Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Lady Margaret Douglas; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret Douglas was third in the line of succession to the English throne at the time of her birth. Her elder son was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley who married his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter and successor of Lady Margaret’s half-brother James V, King of Scots. Darnley and Mary’s son James VI, King of Scots succeeded as King James I of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Margaret and her family suffered the dangerous misfortune of being a threat to the English throne. All British monarchs from King James I onward, and many European royals are the descendants of Lady Margaret Douglas.

Margaret’s mother Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on October 7, 1515, at Harbottle Castle in Harbottle, Northumberland, England, Lady Margaret Douglas was the only child of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots and the second of her third husbands, Scottish noble Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Her mother was the widow of James IV, King of Scots (who was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513), the daughter of King Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England, and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Lady Margaret’s paternal grandparents were George Douglas, Master of Angus (who was also killed at the Battle of Flodden Field), and Elizabeth Drummond. Her maternal grandparents were King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of King Edward IV of England. Lady Margaret was christened on October 8, 1515, with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the Lord High Chancellor of England and close advisor to the infant Margaret’s uncle King Henry VIII of England, serving as godfather, represented by a proxy.

Margaret’s half-brother James V, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret had four half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to James IV, King of Scots but only one survived infancy:

Lady Margaret had been born in England to an English mother and was treated as an English subject. At the time of Margaret’s birth in 1515, the first three in the line of succession to the English throne were:

  1. Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots (born 1489), elder sister of King Henry VII
  2. James V, King of Scots (born 1512), son of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots from her first marriage
  3. Lady Margaret Douglas (born 1515), daughter of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots from her second marriage

Sometime after the birth of their daughter, Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus went to London where they were well treated by her brother King Henry VIII of England, and lived in Scotland Yard, the traditional residence of the Scottish diplomats and Scottish kings when they visited London. During their stay in London, King Henry VIII’s first child Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I of England, was born to his first wife Catherine of Aragon, and Mary Tudor was now the heir presumptive to the English throne.

Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of Angus; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1517, Lady Margaret and her parents returned to Scotland. Her parents became estranged and her father had a daughter with his mistress. There was an Anglophile sentiment among some of the Scottish nobility, supported by King Henry VIII of England. This allowed Lady Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas to carry out a coup d’état in 1525. Her thirteen-year-old half-brother James V, King of Scots was placed under Archibald’s supervision in Edinburgh. Archibald’s relatives and associates were appointed to high political offices. This caused discontent among the Scottish nobility but all attempts to rebel against Archibald were crushed.

Meanwhile, Margaret Tudor transferred her affections to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven. On March 11, 1527, Pope Clement VII granted Margaret Tudor a divorce from Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Margaret and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven were married on March 3, 1528. The marriage produced a daughter, Dorothea Stewart, born circa April 1528, who died in infancy. At the end of March 1528, Margaret Tudor and Methven were besieged by Archibald and some of his Douglas relatives at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. A few weeks later, James V, King of Scots managed to escape from custody and took refuge at Stirling Castle. James V issued an order that his former stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and all the Douglases were forbidden to come within seven miles of him.

Lady Margaret’s father wanted to flee Scotland and he sought refuge with brother-in-law King Henry VIII in England. Under the terms of her parents’ divorce, Lady Margaret remained legitimate and was fourth in the line of succession to the English throne. She was considered to be a desirable bride and her father used this to his advantage. Lady Margaret was taken from her mother and sent to England as a goodwill gesture to her uncle King Henry VIII who ignored his sister’s pleas to return her daughter.

Lady Margaret’s first cousin Mary Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

Accompanied by her governess Isobel Hoppar, Lady Margaret joined the household of her godfather Cardinal Wolsey. After the death of Cardinal Wolsey in 1530, Lady Margaret joined the household of her first cousin Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I of England. Because of her place in the line of succession to the English throne, Lady Margaret continued to be brought up at the English court with her first cousin Mary Tudor, who was only four months younger than Margaret and remained her lifelong friend. Even though Lady Margaret’s father Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus lived in England for a period of time, Lady Margaret’s uncle King Henry VIII kept her guardianship.

In 1533, when King Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn, Lady Margaret became one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting. It was at Anne’s court that Lady Margaret met Lord Thomas Howard, a younger son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his second wife Agnes Tilney. Lord Thomas was a half-brother of the well-known Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (son of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his first marriage and the uncle of King Henry VIII’s beheaded wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard), and is often confused with his elder brother. By the end of 1535, Lord Thomas and Lady Margaret had fallen in love and become secretly engaged.

King Henry VIII was enraged when he found out about Lady Margaret and Lord Thomas because of Lady Margaret’s place in the line of succession. Lady Margaret and Thomas were sent to the Tower of London and in July 1536, an Act of Attainder was passed in Parliament against Lord Thomas Howard accusing him of interrupting and impeding the succession of the crown. Lord Thomas was sentenced to death but the execution was never carried out. While at the Tower of London, Lady Margaret became quite ill and was allowed to be moved to Syon Abbey under the supervision of the abbess. On October 29, 1537, Lady Margaret was released from Syon Abbey. Two days later, Lord Thomas Howard died at the Tower of London from an illness although there was speculation that he was poisoned.

