Arianiti, 1st Marchioness Di Monferrato
The sixth and last daughter of Costantino Cominato Arianiti and Francesca Paleologa di Monferrato, Elena had been married to Juan de Luna, a Spanish nobleman and castellan of Milan. When her husband died, her sister Deianira requested permission from Queen Christina to invite her to join them in England. Christina, who had fond memories of her childhood friend and also remembered her as the “ugly duckling” of the Arianiti family, agreed, confident that Elena would not become another rival. Christina had not expected for the plain, awkward youth she remembered to have become an outright beauty.
Although Elena was very discreet upon her arrival from Italy, staying with her sister and not going out very much, she eventually met the King in person when he visited her sister. As soon as he saw her, Henry was struck by her beauty. He may have found Deianira “quite pretty”, but he was swept over by Elena’s near perfect looks and it was not long before he made advances to her.
Contrary to her sister, Elena readily accepted Henry’s courtship. The sincerity of her feelings towards the King has always been the subject of endless debates among historians. She was hated in her lifetime and depicted as a courtesan who had seduced the King away from his wife and plotted to become England’s next Queen, although many courtiers also despised Christina of Denmark for her inability to give her husband a spare. Later, she was portrayed as Henry’s true love. Some say she did not love the King but was delighted to enjoy all the advantages of her position as his chief mistress.
Whatever her true feelings were, Elena quickly gave Henry a son and a few months later was made suo jure Baroness Di Monferrato. Her fiery temper caused her to often clash with Christina privately, and on one or two occasions, she publicly mocked the Queen. In those moments, Henry would desert her for a few weeks and go back to the patient Deianira.
In the summer of 1544, both sisters were taken ill. Elena, then in the early stages of her second pregnancy, miscarried. In her distress, she swore she had been poisoned, prompting Henry to suspect Christina. She also seems to have encouraged Henry’s suspicions regarding Christina’s faithfulness and the legitimacy of her last son.
She retired to Monferrato Manor after her miscarriage and slowly recovered from the effects of her illness or poisoning – the exact nature of this incident never having been determined with certainty. Soon after Christina’s death, it was whispered that Elena would marry Henry, despite her unpopularity. This may have been Henry’s intent, especially as he called her his “beloved Queen” and his “wife in God’s eyes” in several letters written at the time. In June 1545, the Baroness Di Monferrato was created Marchioness Di Monferrato, which was seen as a first step toward a wedding with the King.
A famous half-burnt letter supposedly written by Elena, although its authenticity is still debated, reads thus: “How could a mere Baroness, the daughter of a bastard and a princeling, ever hope to be Queen?” Indeed, Elena’s mother had been an illegitimate child. As for the “princeling” mention, it might be a reference to Elena’s father, self-proclaimed Prince of Macedonia, although he never had any claim to this title. If the letter was indeed written by Elena, it could have inspired Henry to elevate her to the title of Marchioness.
Decades later, Elena’s grandson Henry-Maximilian, Marquess Di Monferrato, claimed that his grandparents had indeed been secretly married in 1546 and that he was the rightful heir to England. The marriage contract he showed as evidence was dismissed as forgery but his only daughter married the heir to the throne, which has been interpreted by some as an unofficial acknowledgment of the veracity of his claims.
Whether they were secretly married or not, Henry and Elena’s relationship became less stormy after Christina’s death and the Marchioness welcomed her sister’s children into her household. In the last years of their relationship, Henry became more and more influenced by his then-wife, a sympathiser of the Reformation. Although Elena, a devout Catholic, did not approve of this change, she wisely abstained from showing her true feelings on the matter and Henry’s love for her never wavered.
She died giving birth to twin daughters in 1558 and was survived by her ten healthy children.
