House Of Treason: The Rise And Fall Of A Tudor Dynasty

by Hutchinson, Robert

  SCOTLAND

  James IV (1473-1513). Married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England, 1503. Signed treaty with France 1512 and sent a fleet to help Louis XII against Henry VII. Invaded Northumberland with a large army and captured Norham and other castles. Defeated by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, at Flodden Field on 9 September 1513 and was killed.

  James V (1512-42). Son of James IV and Margaret Tudor, succeeded on death of his father at Flodden. Married Madeleine, daughter of Francis I of France, in 1537 and after her death married Mary of Guise in 1538. Succeeded by Mary Queen of Scots, his only legitimate daughter.

  Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87). Only daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. On 7 August 1548, aged six, Mary sailed for France after being betrothed to Francis, son of Henry II of France and his wife, Catherine de Medici. They married on 24 April 1558 at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, and after the death of Mary I of England she quartered the arms of England with those of France and assumed the style and titles of the Queen of England. Her husband succeeded to the French throne on the death of his father but reigned only until 5 December 1560, when he died of a brain abscess. She returned to Scotland as queen and, in July 1565, married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, elder son of Matthew Stuart, fourth Earl of Lennox, and his wife Margaret Douglas (daughter of Mary Tudor). Darnley was an arrogant squanderer and sought equality with her as King of Scotland. Mary suffered his indiscretions and cruelty and a son, James (later James VI of Scotland and James I of England) was born in June 1566. Darnley became infected with syphilis and was sent, for his health, to a house outside Edinburgh, at Kirk o’ Field. Early on 10 February 1567 the house was blown up, and Darnley’s body was found outside; he had clearly been strangled before the explosion. Mary then married James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, at Holyrood on 15 May 1567 and her forces were defeated by the Scottish Lords at Carberry Hill, near Edinburgh, the following month. She was forced to abdicate and escaped imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle in 1568 but another of her armies was defeated at Langside, near Glasgow, on 13 May that year. She fled to England and endured nineteen years of imprisonment at the hands of Elizabeth I, before being tried for treason in October 1586 and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, on 8 February 1587.

  James VI (later James I of England) (1566-1625). Son of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Crowned on his mother’s abdication in 1567 and, after many years of bitter struggle between Catholic and Protestant factions among the Scottish nobility, assumed full powers. Although he made formal protests and intercessions for his mother, James quickly reconciled himself to her execution. Before the death of Elizabeth I on 24 March 1603, he engaged in secret correspondence with Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, second son of the beheaded Earl of Surrey. Succeeded to the throne of England, 1603.

  THE HOWARD FAMILY

  John Howard, first [Howard] Duke of Norfolk (c. 1422-85). Son of Sir Robert Howard and Lady Margaret, elder daughter of Thomas Mowbray, first [Mowbray] Duke of Norfolk. Married Katherine Moleyns in the early 1440s, and son Thomas, born in 1443. Fought in the second Battle of St Albans and Towton in 1461 and created Lord Howard by Edward IV in the late 1460s. Lord Treasurer of the [royal] Household, 1466-74. After death of first wife in 1465, he married Margaret Chedworth in 1467. Commanded the English fleet in a successful action against the Scots in the Firth of Forth in 1482. Supported Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as Lord Protector and was one of the nobles who extracted Richard, Duke of York, from sanctuary in Westminster Abbey in 1483. Within days of the accession of Richard III to the throne was created first [Howard] Duke of Norfolk. Officiated at Richard’s coronation on 6 July as Lord High Steward and Earl Marshal and on 25 July appointed Lord High Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine and Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster for life. Killed at Battle of Bosworth, 22 August 1485, and attainted.

  Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, and later second Duke of Norfolk (1443-1524). Married twice - (1) Elizabeth Tylney in 1472, who provided five surviving children, and, after her death in 1497, married her cousin, Agnes Tylney, who had six children. Badly wounded at Bosworth in 1485, attainted and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Freed in 1489 and appointed Chief Justice in Eyre, North of Trent, and, the following year, Vice-Warden of the East and Middle Marches on the Scottish borders. Lord High Treasurer of England from 1501 until his resignation in 1522, when he passed the position on to his son and heir, Thomas Howard. Victor of Flodden over the Scots army on 9 September 1513. Created second duke 1 February 1514.

  Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, and, from 1524, third Duke of Norfolk (1473- 1554). Eldest son of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk and his first wife Elizabeth Tylney. Married twice - (1) in 1495 to Anne Plantagenet, sister-in-law of Henry VII and on her death in November 1511, with no surviving children, married (2) Elizabeth Stafford, one of the daughters of Sir Edward Stafford, third Duke of Buckingham. They had three surviving children: Henry, Mary and Thomas. Loyal servant of the crown in a number of military and naval campaigns of varying success and wreaked royal retribution in the north of England in 1537 after the Pilgrimage of Grace. Arch-conspirator: instrumental in the downfalls of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Arrested and attainted for treason in the jockeying for position during Henry VIII’s last illness, but saved from execution by the king’s death on 27 January 1547. Imprisoned in the Tower until Mary I’s entry into London in August 1553. After farcical last military adventure against the Kentish rebels in the Wyatt rebellion in 1554, he retired to Kenninghall, the grand palace he built in the Norfolk countryside, and died there in his bed.

  Elizabeth Howard, née Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk, c. 1497-1558. Estranged wife of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. Thrown out of his household in preference to his mistress, Bessie Holland.

  Sir Edward Howard (1476-1513). Second son of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tylney. Appointed a vice-admiral 7 April 1512 and Lord High Admiral on 19 March 1513. Killed on 25 April during a reckless, foolhardy attack on a French galley, leaving two bastard sons.

  Lord Edmund Howard (d. March 1539). Third son of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tylney. Commanded the English right wing at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Wastrel and frequently heavily in debt. His daughter Catherine, by his second wife, Joyce Culpeper, became Henry VIII’s fifth wife before being beheaded.

  Thomas Howard (1512-37). Son of Thomas Howard, second duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Agnes Tilney. Condemned for treason after marrying Lady Margaret Lennox, daughter of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret. Died of a fever in the Tower, 31 October 1537.

  Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1513-47). Eldest son of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Elizabeth née Stafford. Poet and soldier. Married Frances de Vere, daughter of the fifteenth Earl of Oxford, and by her had five children, the last born posthumously. Arrested on trumped-up charges of treason and executed on 19 January 1547.

  Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond (1519-55). Daughter of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Elizabeth née Stafford. Married Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and illegitimate son of Henry VIII on 26 November 1533. The marriage was never consummated. After his death on 23 July 1536 she struggled to claim her marriage jointure.

  Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk (1536-72). Inherited the title from his grandfather, the third duke, on his death in 1554. Married three times - (1) Lady Mary Fitzalan, who died 1557; (2) Margaret Audley, died 1563; and (3) Elizabeth Leyburn, widow of Thomas, Lord Dacre of Glisland, died 1567. Too trusting and naive, he planned to marry Mary Queen of Scots and was executed for treason in 1572.

  Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton (1540-1614). Younger son of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Remained a bachelor and became a Catholic convert in 1558 and was in and out of prison at least five times afterwards. Involved in the secret negotiations to make James VI of Scotland king, after the death of Elizabeth. Created Earl o
f Northampton and a member of the Privy Council on 13 March 1604.

  Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel (1557-95). Eldest son of Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk. Became a Catholic in 1584. Imprisoned after attempting to escape England in 1585. Fined £10,000 and condemned to perpetual imprisonment on charges that he tried to leave England without permission and that he had been converted to the Church of Rome. Condemned to death for allegedly arranging Mass for the success of the Armada but not executed. Died in the Tower of London.

  Charles Howard, second Baron Effingham and Earl of Nottingham (1536-1624). Eldest son of William Howard, first son of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, AgnesTylney. Married Katherine Carey, eldest daughter of Elizabeth’s second cousin, Lord Hunsdon, in 1563. Appointed Lord High Admiral of England in May 1585 and a commissioner at the trial of Mary Queen of Scots in October 1586. Led the English fleet that harried the Spanish Armada as it sailed up the English Channel in 1588 and chased the survivors into Scottish waters. Created Earl of Nottingham in 1597 and appointed Lieutenant General of all England in 1599.

  THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD AND TUDOR GOVERNMENT

  Charles Brandon, first Duke of Suffolk (?1484-1545). Appointed Warden of the Scottish Marches in 1542. Commanded English army invading France in 1544. Lord Steward of the King’s Household, 1541-4. Died at Guildford, Surrey, 22 August 1545. Buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

  Sir Anthony Browne (d. 1548). Master of the King’s Horse, 1539-48.

  Sir William Cecil, Baron Burghley (1520-98). Elizabeth’s chief minister. Lord High Treasurer of England, 1572-98. Organiser of the queen’s domestic and foreign intelligence network.

  Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556). Archbishop of Canterbury. Supervised preparation and publication of first Prayer Book, 1548. Burned at the stake in Oxford, 21 March 1556, for repudiating his admissions of the supremacy of the Pope and the truth of Catholic doctrine.

  Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex (?1485-1540). Legal adviser to Cardinal Wolsey; lawyer and money-lender. Later, Lord Privy Seal and Vice-Regent for religious affairs. Earl of Essex and Lord High Chamberlain of England. Beheaded for treason, 28 July 1540, on Tower Hill.

  John Dudley (?1502-53). Created Viscount Lisle, 1542. Served as Lord High Admiral, 1542-7 and 1548-9. Governor of Boulogne, 1544-6. Created Earl of Warwick on Edward VI’s succession and appointed Lord High Chamberlain of England, 1551-3. Duke of Northumberland, 1551. Married his son to Lady Jane Grey. Executed for treason - supporting Lady Jane as queen - 22 August 1553 at Tower Hill.

  Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (?1532-88). Supposed by some to have caused the death of his wife, Amy, in 1560. English Privy Councillor. Queen Elizabeth’s favourite and her Master of the Horse. Suggested setting up an association for the protection of the queen’s person, 1584; and commanded the English expedition to support Protestant rebels against Spanish in the Low Countries, 1585, and made absolute governor the following year.

  Sir William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton (d. 1542). Lord High Admiral, 1536-40. Later Lord Privy Seal. Died on active service while commanding the vanguard of Norfolk’s expedition against Scotland, 1542.

  Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester (c. 1483-1555). Secretary to Wolsey and later to Henry VIII until ?15 April 1534. Later ambassador to France. Imprisoned from 1547 during most of Edward’s reign for sedition and failure in religious conformity. Appointed Lord Chancellor by Mary I on her accession in 1553. Died at Palace of Westminster, 13 November 1555.

  Sir Christopher Hatton (1540-89). Vice-Chamberlain and later Lord Chancellor of England in Elizabeth I’s government.

  Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Helped Henry VIII to write his book on the Seven Sacraments against Martin Luther. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1525. Lord Chancellor after fall of Wolsey. Refused to take Oath of Supremacy. Executed 6 July 1536.

  Sir William Paget, later Lord Paget of Beaudesert (1505-63). Protégé of Bishop Stephen Gardiner. Appointed Secretary of State 1543 and later was one of Henry’s chief advisers. Became an ally of radical reformers just before Henry’s death. Imprisoned in 1551 and fined £6,000 for misconduct as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Reinstated as a member of the Privy Council in 1553. Signed document transferring crown to Lady Jane Grey after Edward VI’s death but was retained by Queen Mary as a Privy Councillor because of his administrative abilities and appointed Lord Privy Seal in 1556. He gave up all public office on Elizabeth’s accession in 1558.

  Sir William Paulet, Lord St John (?1485-1572). Treasurer of the Household, 1537- 9. Lord Steward of the Household, 1545-50. Keeper of the Great Seal under Somerset, 1547. Created Earl of Wiltshire, 1550, and Marquis of Winchester, 1551. Proclaimed Mary queen on 19 July 1553 at Baynard’s Castle, London. Appointed Lord Treasurer in 1549-50 and remained so until his death.