In 1540, Lady Margaret again angered King Henry VIII when she had an affair with a gentleman at the court, Charles Howard who was the son of Lord Edmund Howard (Lord Thomas Howard’s half-brother) and brother of King Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard. In 1543, Lady Margaret was one of the few witnesses of King Henry VIII’s sixth and final marriage to Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. Lady Margaret had known Catherine Parr since they had both come to court in the 1520s, and became one of Catherine Parr’s chief ladies.

Margaret’s husband, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1544, it seemed as if 29-year-old Lady Margaret would never be married. Instead of invading Scotland, King Henry VIII decided to build Scottish support for a marriage between his only son and heir, the future but short-reigned King Edward VI, and the year-old Mary, Queen of Scots which would unite the crowns of England and Scotland. The marriage never happened and the possibility of the marriage caused a war called the Rough Wooing. Lady Margaret was to be a pawn in her uncle’s plan. King Henry VIII offered his niece in marriage to Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, one of Scotland’s leading noblemen and a descendant of James I, King of Scots.

King Henry VIII generously allowed Lady Margaret and Lennox to accept or reject the marriage once they met. Lady Margaret and Lennox were equally delighted with each other. They were married on June 29, 1544, in the presence of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine Parr.

Margaret’s two surviving children Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret, now Countess of Lennox and Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox had eight or nine children, probably four sons and four (unnamed daughters) but only two sons survived childhood:

During the reign of her first cousin Queen Mary I of England, Margaret had rooms at the Palace of Westminster in London. While Margaret had been removed from the line of succession in the wills of her uncle King Henry VIII and first cousin King Edward VI, Queen Mary I thought that Margaret was best suited to succeed her but was ultimately convinced that it would be problematic. Margaret was the chief mourner at Queen Mary’s funeral in December 1558. After her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne, Margaret spent much more time at her home Temple Newsam in Leeds Yorkshire, England. Margaret had remained Roman Catholic and her home became a center for Roman Catholics.

Meanwhile, in France in 1560, where 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots had lived since she was five years old, her husband of two years, 16-year-old King François II of France died after a reign of only seventeen months. Left a childless widow, Mary decided to return to Scotland and she needed a husband to provide an heir to the throne of Scotland. Margaret Douglas, calculating her political possibilities, realized that her elder surviving son 15-year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was a potential groom for his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Darnley and Mary had already met in 1559 when Margaret had sent her son to congratulate King François II of France on his accession to the French throne. When Margaret wrote to Mary about a possible marriage, the Queen of Scots was intrigued. Mary and Darnley were married at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 29, 1565. The marriage angered Queen Elizabeth I who felt that Darnley, as her cousin and an English subject, needed her permission to marry. Because of her involvement in the marriage, Margaret was sent to the Tower of London.

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots had one son:

Mary, Queen of Scots soon became disillusioned by Darnley’s uncouth behavior and his insistence upon receiving the Crown Matrimonial which would have made him co-sovereign of Scotland. Mary refused and their relationship became strained. At the end of 1565, Mary became pregnant. Darnley, who was jealous of Mary’s friendship with her private secretary David Riccio, rumored to be the father of her child. Darnley formed a conspiracy to do away with Riccio. On March 9, 1566, Riccio was at supper with Mary and her ladies at Holyrood Palace. The conspirators, led by Darnley, burst into the room, dragged Riccio away, and killed him in an adjoining room. Mary was roughly pushed and shoved and although the conspirators hoped she would miscarry, she did not. All the conspirators were banished except for Darnley who was forgiven.

Mary’s marriage was all but over and she began to be drawn to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell entered into a conspiracy with  Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll and George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly to rid Mary of her husband. On February 10, 1567, Darnley was killed when the house he was staying at was blown up.

Margaret and her husband with their son Charles and grandson James VI of Scotland mourning Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; Credit – Wikipedia

After the murder of her son, Margaret was released from the Tower of London. Margaret’s husband Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox pursued justice against the Scottish lords who had conspired in the murder of his son. He also became the main witness against Mary, Queen of Scots due to her possible involvement in her husband’s murder. On July 24, 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son James VI, King of Scots. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, the illegitimate brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, served as Regent for his young nephew until his assassination in 1570. After Moray’s assassination, King James VI’s paternal grandfather Margaret’s husband Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox served as his grandson’s Regent. However, on September 3, 1571, supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots broke into the Regent’s residence in Stirling, Scotland, and killed Lennox. Margaret was now a widow.

In 1574, Margaret’s son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox married Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of Elizabeth Hardwick (known as Bess of Hardwick), a notable figure of Elizabethan society, and her first husband Sir William Cavendish. At the time of the marriage, Bess of Hardwick was married to her second husband George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. The marriage took place without the knowledge of Shrewsbury, who was aware of the suggested match but declined to accept any responsibility. Because Margaret’s son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox had a claim to the English throne, the marriage was considered potentially treasonous because Queen Elizabeth I’s consent had not been obtained. Margaret was again sent to the Tower of London. She was released after the death of her son Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox in April 1576 from tuberculosis.

