| Henry FitzRoy (1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset) | |
|---|---|
 Unknown image date. | |
| Name | Henry Tudor or FitzRoy |
| Born | 15th June 1519 |
| Parents | Henry VIII Elizabeth Blount |
| Died | 23rd July 1536 (aged 17) |
| Gender | Male |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Mary Howard |
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536), was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged. He was the younger brother of Henry, Duke of Cornwall and Mary I, Queen of England, as well as the older brother of Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Edward VI, King of England. Through his mother he was also the elder brother of Elizabeth Tailboys, 4th Baroness Tailboys of Kyme, George Tailboys, 2nd Baron Tailboys of Kyme and Robert Tailboys, 3rd Baron Tailboys of Kyme.
Birth[]
Lord Henry FitzRoy was born in June 1519. His mother was Lady Elizabeth Blount a Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine of Aragon, the wife of King Henry VIII. The newborn baby’s father was the twenty eight year old King himself. FitzRoy was conceived when Queen Catherine of Aragon was approaching her last confinement with her and the King’s own child which would result in a stillborn daughter in November 1518. The Queen’s pregnancies frequently triggered in the King a bout of promiscuity. To avoid scandal the Queen’s former Maid of Honour was brought away from the royal court and taken to the Augustinian priory of St Lawrence, at Blackmore, near Ingatestone, in the county of Essex.
The exact date of birth of FitzRoy had not been recorded as his birth was a secret. It seems though that Henry FitzRoy entered the world earlier than originally planned. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was out of London from 9 June until the 18 June when he reappeared back at court at Windsor. The following day he was expected at Hampton Court, yet it is not until the 29 June does he reappear at a council meeting at Westminster. Since 18 June was chosen for FitzRoy’s elevation to the peerage in 1525, it is tempting to conclude that the minister was unexpectedly waylaid by the child’s birth. The policy of discretion worked, as the baby boy’s arrival caused no great stir, and the various diplomatic dispatches record nothing of Henry VIII illegitimate son.
Christening
The christening of the newborn Henry FitzRoy is not recorded. However it is known that Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was godfather to the King’s son. Wolsey was even present at the Christening and was not represented proxy which puts the date of the Christening possibly before the 29 June when he reappeared at court. The identity of the other Godfather is unknown, and although Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk would take a great interest in Henry FitzRoy when he was older, in 1519 he was still the heir to the duchy of Norfolk, and was still called the earl of Surrey. If Henry chose the House of Howard, he would have chosen the elder Thomas Howard, who at the time was the 2nd Duke of Norfolk. This Thomas Howard had fought and defeated the Scots at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Another suggestion for the second godfather could be Henry VIII himself. Henry had taken the role of godfather at the Christening of his own nephew Lord Henry Brandon in March 1516, and his daughter Princess Mary stood godfather to her half brother Prince Edward in 1537.The godmother is also unknown, it would have been indecent to ask a lady of court as they would have had ties to the Queen. The godmother of little Henry FitzRoy was possibly a relation of his mother Elizabeth Blount.
Acknowledgement[]
The infant boy was given the name FitzRoy to make sure that all knew that the boy was son of the King, he was even given the nameHenry after his royal father. Henry VIII who perhaps felt that his lack of male heir was a slur upon his manhood, abandoned all discretion and openly acknowledged the boy. At one point Henry VIII proudly exhibited to the court his newborn son, his wife Catherine of Aragon who knows how much - or how little - bitterness in her heart dutifully attended at the manor house. This could have taken place when the Queen of England threw a sumptuous banquet at her manor of Havering-atte-Bower, in honour of the French hostages in August of that year. Indeed Henry’s rivalry with Francis I, King of France may have required his pride to so, as in that year he had stood godfather to Francis's second son and spare heir Prince Henry of France, who was named for Henry by Francis and he may have enjoyed that after ten years on the throne he finally had a son to show off. Alternatively the wires might be crossed and Henry might have showed his son off at a banquet in the recently refurbished manor of Newhall; this would accommodate the myth that Henry had been revamping it for the use of one of his mistresses.
Possible heir to the throne[]
At the time of Fitzroy's death an Act was going through Parliament which disinherited Henry's daughter Elizabeth as his heir and permitted the King to designate his successor, whether legitimate or not. There is no evidence that Henry intended to proclaim Richmond his heir, but in theory the Act would have permitted him to do so if he wished. The Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles V on 8 July 1536 that Henry VIII had made a statute allowing him to nominate a successor, but thought the Duke of Richmond would not succeed to throne by it, as he was consumptive and now diagnosed incurable.
Death[]
The Duke's promising career came to an abrupt end in July 1536. According to the chronicler Charles Wriothesley, Richmond became sickly some time before he died, although Richmond's biographer Beverley A. Murphy cites his documented public appearances and activities in April and May of that year, without exciting comment on his health, as evidence to the contrary. He was reported ill with "consumption" (usually identified as tuberculosis, but possibly another serious lung complaint) in early July, and died at St. James's Palace on 23 July 1536.
Norfolk gave orders that the body be wrapped in lead and taken in a closed cart for secret interment, but his servants put the body in a straw-filled wagon. The only mourners were two attendants who followed at a distance. The Duke's ornate tomb is in Framlingham Church, Suffolk. One of the houses at the local high school is named after him.
His father outlived him by just over a decade, and was succeeded by his legitimate son Edward, born shortly after Fitzroy's death. Most historians maintain that Edward, like Henry Fitzroy, died of tuberculosis. It is said that Henry Fitzroy might have been made king had Henry VIII died without a legitimate son:
Well was it for them that Henry Fitzroy his natural son ... was dead, otherwise (some suspect) had he survived King Edward the Sixth, we might presently have heard of a King Henry the Ninth, so great was his father's affection and so unlimited his power to prefer him.—Thomas Fuller