Children
1 Enrico, 2nd Marquess Di Monferrato (1543-1579)
2 miscarriage (1544)
3 Elena Di Monferrato (1546-1631)
4 Francesca Di Monferrato (1548-1617)
5 Bonifacio, 3rd Marquess Di Monferrato (1550-1602)
6 Constantine Di Monferrato (1551-1600)
7 George Di Monferrato (1553-1641)
8 Edward Di Monferrato (1555-1632)
9 Deianira Di Monferrato (1556-1602)
10 Ippolitta Di Monferrato (1558-1634)
11 Polissena Di Monferrato (1558-1641)
2 miscarriage (1544)
3 Elena Di Monferrato (1546-1631)
4 Francesca Di Monferrato (1548-1617)
5 Bonifacio, 3rd Marquess Di Monferrato (1550-1602)
6 Constantine Di Monferrato (1551-1600)
7 George Di Monferrato (1553-1641)
8 Edward Di Monferrato (1555-1632)
9 Deianira Di Monferrato (1556-1602)
10 Ippolitta Di Monferrato (1558-1634)
11 Polissena Di Monferrato (1558-1641)
Katheryn Howard (born c.1524; married 1545; died 1549)
Henry’s wife from 1545 to 1549
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Rebecca Manigold’s performance as Katheryn Howard has brought her critical acclaim: she was praised for the ambiguity of her character, oscillating between the “vivacious but ingenuous youth” and the “self-serving, saucy minx”.
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Rebecca Manigold’s performance as Katheryn Howard has brought her critical acclaim: she was praised for the ambiguity of her character, oscillating between the “vivacious but ingenuous youth” and the “self-serving, saucy minx”.
Katheryn Howard had been sent to Paleologa Manor by her mother. There, she assisted the Baroness in the upbringing of her children and wards. As a cousin of the late Anne Boleyn, she was quite naturally entrusted with the care of the Queen’s daughters Alice and Amy.
During her stay at Paleologa Manor, she met Edmund FitzRoy, one of Henry’s many illegitimate sons, who had come with his sister to visit their younger half-siblings, and the two soon became very close, often meeting in the gardens when Katheryn went out with her young cousins. They may have intended to marry but Edmund left England for the New World, where he would become the first Duke of Cambria.
Katheryn made her first appearance at court in April 1545, during the revelries that celebrated the birth of the king’s last child Maximilian. It was on this occasion that Henry officially relegitimised Alice and Amy; he also legitimised his eldest daughter Mary, who had officially been a bastard since birth as she had been born after the annulment of her parents’ wedding.
As the Boleyn sisters were presented to the court, Henry immediately noticed their young companion. Three months after Queen Christina’s death, he married Katheryn, to everybody’s great surprise, as many had expected him to choose his mistress Elena as his next wife.
The king was charmed by his young wife’s vivacity and showered her with gifts. Within weeks of their wedding, the new Queen announced her first pregnancy. The child was born on the last day of May 1546 but it was a girl. Katheryn, however, was determined to give her husband at least one son but in the next three years, she had three more children, all of them girls.
Katheryn’s “useless pregnancies”, as a French ambassador would later maliciously write, displeased the King, who gradually turned his back on her. In December 1548, she attended the Christmas Ball and renewed contact with Thomas Seymour, whose sisters Jane and Elizabeth had married two of the King’s illegitimate sons, “the Two Henrys”, born from his relationships with Lady Muriel Howard and Bessie Blount.
Katheryn had met Seymour once or twice while staying at Paleologa Manor and in the following months, they engaged on an epistolary relationship.
In June 1549, Katheryn gave birth to her fourth daughter and in early July, rumours that she and Seymour were having an affair started to spread. At the King’s request, investigations were made and several witnesses – mostly people who envied the Norfolk family’s position and who saw Katheryn as a scheming girl who had married Henry to bring more power to her family – testified that she had had lovers while living in Paleologa Manor; letters from both Katheryn and Thomas came to light and, in spite of the fact that some are believed to be forgery, one of them, dated January 1549, had indeed been written by Katheryn, although its content shows that she seemed to consider Seymour a friend more than a lover.
Following the discovery of the letters, both Seymour and Katheryn were imprisoned. Seymour confessed under torture that he and Katheryn had been lovers, claiming that the Queen herself had seduced him. Katheryn, for her part, admitted to having had sexual relationships with Henry’s illegitimate son Edmund while living at Paleologa Manor, but insisted that she had had no relationship whatsoever with Seymour at the time. She explained that he had come to her at the 1548 Christmas Ball and become a mere confidant at first, but that he had later raped her.
