Henry VIII's OTHER Children

the other children of henry viii [Music] thank you to skillshare for sponsoring this video even the most casual student of english history will have heard of henry viii's three surviving legitimate children queen mary the first queen elizabeth the first and king edward vi their sibling rivalries and brief bloody and brilliant reigns are among the most famous in history but these three illustrious monarchs were not king henry's only children he had a legitimate son with his wife catherine of aragon whose tragic death changed the course of history an acknowledged illegitimate son whom he considered making a king and as many as six other children with his mistresses they included a pirate con artist queen elizabeth the first closest friend william shakespeare's patron and a playwright here are their stories henry duke of cornwall henry viii became king of england at the age of 18. he married his brother's widow the intelligent and beautiful 24 year old spanish princess catherine of aragon the happy couple became pregnant almost at once but catherine gave birth to a stillborn daughter one year later on new year's day 1511 the queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy the royal couple were overjoyed at the birth of their son and at having secured the tudor dynasty henry ordered bonfires lit throughout london and free wine filled the fountains the midwife received a large cash reward the queen looked on with pride as her son was washed swaddled and placed in his enormous cradle custom required queen catherine to remain in bed for 30 days following the delivery so she was not able to attend her son's lavish christening ceremony which took place when he was five days old the baby was named henry for his father and the long line of king henrys who had ruled england before him he was also granted the title of duke of cornwall the land-rich peerage which belonged to the heir to the throne since edward the black prince in 1337 and belongs to prince charles today baby henry was showered with expensive gifts from lords and monarchs near and far once catherine had been purified by the churching ceremony she and henry returned to westminster palace and left their infant son behind at richmond palace as was the custom for royal offspring baby henry would have been visited often by his parents but raised by his own household of nurses and staff at westminster the king and queen threw extravagant celebrations rivaling their own joint coronation including feasts masks and a jousting tournament with lavish prizes but the mood turned suddenly from joy to despair when henry and catherine were informed that their baby son had died at just 52 days old his mother catherine was inconsolable it was not clear what happened infant mortality was tragically common at the time reports suggest that he died of a bronchial infection the prince's tiny coffin was conducted to westminster abbey aboard a barge draped in black cloth and accompanied by courtiers dressed in black and 150 poppers paid to pray for the soul of the would-be king he was given a grand state funeral which according to custom his parents were not allowed to attend henry viii and catherine of aragon were devastated at the death of their son and their hopes for the future but at 20 and 26 they believed that they had many years ahead of them to have more healthy children as we know that's not what happened catherine delivered four more babies but three of them died shortly after birth her only surviving child was a daughter princess mary who was born five years after the death of her older brother henry viii's father had taken the throne by force based on a somewhat dubious claim and the only other time a woman had attempted to rule england matilda in the 1100s her cousin stephen seized the throne from her and the kingdom fell into war for 20 years henry viii was sure that the only way to secure his dynasty and avoid bloodshed was to hand the throne to a son had baby henry lived he would have been a man of 36 likely with children of his own when his father died in 1547 making him king henry ix but instead henry viii's quest to father a legitimate male heir became the staff of legends and memes he threw his once beloved wife catherine aside breaking with the catholic church in order to divorce her he launched the protestant reformation in england which cost the lives of thousands of people over the following centuries and he personally went through six different wives beheading two of them all in the quest to secure his dynasty with sons and all of this might never have happened if poor baby henry duke of cornwall had lived henry fitzroy throughout his life henry viii had numerous dalliances with women as was expected of a king in france the king's mistress or metresi zontitra was an official court title but 10 years into his marriage to catherine of aragon henry only had one living legitimate child three-year-old princess mary the king's ego pushed him to prove to the world that he was indeed capable of fathering sons and he did so by chasing even more women inter elizabeth bessie blount a teenage lady in waiting to the queen she became pregnant while catherine of aragon was in confinement giving birth to another stillborn child bessie was whisked away to the country where she gave birth to a healthy baby boy king henry was thrilled at this proof of his virility and acknowledged the child as his own he was named henry after