Tomb of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox in Westminster Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox died, aged 62, in London, England on March 7, 1578. A few days before her death, Margaret dined with Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite Robert Dudley. After her death, rumors swirled that Dudley had poisoned her, although there is no evidence for this. Margaret’s first cousin Queen Elizabeth I arranged a magnificent funeral at Westminster Abbey where Margaret was buried with her son Charles in the Henry VII Chapel. A monument was commissioned by her executor and former servant Thomas Fowler. Her alabaster effigy wears a French cap and ruff and a red fur-lined cloak, over a dress of blue and gold. On either side of the tomb chest are weepers of her four sons and four daughters.

The potentially deadly problems for heirs to the throne followed Margaret’s granddaughter Lady Arabella Stuart, the only child of her son Charles. Arabella was then fourth in line to the succession to her second cousin to James VI, King of Scots (later King James I of England), through their great-grandmother Margaret Tudor. Arabella had been considered a possible successor to the childless Queen Elizabeth I. During the reign of King James VI and I, Arabella was married on June 22, 1610, without the King’s permission, to William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Seymour was another claimant to the English throne, sixth in the line of succession. Seymour was the grandson of Lady Katherine Grey, a sister of Lady Jane Grey, which gave him a claim to the throne through Katherine’s descent from Mary Tudor, younger sister of King Henry VIII.

Margaret’s unfortunate granddaughter Lady Arabella Stuart; Credit – Wikipedia

Their marriage was seen by King James I as a threat to the ruling dynasty. Seymour was condemned to life imprisonment in the Tower of London and Arabella was placed under house arrest. In June 1611, Seymour escaped from the Tower of London and planned to meet Arabella who had escaped her house arrest, and then flee together to continental Europe. However, Arabella was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Seymour managed to make it to Ostend, Flanders, now in Belgium. Arabella was kept in the Tower of London where she died, aged 40, on September 25, 1615, from illnesses caused by her refusal to eat.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Дуглас, Маргарита (Margaret Douglas) (2023) Wikipedia – Russian. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81,_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0 (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
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  • Flanzter, Susan. (2017) Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-tudor-queen-of-scotland/ (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
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Isabel Stuart, daughter of King James II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Isabel Stuart by Peter Lely, 1677; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabel Stuart was born at St. James’s Palace in London, England on August 28, 1676. She was the second of the seven children and the second of the five daughters of the future King James II of England, who was then Duke of York, and his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena. Isabel’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. Her maternal grandparents were Alfonso IV d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Laura Martinozzi, the niece of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin, who served as King Louis XIV’s chief minister at the French court. Born during the reign of her paternal uncle King Charles II of England, Isabel was named after her maternal great-grandmother Isabella of Savoy, Hereditary Princess of Modena, who died before her husband succeeded to the Duchy of Modena.


Isabel’s parents James and Maria Beatrice, then Duke and Duchess of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabel was baptized soon after her birth. Her godparents were:

Isabel’s mother Maria Beatrice had twelve pregnancies and gave birth to seven live children, four of whom died in infancy. To her father James, this seemed a repeat of his first marriage to Lady Anne Hyde when six of their eight children died young. Only the last two of Isabel’s six siblings survived childhood.

Isabel had six siblings:

Isabel’s elder half-sisters Mary and Anne with their parents Lady Anne Hyde and James, Duke of York, circa 1668 and 1670; Credit- Wikipedia

Isabel had two surviving elder half-sisters from her father’s first marriage to Lady Anne Hyde:

For most of her short life, Isabel was her parents’ only child and was fourth in line to the throne behind her father and her elder half-sisters Mary and Anne from her father’s first marriage. She moved down a place in the line of succession when her brother Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge was born in 1677. However, he lived for only one month, dying from smallpox. In 1678, Isabel was joined by another sister, Elizabeth, who was also short-lived.

In 1678, the Popish Plot, a fictitious conspiracy alleging that there was a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Isabel’s uncle King Charles II, caused the Duke and Duchess of York, their daughter Isabel and Isabel’s elder half-sister Anne to flee for their safety to the Dutch Republic where they stayed with Isabel’s elder half-sister Mary and her husband Willem III, Prince of Orange.

However, news of King Charles II being very ill, sent James, Duke of York and his family back to England. Because Charles II and his wife had no children (although Charles had many illegitimate children), his brother James, Duke of York was the heir to the throne. There were fears that Charles II’s eldest illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth might usurp the throne if James was not in England when Charles II died. Charles survived and once he was better, he sent the Duke and Duchess of York to Edinburgh for their safety while Anne and Isabel remained in London on Charles II’s orders.