Years later, Alice Boleyn would record in her memoirs that she, for her part, had never doubted her cousin’s sincerity on the subject, that Seymour had behaved in “the most abhorrent way” with her only weeks before she was brought to court with her sister to be relegitimised, and that she owned her “unsullied honour” to Francesca Paleologa’s intervention only, following which Seymour had not been welcomed at Paleologa Manor any more.
Thomas Seymour was hanged, drawn and quartered on 14 October 1549. The next day, Katheryn was beheaded. As no evidence had been found that she had ever been unfaithful to the King before she met Seymour, her daughters’ legitimacy was not questioned.
Children
1 Katheryn of England (1546-1623)
2 Joyce of England (1547-1631)
3 Margery of England (1548-1615)
4 Isobel of England (1549-1613)
2 Joyce of England (1547-1631)
3 Margery of England (1548-1615)
4 Isobel of England (1549-1613)
Renata of Navarre (1528-1607)
Henry’s wife from 1549 to 1560
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The producers of the series noticed Mina Le Bras quite by accident after she decided to do an improvised performance of the tragedy “Elena and Deianira, or The Tragic Life of Queen Christina” in front of their hotel in Rennes. Although she had been performing one of Elena’s speeches at the time, she was eventually cast as the determined Renata of Navarre.
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The producers of the series noticed Mina Le Bras quite by accident after she decided to do an improvised performance of the tragedy “Elena and Deianira, or The Tragic Life of Queen Christina” in front of their hotel in Rennes. Although she had been performing one of Elena’s speeches at the time, she was eventually cast as the determined Renata of Navarre.
News of the execution of Queen Catherine were soon known in all of Europe. Henry was looking for another wife, for Catherine’s adultery reminded him of the doubts that lingered on the conception of his second son. Although the Prince of Wales thrived, accidents happened and Henry was afraid of being succeeded by a boy who was no son of his.
Few women were willing to marry the King, though. True, he was still hale and hearty, and looked younger than his 58 years of age. But the execution of two of his wives, as well as the circumstances of Christina of Denmark’s accident, disheartened most candidates he considered.
One princess, however, saw the King’s offer of marriage as a challenge she would fain accept. This was Renata of Navarre, the second eldest of the King of Navarre’s many children. Her mother had been Renée of France, Anne of Brittany’s third child, born eight months after her father’s death, and Claude of Brittany’s younger sister. This technically made Renata Henry’s niece but she shrugged the problem away: she had been born in 1528, eight years after Claude’s death and she hoped this would make her marriage to Henry acceptable.
Renata accordingly agreed to Henry’s proposal and the two were married in December 1549. Their union proved fruitful and on 29 September 1550, the young Queen delivered two healthy sons, named Henry and Francis, after their father and uncle. They were the first of three sets of twins born to Henry and Renata, the other ones being Louise and Louis in 1553 and René and Frances in 1557.
With four more unquestionably legitimate sons, Henry was the happiest of men and in 1558, he sent 13-year-old Maximilian to the Church. Whether the boy was his or René de Chalon’s, it would not matter any more, as the boy forfeited his rights to the succession upon entering the Church.
Henry and Renata’s marriage was the longest of all: it lasted for nearly eleven years. But Renata, although she had never officially converted, was a supporter of the Reformation, like most of her relatives. As time passed, Henry’s religious policy became more and more influenced by his wife’s opinion on the subject.
This would not sit well with the Church, especially when in 1559, Renata gave birth to a son whom she named after Gaspard II de Coligny, Admiral of France and Ambassador to England. Gaspard was suspected of having converted to Calvinism and when he agreed to stand as the prince’s godfather, many saw it as a confession.
Soon after, Coligny was recalled to France and replaced by a staunch Catholic as Ambassador. He later took part to the Amboise Conspiracy and was executed. Meanwhile in England, the Archbishop of Canterbury had used the kinship between the long-deceased Claude of Brittany and Renata to challenge the validity of the wedding, as no dispensation had been granted. In truth, the ecclesiastical authorities had not deemed it necessary to grant one at the time, just as Renata had surmised. But now, the lack of a dispensation could work in Rome’s favour, and the Pope proclaimed that Henry and Renata’s marriage was illegal and their children illegitimate.