his father and fitzroy the anglo-norman name meaning son of the king and historically given to illegitimate royal children king henry even proudly showed off his baby son at court while queen catherine was out of town baby henry was raised much as a legitimate royal child would have been he was moved from house to house with the royal nursery and lived alongside his older sister mary his mother had little control over his life the king arranged a marriage for bessie with gilbert barron tailboys of chyme by henry fitzroy's sixth birthday his royal father still didn't have any legitimate sons and queen catherine was about to turn 40. the king threw decency and his wife's feelings to the wind and held a grand birthday banquet for his only son he also granted him the titles of duke of richmond duke of somerset and earl of nottingham dukedoms were rarely granted outside the royal family and a double dukedom was an especially exalted honor the titles came with vast wealth and land primarily passed down from the king's grandmother margaret beauford the title duke of somerset was particularly significant as its first holder john beaufort had been born illegitimate but was later recognized as a royal it seemed the king was setting his son henry fitzroy up as an option to be his own heir the six-year-old was also named lord president of the council of the north making him in name the governor of northern england he was moved to a new household in yorkshire at 10 fitzroy was made lieutenant of ireland a position that had existed under various names since the english conquered their irish neighbors in 1169. his father wanted to crown him king of ireland but the council advised against it fearing that if henry fitzroy did not end up becoming king of england as well then the two countries would once again become rivals frustrated at not yet having a legitimate male heir king henry began inquiries into having his marriage to catherine of aragon annulled those counselors who were opposed to the breakup offered an alternative that henry fitzroy should wed his half-sister princess mary as her husband he could claim the title of king of england and the tudor dynasty would have been secured through their children the pope was even willing to grant a special dispensation for this incestuous marriage european royals were infamous for marrying their own cousins but a marriage between siblings was a step too far henry viii was not as keen on this idea as he was on leaving catherine marrying his new paramour anne boleyn and he hoped fathering more sons by her so henry fitzroy was instead married to lady mary howard the only daughter of thomas howard duke of norfolk one of the king's closest advisors and a cousin to anne boleyn fitzroy's new father-in-law held hopes that his daughter might one day be a queen king henry went on to marry anne boleyn but she also only gave him one living child a daughter elizabeth henry beheaded anne and pushed a bill through parliament disinheriting elizabeth and allowing him to designate his own successor legitimate or not the king might have intended this bill to allow him to name his only living son his heir but sadly henry fitzroy contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of 17. one year later king henry finally did get a legitimate son edward henry viii's royal children grew up in palaces and wanted for nothing but his illegitimate children were pretty much on their own so they had to develop their cunning and skills in order to make a good life for themselves in tudor england if you were also not lucky enough to be born a royal then you can develop a myriad of practical and valuable skills on skillshare this online learning community has thousands of classes on topics including filmmaking web design writing entrepreneurship and a lot more i've been getting some great tips to work more efficiently and eke out a little more me time with productivity for creatives taught by fellow youtuber thomas frank and capturing some great moments with my friends and family with portrait photography led by fashion photographer jessica kobesie so if you want to develop new creative skills for the 21st century then check out skillshare the first 1000 people to click the link will get a one month free trial of skillshare membership [Music] and now back to history thomas stuckley during the summer that henry fitzroy was born while henry viii was on progress he spent the night at atherton castle nine months later the lady of the manor jane pollard gave birth to a son thomas jane's husband sir hugh stuckley claimed the boy as his own but it was widely whispered that his true paternity was higher born young thomas was mentored by king henry's brother-in-law the duke of suffolk and the bishop of exeter higher persons than would normally have taken an interest in the son of a knight thomas joined the army and was present during the siege of bologn france next he entered the service of edward seymour regent to henry's successor and only surviving a legitimate son king edward vi when seymour fell from grace and was beheaded an arrest warrant was also issued for thomas but he managed to escape to france where he became a mercenary king henri ii sent him back to england to the court of his half-brother edward vi thomas told the 15-year-old king that he had been sent by the french as part of an invasion plot but that he had decided instead to warn his brother and remain loyal to him edward believed thomas