Isabel died on March 2, 1681, five months before her fifth birthday, at St. James’s Palace in London while her parents were still in Scotland. Her father regretted that he “could not have the satisfaction of seeing and assisting her in her sickness.” When he was King James II of England, he named the royal yacht Isabella in her memory. Her mother consoled herself with “thoughts that I have more angels to pray for me.” Isabel was buried at Westminster Abbey in the vault of her great-great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots on March 4, 1681.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-hyde-duchess-of-york/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017) King James II of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-ii-of-england/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Holmes, Frederic. (2005) The Sickly Stuarts: The Medical Downfall of a Dynasty. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton.
  • Isabel Stuart (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Stuart (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, 2nd Husband of Margaret Tudor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus; Credit – Wikipedia

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V, King of Scots and Mary, Queen of Scots, was a leader of the Anglophile faction in Scotland in the early decades of the 16th century, seizing power several times. However, by the later part of his life, Archibald was once again a Scottish patriot. He was the second of the three husbands of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots, daughter of King Henry VII of England, sister of King Henry VIII of England, and the widow of James IV, King of Scots. Through their daughter Margaret Douglas, Archibald and Margaret are the grandparents of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the first cousin and second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, the great-grandparents of James VI, King of Scots, later also James I, King of England, and the ancestors of the British royal family and most other European royal families.

Ruins of Douglas Castle, the birthplace of Archibald Douglas; Credit – By User:Supergolden – Taken by User:Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1082856

Born November 29, 1489, at Douglas Castle in Douglasdale, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the three sons of George Douglas, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field, and Elizabeth Drummond. His paternal grandparents were Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus and Elizabeth Boyd. Archibald’s maternal grandparents were John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond and Elizabeth Lindsay.

Archibald had six younger siblings:

  • Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich (circa 1493 – 1552), married Elizabeth Douglas, had three children
  • William Douglas, Prior of Coldingham and Abbot of Holyrood (circa 1493 – 1528)
  • Elizabeth Douglas, married John Hay, 3rd Lord Yester, had two children
  • Alison Douglas (1480 – 1530), married (1) Robert Blackadder, had one daughter, killed at the Battle of Flodden Field (2) David Home, 4th Baron Wedderburn, had four children
  • Janet Douglas (circa 1498 – 1537), married (1) John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, had four children (2), Archibald Campbell of Skipnish, had one son, Janet was executed by burning for witchcraft during the reign of James V, King of Scots
  • Margaret Douglas married Sir James Douglas, 7th of Drumlanrig, had three children, divorced

In 1509, when he was about 20-years-old, Archibald married Margaret Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell and his second wife Margaret Gordon. The marriage was childless and Margaret died four years later.

Margaret Tudor and her first husband James IV, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 24, 1502, England and Scotland concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, agreeing to end the warfare between England and Scotland which had occurred over the previous two hundred years. As part of the treaty, a marriage was arranged between 28-year-old James IV, King of Scots and twelve-year-old Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. A proxy marriage was held on January 25, 1503, at Richmond Palace in England with Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, Archibald’s future father-in-law, standing in for James IV. In June 1503, Margaret left London to make the journey to Scotland. Margaret and James IV, King of Scots were married in person on August 8, 1503, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Margaret Tudor and James IV had two stillborn daughters and four sons, but only one of their sons survived infancy, the future James V, King of Scots. In 1509, Margaret’s father King Henry VII died and her brother King Henry VIII came to the throne. Henry VIII did not have his father’s diplomatic patience and was heading toward a war with France. James IV was committed to his alliance with France and invaded England. Ultimately, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Flodden Field near Branxton, Northumberland, England on September 9, 1513, and Margaret’s husband, 30-year-old James IV, King of Scots was killed in the battle. Margaret’s seventeen-month-old son succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots. James V was the father of Mary, Queen of Scots and therefore, Margaret Tudor was her grandmother.

Margaret Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

Under the terms of James IV’s will, Margaret was the Regent of Scotland for her son as long as she did not remarry. Margaret sought an ally with the pro-English Clan Douglas. On August 6, 1514, Margaret secretly married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. The marriage stirred up the jealousy of the nobles and the opposition of the faction supporting French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out, and Margaret lost the regency to John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, grandson of James II, King of Scots. Margaret and Douglas escaped to England where she gave birth to their only child at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland, England:

Sometime after the birth of their daughter, Margaret and her second husband Archibald went to London where they were well treated by her brother King Henry VIII of England, and lived in Scotland Yard, the traditional residence of the Scottish diplomats and Scottish kings when they visited London. After returning to Scotland in 1517, Archibald and Margaret became estranged. Archibald began a relationship with Lady Jane de Truquare. They had one daughter:

Newark Castle, now in ruins; Credit – By Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13836998

Archibald took over Margaret’s dower estate Newark Castle near Selkirk, Selkirkshire, Scotland, and settled there with his mistress and illegitimate daughter. It greatly angered Margaret that Archibald had confiscated her property and used her dowry income as Dowager Queen of Scots. Archibald tried to seize power, causing a conflict with James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. This escalated to armed skirmishes over the control of Edinburgh and threatened to escalate into civil war. John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland regained power, and Archibald was charged with treason and sent to France as a prisoner. However, within two years, he managed to escape to England.