In March 1560, the Pope ordered Henry to repudiate his wife, which the King refused to do. Tragedy then struck again: the Prince of Wales was preparing to meet his fiancée, Archduchess Barbara of Austria, whose arrival in London was impending, but as he was stepping onto the barge that would take him to Whitehall, he slipped and fell, crushing his head against the pavement.
Upon hearing the news of the Prince’s death, the Pope immediately placed the Kingdom of England under interdict. The whole situation was getting out of control. If the Pope persisted in declaring Renata’s children illegitimate, Henry would have to repudiate her and find another wife and who knew if he would sire any sons? He had many daughters, most of whom had been married abroad or to powerful English noblemen, and the ghost of another war of succession was looming on the horizon.
Renata eventually came up with a bittersweet solution: she suggested that Henry write to the Pope that he would repudiate her on condition that their children would be declared legitimate. The Pope agreed, adding another condition: that the children be raised by Catholic tutors. Henry and Renata accepted and the wedding was dissolved on 10 August 1560.
Renata remained in England, retiring to Eltham Palace, and officially converted soon after. She kept advising her former husband toward a pro-Protestant policy, to the point that Henry himself converted in October, although he kept his word regarding his children’s tutors. She advised him in the choice of his next wife and later became a renowned patroness of artists and scientists.
Children
1 Henry, Duke of York (1550-1562)
2 Francis, Duke of Richmond (1550-1609)
3 Renée of England (1552-1581)
4 Louise of England (1553-1623)
5 Louis, Duke of Bedford (1553-1631)
6 Anne of England (1555-1647)
7 Valentina of England (1556-1591)
8 René, Duke of Clarence (1557-1598)
9 Frances of England (1557-1609)
10 Gaspard, Duke of Monmouth (1559-1600)
11 Blanche of England (1560-1638)
2 Francis, Duke of Richmond (1550-1609)
3 Renée of England (1552-1581)
4 Louise of England (1553-1623)
5 Louis, Duke of Bedford (1553-1631)
6 Anne of England (1555-1647)
7 Valentina of England (1556-1591)
8 René, Duke of Clarence (1557-1598)
9 Frances of England (1557-1609)
10 Gaspard, Duke of Monmouth (1559-1600)
11 Blanche of England (1560-1638)
Lady Lucy Somerset (1524-1583)
Henry’s mistress from 1559 to 1566
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Dutch actress Mieke van Hoensbroeck had played Lady Lucy in the little-known 1854 play The King and Lady Lucy, one of the few literary works about the King’s mistress. Good critics of her performance convinced the producers to cast her in the role.
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Dutch actress Mieke van Hoensbroeck had played Lady Lucy in the little-known 1854 play The King and Lady Lucy, one of the few literary works about the King’s mistress. Good critics of her performance convinced the producers to cast her in the role.
Lady Lucy Somerset, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Worcester and wife of the 4th Baron Latimer, succeeded the very Catholic Elena as Henry’s mistress. She had become one of Renata of Navarre’s ladies-in-waiting and she and her husband converted sometime around 1556.
Seven months after Elena died, Lucy became Henry’s mistress. Just like Queen Renata and Henry’s next wife, she was instrumental in the evolution of Henry’s religious policy, and Catholic circles used to call the three women the Unholy Trinity.
Henry had first intended to make her the governess of his children by Elena and Deianira but her relationship with the older ones, who were just as staunch Catholics as their mothers had been, was fraught with tension and the King did not insist. The young Marquess Di Monferrato chose Mary Howard, a sister of the late Queen Katheryn, instead. This was seen by many as an act of defiance toward his father, both because Katheryn, despite her eventual disgrace, had always been well-loved by the Paleologa and Di Monferrato children, and because her family was one of the most influential in the Catholic circles of England.
It was a shock to Lucy when she found that she was with child: her last daughter had been born in 1550 and she and her husband had thought she would never conceive again. Henry acknowledged their son, as well as their next three children, to Baron Latimer’s relief, as he had had mixed feelings at the prospect of being succeeded by another man’s son in his barony.
Lucy’s last pregnancy was very difficult and she eventually retired to her husband’s estates, ending her relationship with the King.