  John, Lord Russell (?1486-1555). Comptroller of the Household, 1537-9. Lord High Admiral, 1540-42. Lord Privy Seal, 1542, 1547 and 1553. Created Earl of Bedford, 1550.

  Sir Ralph Sadler (1507-87). Cromwell’s servant and secretary. Made a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber in 1536 and one of the two joint Principal Secretaries to the king (with Wriothesley) in 1540. He was then knighted and made a member of the Privy Council. Retired from public life during Mary’s reign and became jailer to Mary Queen of Scots in 1572 and 1584 after Elizabeth came to the throne.

  Sir Edward Seymour (?1506-52). Earl of Hertford, 1537; made Duke of Somerset on Edward’s accession. Lieutenant General in the North, 1545. Lieutenant and Captain General of Boulogne, 1546. Lieutenant General of the English army in France, 1546. Lord Treasurer, 1546-7. Lord Great Chamberlain of England, 1546- 7. Declared Protector by Privy Council, 31 January 1547. Arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder Warwick, October 1551, and beheaded on Tower Hill on 22 January 1552.

  Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532-90). Staunchly Protestant diplomat, administrator, and organiser of Elizabeth I’s effective network of spies and agents both at home and overseas.

  Thomas Wolsey (c. 1473-1530). Cardinal Archbishop of York, Lord Chancellor, Papal Legate and Henry’s chief minister 1515-29. Indicted under the Statute of Praemunire, 9 October 1529, and property confiscated. Died 29 November 1530 at Leicester after being arrested for treason.

  Sir Thomas Wriothesley (1505-50). Joint Principal Secretary to Henry VIII, 1540. Created Baron Wriothesley, 1544. Lord Chancellor, 1544-7. Created Earl of Southampton, 1547. Deprived of office in 1547, fined £4,000 for acting illegally in his use of the Great Seal and put under house arrest at his London home. Reinstated to Privy Council in 1548. Struck off list of councillors, 1550.

  NOTES

  Prologue

  1. Hall’s Chronicle, p. 419, and Grafton’s Chronicle, vol. 2, p. 154. ‘Dicken’ refers to the king, Richard III.

  2. He was born on 28 January 1457 at Pembroke Castle and immediately assumed the title as his father, Edmund Tudor, had died a few months before.

  3. Edward IV (1442-83), whose fondness for good food led to obesity, may have contracted a chest infection while fishing on the River Thames. This led to pneumonia, coupled with pleurisy, which was the probable cause of death, rather than the contemporary rumours that he was poisoned. See Clifford Brewer, The Death of Kings, London, 2000, pp. 97-8.

  4. Both the father and grandfather of Buckingham (1455-83) were killed in the Wars of the Roses, supporting the Lancastrian cause. He was hastily executed for treason at Salisbury, Wiltshire, on Sunday 2 November 1483.

  5. Thomas Stanley (?1435-1504) succeeded his father as second Baron Stanley in 1460. He was made Chief Justice of Chester and Flint by Edward IV in 1461. He married Henry Tudor’s mother c. 1482 and was arrested at the Council table in Richard’s coup d’état on 13 June 1483 for supporting Edward’s teenage heir Edward V in 1483. Richard later made him a Knight of the Garter and appointed him Constable of England in an attempt to buy his loyalty.

  6. Sir George Stanley, Lord Strange of Knockyn (c. 1460-1503), Constable of Knaresborough Castle and later Chie
f Justice of the Duchy of Lancaster. He died, allegedly as the result of poison, at a banquet at Derby House, off London’s St Paul’s Wharf, on 5 December 1503.

  7. Gairdner, The Paston Letters, vol. 3, p. 320.

  8. The wedge formation was designed to enable volleys with the maximum of arrows without its flanks being turned by the enemy - always a risk if the archers were deployed in long lines.

  9. Sir Henry Percy (c. 1449-89) had been imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and the Tower of London by Edward IV but was restored to his earldom in 1473.

  10. Hall, Chronicle, p. 420.