There was an Anglophile sentiment among some of the Scottish nobility, supported by King Henry VIII of England. This allowed Archibald Douglas to carry out a coup d’état in 1525. Thirteen-year-old James V, King of Scots was placed under Archibald’s supervision in Edinburgh. Archibald’s relatives and associates were appointed to high political offices. This caused discontent among the Scottish nobility but all attempts to rebel against Archibald were crushed.

Meanwhile, Margaret Tudor transferred her affections to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven. On March 11, 1527, Pope Clement VII granted Margaret a divorce from Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus to the consternation of her brother King Henry VIII of England who insisted that marriage was “divinely ordained” and protested against the “shameless sentence sent from Rome.” Ironically, several years later Henry VIII would seek to end his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

Margaret and Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven were married on March 3, 1528. The marriage produced a daughter, Dorothea Stewart, born circa April 1528, who died in infancy. At the end of March 1528, Margaret and Methven were besieged by Archibald and some of his Douglas relatives at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. A few weeks later, James V, King of Scots managed to escape from custody and took refuge at Stirling Castle. James V issued an order that his former stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and all the Douglases were forbidden to come within seven miles of him.

The ruins of Tantallon Castle; Credit -By Stephencdickson – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95033608

Archibald was attainted (lost his titles) and his lands were confiscated. He surrendered Tantallon Castle near North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland, his family’s 14th-century fortress, as a condition of a truce between England and Scotland. In May 1529, Archibald sought refuge with King Henry VIII in England. He obtained an allowance and took an oath of allegiance, and a promise that Henry VIII would work on restoring his title and lands.

James V, King of Scots took revenge against many Douglases remaining in Scotland. Archibald’s sister Janet, Lady Glamis, was summoned to answer a charge of communicating with her brothers, and when she failed to appear, her estates were forfeited. In 1537, James V had Janet accused of witchcraft against him, although it was clear that the accusations were false. To gain “evidence”, James V had Janet’s family and servants tortured. Janet was convicted and burned at the stake on July 17, 1537, outside of Edinburgh Castle.

When on her deathbed in 1541, Archibald’s divorced wife Margaret Tudor asked Archibald Douglas to forgive her for having divorced him, telling him that he was her lawful husband and that their marriage was valid. It is not clear whether her motivation was regret or an attempt to ensure the legitimacy of her daughter Margaret Douglas to preserve her position in the line of succession to the English throne.

Archibald remained in England, joining in attacks upon the Scots at the border. James V refused Henry VIII’s demands to restore Archibald’s titles and land and continued to suppress the Douglas faction. Despite Archibald living in England, Henry VIII kept the guardianship of his daughter Margaret Douglas who was raised in the English royal household with her first cousin, the future Queen Mary I of England. Margaret and Mary remained lifelong friends.

In 1542, upon the death of thirty-year-old James V, King of Scots, Archibald returned to Scotland, his titles and lands restored, with instructions from King Henry VIII of England to negotiate a marriage between James V’s successor, the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII’s five-year-old son and heir, the future King Edward VI of England. The marriage was negotiated but because of the English hostilities, Scotland eventually abandoned the possibility of an English marriage.

In 1543, Archibald married Margaret Maxwell, daughter of Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell. They had one son James Douglas, Master of Angus who died when he was three years old. In the same year, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset’s Burning of Edinburgh during the Rough Wooing damaged Archibald’s land and this caused him to give up any allegiance to England and join the anti-English faction. Archibald allied with James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, during the early part of Mary, Queen of Scots’ reign. Archibald gave his support to the diplomatic mission sent to France to offer a marriage between Mary, Queen of Scots (the first on Mary’s three marriages) and François, Dauphin of France (the future King François II), the son and heir of King Henri II of France. In July 1544, Archibald was appointed commander of the Scottish troops on the border with England, and his troops defeated the English at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545.

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus died, aged 67, on January 22, 1557, at Tantallon Castle near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. He may have been buried in Abernethy, Perthshire, Scotland but his burial information is uncertain.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Archibald-Douglas-6th-Earl-of-Angus/6000000003232538566 (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Douglas,_6th_Earl_of_Angus (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
  • Flantzer, S. (2016) James V, King of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-tudor-queen-of-scotland/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).

Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, Son of King James II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Edgar’s coat of arms; Credit – By Alexcoldcasefan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18934468

Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge was born at St. James’s Palace in London, England on September 14, 1667. He was the sixth of the eight children and the youngest of the four sons of the future King James II of England, who was then Duke of York, and his first wife Anne Hyde. Edgar’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. His maternal grandparents were Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and his second wife Frances Aylesbury. The name Edgar had roots in the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex with Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English and in Scotland with Edgar, King of Scots.

Edgar’s parents with their only surviving children, the future Queen Mary II and the future Queen Anne by Peter Lely between 1668 and 1670; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of his birth, his three brothers who had been born before Edgar had all died. His only living siblings were his two elder sisters, the future Queen Mary II of England and the future Queen Anne of England, who turned out to be the only surviving children of their parents’ eight children. Edgar’s uncle King Charles II of England had married Catherine of Braganza in 1662, and five years later, their marriage was still childless. By this time King Charles II had eleven illegitimate children so the issue was not with him. Edgar was second in the line of succession after his father. Regarding Edgar’s birth, the diarist Samuel Pepys noted, “The King [Charles II] and the Duke of York [Edgar’s father] and the whole Court is mighty joyful at the Duchess of York’s being brought to bed this day of a son.”