Children
1 Anthony FitzRoy (1560-1652)2 Lucy FitzRoy (1562-1589)
3 William FitzRoy (1563-1641)
4 Jane FitzRoy (1566-1613)
Charlotte de Laval (1530-1569)
Henry’s wife from 1560 to 1569
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Erzsébet Arany had often been told she looked like Queen Charlotte de Laval, so when she heard that a series about Henry VIII was in preparation, she read no less than three biographies of the Queen and applied for the role, which she got immediately.
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Erzsébet Arany had often been told she looked like Queen Charlotte de Laval, so when she heard that a series about Henry VIII was in preparation, she read no less than three biographies of the Queen and applied for the role, which she got immediately.
The youngest daughter of Guy XVI de Laval, a powerful Franco-Breton lord, and his third wife Antoinette d’Aillon, Charlotte had married Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny and they both secretly converted to Calvinism.Charlotte met Henry VIII and Renata while her husband was Ambassador to England. Renata’s Protestant sympathies earned her Charlotte’s friendship and when Gaspard was executed for his involvement in the Amboise Conspiracy, his widow fled to England. She reached London to find her friend in the middle of a diplomatic and religious crisis: Rome had declared her children illegitimate and the Prince of Wales had just died, leaving Henry with no legitimate male heir of his body. The sovereigns’ marriage was eventually annulled but Renata advised her husband to marry again, not trusting the Pope to keep his word as far as her children’s legitimacy was concerned. Henry, who had recently converted, married the Protestant Charlotte. There could be no possible cause for annulment: he and Charlotte were not related within the prohibited degree of kinship and their children, if they had any, could not be declared illegitimate.
The marriage caused great scandal among the Catholic circles and when Charlotte’s first-born son was christened in the Protestant faith, many saw it as an answer to the Pope’s meddling and a way to ensure that no one would contest the legitimacy of Renata’s Catholic-raised children again. This time, the succession was secure.
Although committed to the Protestant cause, Charlotte strove to appease the tensions between the religious factions at court, which eventually earned her some respect even from some of the most fiercely anti-Protestant partisans.
A few days before giving birth to her last child in December 1568, Charlotte caught a cold. She thought nothing of it at first, but the bad cough lingered for weeks and settled on her lungs until she was too exhausted to appear in public. She died on 28 February 1569, surrounded by her grieving husband and children.
The marriage caused great scandal among the Catholic circles and when Charlotte’s first-born son was christened in the Protestant faith, many saw it as an answer to the Pope’s meddling and a way to ensure that no one would contest the legitimacy of Renata’s Catholic-raised children again. This time, the succession was secure.
Although committed to the Protestant cause, Charlotte strove to appease the tensions between the religious factions at court, which eventually earned her some respect even from some of the most fiercely anti-Protestant partisans.
A few days before giving birth to her last child in December 1568, Charlotte caught a cold. She thought nothing of it at first, but the bad cough lingered for weeks and settled on her lungs until she was too exhausted to appear in public. She died on 28 February 1569, surrounded by her grieving husband and children.
Children
1 Guy, Duke of Rutland (1561-1598)
2 Charlotte of England (1563-1600)
3 Antonia of England (1564-1659)
4 Magdalena of England (1565-1665)
5 Charles, Duke of Buckingham (1567-1654)
6 Nicole of England (1568-1615)
2 Charlotte of England (1563-1600)
3 Antonia of England (1564-1659)
4 Magdalena of England (1565-1665)
5 Charles, Duke of Buckingham (1567-1654)
6 Nicole of England (1568-1615)
Lady Margaret Seymour (1540-1574)
Henry’s wife from 1569 to 1574
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Slam poet Hannelise Schwartz was chosen to play Lady Margaret Seymour, one of the first female poets of England
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Slam poet Hannelise Schwartz was chosen to play Lady Margaret Seymour, one of the first female poets of England
Lady Margaret Seymour was one of the many daughters – and children – of Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, and Anne Stanhope. She and her sisters had been maids of honour to Queen Renata and it was under the latter’s tutelage that the Seymour sisters took to writing, mostly poetry.
Like many members of her family, Lady Margaret converted to Protestantism. After the annulment of Henry and Renata’s marriage, she remained in the former Queen’s inner circle and wrote one of her most famous poem, With Great Fortitude Endureth Thy Torment, Thou Gentle Queene, celebrating Renata’s selflessness and determination to keep the peace in England.