but his new regent john dudley did not king edward died a year later and left his brother a legacy which thomas burned through quickly he then returned to the life of a soldier of fortune and took up robbery as a side gig he was in and out of prison for the next several years through his royal connections he married a wealthy highborn woman ann curtis but he burned through her money and even sold off pieces of her family's property with another warrant looming thomas abandoned his wife and took off for italy he was next seen in england under a charge of piracy but he was released by queen elizabeth the first whom he addressed as our dearest sister thomas convinced her to furnish him with five ships and 100 men to establish a colony in florida having staged a naval pageant for the queen on the thames he promptly sailed his fleet to ireland from whence he began privateering against french spanish and portuguese ships after repeated complaints from the offended powers the queen sent her navy to arrest her wayward brother but he was acquitted once more thomas next requested that his sister make him marshall of ireland but she refused and would not be fooled by him again thomas responded that he gave not a fart for his sister and he offered his services to her enemy king philip ii of spain he sailed for madrid and raised funds to invade ireland in the name of spain he also sailed to rome where pope gregory xiii bought into his plan as part of a larger plot to remove protestant queen elizabeth in favor of her catholic cousin mary queen of scots with spanish and papal gold in his pockets thomas set sail for his promised invasion of ireland but on the way he stopped in portugal where king sebastian made him a better offer to join his invasion of morocco thomas died at the battle of alcazar kibir at the age of 58. according to legend he was cut in half by a cannonball which had been supplied to the moroccans by his sister queen elizabeth elizabeth tailboys was the second child of bessie blount and while betsy's husband gilbert baron tailboys claimed her as his own historians speculate that she may have been fathered by king henry like her older brother henry fitzroy though the king might not have recognized her because she was a girl henry viii arranged elizabeth's marriage to a wealthy landowner thomas weibush but the couple didn't get along elizabeth outlived all three of her brothers and became baroness tailboys of chyme in her own right her estranged husband tried to claim the title from her but king henry ruled that elizabeth could keep the barony for herself thomas died a few years later and left his estate to his mother and sisters and only a pittance to his wife elizabeth next married sir ambrose dudley earl of warwick and elder brother of robert dudley the great favorite of her possible half-sister queen elizabeth first elizabeth tailboys died at the age of 43. catherine carey a few years before henry viii became enamored of anne boleyn he fell for another belen girl anne's older sister mary the more beautiful sister caught the eye of the king at the field of cloth of gold she was propositioned by him while serving as a lady in waiting to catherine of aragon mary was wed to courtier william carey and king henry gave the newlyweds a suspiciously large sum of money as a wedding gift possibly buying the compliance of the husband in the seduction of the wife mary gave birth to two children catherine and henry who were suspected to have been fathered by the king but bore mary's husband's name once anne boleyn became queen she provided for the education of her niece and nephew young catherine may have stayed with her aunt in the tower of london to keep up her spirits the night before she was executed at 16 catherine was appointed a maid of honor to king henry's fourth wife anne of cleves and when she got the boot catherine served his fifth wife her own cousin catherine howard until she got the chop catherine married sir francis nollies the nollies were staunch protestants so when mary the first came to the throne they fled to germany five years later mary died and elizabeth became queen she wrote to her cousin and possible half-sister and invited her to court catherine was the queen's nearest female relative and the pair formed a close bond catherine was named chief lady of the bedchamber the highest ranking female position at court she oversaw the elaborate toilet and dressing of her cousin all while carrying 14 children all but one of whom survived childhood her husband was also named treasurer of the queen's household catherine carey died at the age of 45 and was buried in westminster abbey near her cousin longtime friend and possible half-sister henry carey catherine's little brother was also possibly fathered by henry viii once anne boleyn was queen she became her nephew's patron and paid for him to have an outstanding education anne was beheaded when henry was 10 but several of the protestant scholars anne had sponsored ensured that her nephew's education continued at 19 henry married ann morgan and the couple had 16 children together he served twice as a member of parliament during the reign of his cousin and possible half-sister elizabeth the first he received numerous high-profile appointments including being created at baron of hunston a knight of the guarder master of the queen's hawks and serving as the queen's personal bodyguard for four years in 1569 catholic nobles in northern england rose