Edgar had seven siblings:

Edgar was christened at the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace in London, England on September 16, 1667.

His godparents were:

On October 7, 1667, Edgar’s uncle King Charles II created him Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Cambridge, and Baron of Dauntsey, the same titles that had been bestowed upon his deceased elder brother James who had died four months earlier.

Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, established in 1642, was named after Edgar when it was incorporated in 1671. Martha’s Vineyard was then part of the colony of New York, named for Edgar’s father, the Duke of York, in 1664.

Edgar’s mother Anne, Duchess of York by Peter Lely around 1670; Credit – Wikipedia

After Edgar’s birth, his mother Anne, Duchess of York admitted that she never again felt well. She gave birth in 1669 to Henrietta who died in infancy. By 1670, Anne was very ill with breast cancer, and once again pregnant. She gave birth to her last child Catherine on February 9, 1671 (died in December 1671) while in the advanced stages of breast cancer. Edgar’s mother died on March 31, 1671, at the age of 34.

Edgar did not survive his mother for long. He died at  Richmond Palace in Surrey, England on June 8, 1671, three months short of his fourth birthday. On June 12, 1671, he was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England in a vault under the monument to his great-great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots in the south aisle of the Henry VII Chapel. His coffin was placed on top of his mother’s coffin.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Stuart,_Duke_of_Cambridge (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-hyde-duchess-of-york/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017) King James II of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-ii-of-england/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Holmes, Frederic. (2005) The Sickly Stuarts: The Medical Downfall of a Dynasty. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton.
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, Father of King Henry VII of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Tomb effigy of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond; Credit – Wikipedia

The father of Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch of England and the ancestor of the British royal family and most other European royal families, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond was born circa 1430, at Much Hadham Palace in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor, better known as Owen Tudor, and Catherine of Valois, Dowager Queen of England, the widow of King Henry V of England. Edmund’s paternal grandparents were Maredudd ap Tudur and Margaret ferch Dafydd. Edmund’s maternal grandparents were  King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria.

Edmund’s paternal grandfather Maredudd ap Tudur, a Welsh soldier and nobleman, was a descendant of the great Welsh prince, Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd and Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn. Llywelyn Fawr was the longest-reigning ruler of Welsh principalities, maintaining control for 45 years. In 1216, Llewelyn Fawr received the fealty of the other Welsh lords and although he never used the title, he was the de facto Prince of Wales.

Edmund’s mother Catherine of Valois, Dowager Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Through his mother, the French princess, Catherine of Valois, Edmund was a descendant of the Kings of France. Most notable of his mother’s siblings are Edmund’s uncle King Charles VII of France who was helped by Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War while he was Dauphin of France (heir to the French throne), and Edmund’s aunt Isabella of Valois who was the second wife and widow of King Richard II of England.

16th-century portrait of King Henry VI of England, Edmund’s half-brother; Credit – Wikipedia

Edmund had one half-brother through his mother’s marriage to King Henry V of England:

King Henry V of England, the husband of Edmund’s mother Catherine of Valois, died on August 31, 1422, of dysentery, nine days before his 36th birthday. His only child King Henry VI, at the age of nine months, started his 40 years on the throne and Henry V’s wife Catherine was left a widow at the age of 21. Because Catherine was still quite marriageable, a bill was passed in Parliament setting the rules for the remarriage of a queen dowager. The bill stated that if a queen dowager married without the king’s consent, her husband would lose his lands and possessions, but that any children of the marriage would not suffer any consequences. Permission to marry could only be granted once the king had reached his majority. As King Henry VI was only nine months old, Catherine of Valois had years before she could legally marry.

With Catherine being a young widow and with apparently no chance of remarriage, it should not seem unusual that an amorous relationship would be likely. Owen Tudor was a Welsh soldier and courtier who served in Catherine’s household and their relationship began when Catherine was living at Windsor Castle. There is much debate as to whether Catherine and Owen married. No documentation of marriage exists and even if they did marry, their marriage would not have been legal due to the act regarding the remarriage of a queen dowager. From the relationship between Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois descended King Henry VII of England and the Tudor dynasty. Through Henry VII’s daughter Margaret Tudor descended the British royal family and many other European royal families.

Edmund’s brother Jasper Tudor and his wife, stained glass window at Cardiff Castle in Wales; Credit – By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16924086

It is uncertain how many children Edmund’s parents had. The following three siblings of Edmund can be verified:

When Edmund was about seven-years-old, his mother Catherine of Valois died at the Abbey of St. Saviour in Bermondsey, London, England on January 3, 1437, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. After her death, her two sons Edmund and Jasper went to live with Katherine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, sister of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Katherine de la Pole persuaded King Henry VI to take an interest in his half-brothers. King Henry VI gave his half-brother Edmund numerous estates, appointed him to the Privy Council, and created him Earl of Richmond.