The repudiated Queen had considered her for Henry’s next marriage before opting for Charlotte de Laval, who she thought was more mature and capable of dealing with the thorny situation of England than twenty-year-old Margaret.
After Charlotte married Henry, Lady Margaret often visited the Court, delighting the sovereigns with her poetry and it was no wonder when, two months after Charlotte died, Henry took the young writer as his next wife.
Contrary to Renata and Charlotte, Margaret did not take part in her husband’s religious policy, preferring to sponsor artists, from writers to painters and composers.
Margaret died on a sunny morning in March 1574: she and Henry had been staying for a few days in Hatfield, enjoying the return of spring, when Margaret and two of her ladies-in-waiting decided to spend the day on the pond. Their rowboat capsized and the Queen drowned, leaving a grief-stricken husband.
Children
1 Edward, Duke of York (1570-1659)2 John, Duke of Somerset (1571-1642)
3 Margaret of England (1571-1630)
4 Jane of England (1573-1641)
5 Henry, Duke of Hereford (1574-1599)
Joan Knollys (c.1520-1576)
Henry’s wife from 1574 to 1576
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Deserting action film for historical saga, Vivien Carstairs offered a very convincing performance as the gentle and dedicated “Good Queen Jane”.
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Deserting action film for historical saga, Vivien Carstairs offered a very convincing performance as the gentle and dedicated “Good Queen Jane”.
Joan (or Jane) Knollys was the second daughter of Sir Robert Knollys and a companion to Queen Renata. As Henry and his repudiated wife maintained an excellent relationship, she often met him when he came to Eltham. In the months that followed Queen Margaret’s death, Henry grew closer to Joan. She however, refused to be a royal mistress, out of respect for Renata. Henry then offered to marry her and after much hesitation, she accepted, having had Renata’s blessing. The two were married in November.
“Good Queen Jane”, as she became known, did not leave her mark in the political or artistic history of England but she was fondly remembered by the people for her generosity and good heart. She had an orphanage built for girls from the nobility whose fathers had died in the King’s service “regardless of their religious background”, on Chelsea Manor, one of the estates Henry had granted her, which later became the famous Joan Knollys Royal Boarding School for Girls, the first high-ranking school to accept non-Christian boarders. She died there on 9 November 1576.
“Good Queen Jane”, as she became known, did not leave her mark in the political or artistic history of England but she was fondly remembered by the people for her generosity and good heart. She had an orphanage built for girls from the nobility whose fathers had died in the King’s service “regardless of their religious background”, on Chelsea Manor, one of the estates Henry had granted her, which later became the famous Joan Knollys Royal Boarding School for Girls, the first high-ranking school to accept non-Christian boarders. She died there on 9 November 1576.
Children
NoneLady Mary Talbot (c.1502-1581)
Henry’s wife in 1577
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The many times awarded actress Rowena Guilford was cast to play Henry’s last wife, the religious Lady Mary Talbot. Diana Vermont played a younger Mary in the early episodes of the series.
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The many times awarded actress Rowena Guilford was cast to play Henry’s last wife, the religious Lady Mary Talbot. Diana Vermont played a younger Mary in the early episodes of the series.
Henry VIII’s last wife was Lady Mary Talbot, who had been maid of honour to his third wife Claude, Duchess of Brittany. After Claude’s death, she became maid of honour to the new Queen, Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, until she married Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland.
A devout Catholic, Lady Mary had been close to Henry’s mistresses Deianira and Elena Cominata Arianiti and to his wife Katheryn Howard, and she remained in good terms with their children.
When Henry married Joan Knollys, Lady Mary approached her, hoping to get some influence over the King through her. Joan, however, showed no interest in politics and intrigue, but her natural generosity, which appealed to Henry so much, inspired Lady Mary to follow her example. She helped her establish the Chelsea Orphanage, offering to supervise the religious education of Catholic boarders.
After Joan’s death, she remained by Henry’s side as his confidante, hoping to bring him back into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church. Memories of his gentle wife Claude probably drew Henry closer to Lady Mary and the two were married in February 1577, although Henry never returned to the Catholic faith. After he died on 17 July 1577, succeeded by his son Francis, Mary retired to the Chelsea Orphanage, where she lived for the last four years of her life, dying on 4 June 1581.
Children
None
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