up against the queen henry was appointed lieutenant general of the queen's forces and rode north he defeated an army twice the size of his own and was handsomely rewarded by his cousin with even more honors and titles including being named lord chamberlain he was the patron of shakespeare's theater company known as the lord chamberlain's men he also had an affair with emilia lenair 45 years his junior who may have been secretly jewish and was the first female professional poet in england she had one child by him henry carey died at the age of 70. richard edwards was the son of agnes blewett a poor woman who may have had a brief affair with king henry viii richard had a mysterious benefactor who paid for him to study at corpus christi college oxford university this was far above the attainments of any of his siblings richard took after his possible father in his love of music he was made a gentleman of the royal chapel another appointment well above his station and became master of singing boys he married helen griffith richard wrote and produced several comic plays poems and songs his comedy paloman and arseite based on chaucer's the knight's tale was performed before his possible half-sister queen elizabeth the first during the performance the stage fell killing three people and injuring five but the show went on anyway richard edwards died at the age of 41. ethel rita malt was the daughter of joan dingley a palace laundress who caught the eye of the king joan married a royal taylor and the couple raised ethel rita nicknamed audrey together henry gave the former laundress and taylor a generous wedding gift of cash and land he had seized during the disillusion of the monasteries on his deathbed king henry bequeathed 1312 pounds a huge sum of money to audrey his base born daughter audrey married poet and writer john harrington and had a daughter hester during the reign of queen mary the first her younger sister princess elizabeth came under suspicion of plotting against the queen audrey malt was one of six ladies who accompanied princess elizabeth to the tower of london where she was held prisoner for nearly a year when mary died and elizabeth became queen she rewarded her probable half-sister for her loyalty audrey was present at elizabeth's coronation in 1559 but she died later that month of an unknown cause she was 32. one other notable elizabethan sir john perrault was rumored to have been fathered by king henry viii john did resemble the king in both physical appearance and temperament but the rumors about his paternity came primarily from his grandson-in-law who is keen to use this royal connection to his own advantage the rumors have since been dismissed by historians john was his mother mary berkeley's third child and king henry's mo was to go after young usually unmarried women additionally mary and the king were not recorded to have been in the same place in early 1528 when she would have conceived her son henry viii's youngest known children were elizabeth his daughter by anne boleyn and finally his long-awaited legitimate son edward born by his third wife jane seymour though henry had three additional wives none of them bore him any children following henry viii's death his three surviving legitimate children each had their chance to sit on the throne as the only son nine-year-old edward vi that got the crown first he died after a brief reign at the age of 15 from tuberculosis following a nine-day interlude during which a cousin lady jane gray tried to take the crown thirty-seven-year-old mary the first became queen she was desperate to convert the country back to catholicism and executed over 300 religious martyrs earning the nickname bloody mary she was also desperate to have a child with her husband king philip ii of spain and keep the throne from her protestant sister elizabeth but after two false pregnancies she died of uterine cancer at 42. finally elizabeth became queen at 25. she was a brilliant leader and ruled england for 45 years of prosperity and flourishing art trade and colonization she resembled her father henry viii in her red hair keen intellect and ruthlessness but in one way she veered in the opposite direction of her father she never married or had any children in fact none of henry's three famous offspring bore him any grandchildren and after elizabeth's death the throne was passed to james vi of scotland the grandson of henry's sister margaret so officially henry viii's bloodline died with elizabeth but henry did have as many as 33 grandchildren by three of his seven illegitimate children many of whom became prominent nobles and had numerous children of their own so henry viii's lineage lived on through them a special thank you goes to my patrons joshua jordan christina ruiz and elizabeth barlow if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 553,974

Rating: 4.8936391 out of 5

Keywords: history, documentary, royal family, royalty, queen, queens of the world, henry viii, Queen elizabeth i, henry viii illegitimate son, henry viii illegitimate children, henry viii bastard son, famous illegitimate son, queen mary i, elizabeth i, lord chamberlain, shakespeare, william shakespeare, henry viii's other children, king's bastards, henry fitzroy, henry duke of cornwall, pirate history, tudor history, elizabethan history, english history, royal history, royal bastards

Id: vDZZ8Rw5Udc

Length: 27min 27sec (1647 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 03 2021