In February 1453, Margaret Beauchamp, widow of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, brought her ten-year-old daughter Lady Margaret Beaufort to the royal court. Through her father, Margaret Beaufort was a descendant of King Edward III of England. Her grandfather John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset was the eldest child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (King Edward III’s son), and his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he married in 1396. At the time of Margaret’s birth, her father had negotiated with King Henry VI that in the event of his death, the rights of Margaret’s wardship and marriage would be granted to her mother but the king reneged and instead granted her rights that came with her extensive land holdings to William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, a favorite of King Henry VI. In early 1450, the Duke of Suffolk married six-year-old Margaret to his seven-year-old son John de la Pole, later 2nd Duke of Suffolk. Three years later, the marriage was annulled and King Henry VI granted Margaret’s wardship to his half-brothers Edmund Tudor and Jaspar Tudor.

Even before the annulment of her first marriage, Lady Margaret Beaufort was chosen by King Henry VI as the bride for his half-brother Edmund Tudor. On November 1, 1455, at Bletsoe Castle in Bletsoe, Bedfordshire, England, 25-year-old Edmund married twelve-year-old Margaret. The Wars of the Roses, the fight for the English throne between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, had just started and Edmund, a Lancastrian, was taken prisoner by the Yorkists less than a year later. He died of the plague in captivity at Carmarthen Castle in Wales on November 3, 1456, leaving a 13-year-old widow who was seven months pregnant with their child, the future King Henry VII.

Tomb of Edmund Tudor at St. David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond was initially buried in a prominent tomb in the center of the choir of the Grey Friars Church in Carmarthen, Wales. In 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the reign of his grandson King Henry VIII, before the Grey Friars Church in Carmarthen was deconsecrated and repurposed, the tomb and the remains of Edmund Tudor were moved to St. David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales and placed in front of the high altar.

Pembroke Castle where Lady Margaret Beaufort gave birth to Edmund Tudor’s posthumous son, King Henry VII; Credit – By Aled Evans – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53306498

At the time of Henry Tudor’s birth, the Wars of the Roses was two years old, and his mother, a descendant of the House of Lancaster, was living at Pembroke Castle in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales under the protection of her brother-in-law Jasper Tudor. Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, was born on January 28, 1457, at Pembroke Castle. At birth, Henry succeeded to his father’s title Earl of Richmond. The birth was a difficult one and apparently, it left Margaret unable to have any more children. Jasper Tudor brought up his nephew Henry in Wales, and from 1461 – 1485, when the House of York held the English throne, Henry lived in exile in France under the protection of François II, Duke of Brittany.

Lady Margaret Beaufort, wife of Edmund Tudor and mother of King Henry VII; Credit – Wikipedia

Although her husband Edmund Tudor was long-dead, Lady Margaret Beaufort lived to see their son Henry Tudor defeat the Yorkist King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and become King of England. Edmund and Margaret’s son married Elizabeth of York, daughter of the Yorkist King Edward IV, melding the House of Lancaster and the House of York into the new House of Tudor which reigned in England until 1603. As the second lady in the land, Margaret was referred to as “My Lady the King’s Mother.” Margaret was alive for the birth of all seven of her grandchildren but only three survived into adulthood, her namesake Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, King Henry VIII of England, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk.

The health of Edmund and Margaret’s son King Henry VII’s health began to fail in 1507, and he died at Richmond Palace on April 21, 1509, at the age of 52. His mother Margaret was the executor of his will and arranged her son’s funeral and her grandson’s coronation. On June 23, 1509, Margaret watched the coronation procession of her grandson King Henry VIII from a window. Six days later, the day after King Henry VIII’s eighteenth birthday, Lady Margaret Beaufort died in the Deanery of Westminster Abbey at the age of 66. She was buried at Westminster Abbey near the tombs of her son and daughter-in-law King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Tomb of Lady Margaret Beaufort, wife of Edmund Tudor and mother of King Henry VII; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • DeLisle, Leanda. (2013) Tudor – Passion, Manipulation, Murder. New York: PublicAffairs.
  • Edmund Tudor, 1. Earl of Richmond (2021) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Tudor,_1._Earl_of_Richmond (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Tudor,_1st_Earl_of_Richmond (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Catherine of Valois, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/catherine-of-valois-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/lady-margaret-beaufort-countess-of-richmond-and-derby/ (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Owen Tudor (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Tudor (Accessed: February 21, 2023).
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, Son of King James II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge; Credit – Wikipedia

James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge was born at St. James’s Palace in London, England on July 12, 1663. He was the third of the eight children and the second of the four sons of the future King James II of England, who was then Duke of York, and his first wife Anne Hyde. James’ paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. His maternal grandparents were Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and his second wife Frances Aylesbury.

James’ parents in the 1660s, by Sir Peter Lely; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of his birth, James was the second son but the first surviving son. His elder brother Charles, Duke of Cambridge died from smallpox when he was seven months old and so James’ birth was cause for great celebration. He was christened on July 22, 1663, at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace by Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury.

James’ godparents were:

  • King Charles II of England, his paternal uncle
  • Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, his maternal grandfather
  • Queen Mother Henrietta Maria, his paternal grandmother

James did not survive childhood and neither did five of his seven siblings:

James’ uncle King Charles II of England created his one-year-old nephew Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Cambridge, and Baron of Dauntsey on August 23, 1664. In an extraordinary ceremony, three-year-old James, was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter on December 3, 1666. Little James was escorted into King Charles II’s private quarters by his 17-year-old first cousin, Charles II’s illegitimate son James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and the Lord Chamberlain, Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester. James knelt before King Charles II who put the necklace of the Order of the Garter around his neck and then King Charles II’s first cousin Prince Rupert of the Rhine put the sash on little James.

Already James, Duke of Cambridge was being treated as the heir to the throne after his father, the future King James II. King Charles II had married Catherine of Braganza in 1662, and four years later, their marriage was still childless. By this time King Charles II had ten illegitimate children so the issue was not with him. In May 1665, King Charles II issued letters patent granting James, Duke of Cambridge a yearly pension of £3,000, an immense amount of money.

A posthumous portrait of James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge by Willem Wissing

In late April 1667, James became ill, probably from an infectious disease that developed complications. On May 22, 1667, James’ ten-month-old brother Charles, Duke of Kendal, who was similarly ill, died at St. James’s Palace. After the death of his brother Charles, James was transferred to the residence of his grandmother Queen Mother Henrietta Maria, Richmond Palace in Surrey, nine miles/fourteen kilometers up the River Thames from London. By June 9, 1667, James was feeling much better and was expected to survive. However, within days, James took a turn for the worse. On June 20, 1667, James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, who would have been four years old on July 12, died.

James’ death shocked his family and the subjects of King Charles II. Because his uncle King Charles II had no legitimate children and his father the future King James II had no living sons, James’ death was considered the death of the House of Stuart. However, the House of Stuart would whimper along until 1714. The last Protestant Stuarts, James’ first cousin King William III who had married James’ sister Queen Mary II (who had three miscarriages) and James’ sister Queen Anne and her husband Prince George of Denmark (who had had seventeen pregnancies with only five children being born alive all who died in childhood) failed to provide Protestant heirs and the House of Stuart did die.

James’ remains lay in the Palace of Westminster until the burial at Westminster Abbey on June 26, 1667. He was buried in a vault under the monument to his great-great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots in the south aisle of the Henry VII Chapel. His Latin epitaph describes him as “the most illustrious Prince James, Duke of Cambridge, second son and heir of the most powerful Prince James, Duke of York, who reposed in the King’s Hall of Richmond on the twentieth day of his fourth year, in the year 1667 of the birth of Christ”.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-hyde-duchess-of-york/ (Accessed: February 19, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017) King James II of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-ii-of-england/ (Accessed: February 19, 2023).
  • Holmes, Frederic. (2005) The Sickly Stuarts: The Medical Downfall of a Dynasty. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton.
  • James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stuart,_Duke_of_Cambridge (Accessed: February 19, 2023).
  • Джеймс Стюарт, герцог кембриджский (James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge) (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BC%D1%81_%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82,_%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%B3_%D0%9A%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B6%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9 (Accessed: February 19, 2023).
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on their coronation day; Credit – Wikipedia

The coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (after her husband’s death, known as The Queen Mother) included the last coronation of a Queen Consort, the wife of a reigning king, for 86 years until the coronation of King George VI’s grandson King Charles III and his second wife Queen Camilla, formerly Camilla Shand Parker-Bowles, on May 6, 2023. The coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was the first coronation to be broadcast on radio and the first coronation to be filmed.

King George VI of the United Kingdom acceded to the British throne on December 11, 1936, upon the abdication of his elder brother King Edward VIII, who had acceded to the throne on January 20, 1936, upon the death of his father King George V. The new king had been given the names Albert Frederick Arthur George at birth and was known as Prince Albert – he had a younger brother Prince George – and was known as Bertie to his family and friends. However, upon becoming king, he took the regnal name George VI, to show continuity with his father King George V, and to restore confidence in the monarchy after his brother’s abdication. The coronation of King Edward VIII had been scheduled to take place at Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937. Preparations were already underway and souvenirs were on sale when Edward VIII abdicated. Instead, King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth (Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon) were crowned on May 12, 1937.

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Guests

The King’s brother Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester sitting in front of peers wearing their coronets

There were approximately 8,000 guests at Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The 1937 coronation was attended by King George VI’s mother Queen Mary (born Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, a great-granddaughter of King George III) who became the first British Queen Dowager to attend a coronation. Also in attendance were King George VI’s two daughters, eleven-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, and seven-year-old Princess Margaret. The guest list included members of the extended royal family, colonial administrators, ambassadors, Indian princes, premiers of the dominions, and working-class representatives. All peers and members of Parliament were invited.

British Royal Family

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, sitting on either side of Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury. Seated at the back (left to right) The Queen’s parents The Earl and  Countess of Strathmore, The Duchess of Kent, The Duchess of Gloucester, Queen Maud of Norway, Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and The Princess Royal

Bowes-Lyon/Cavendish-Bentinck Families – The Queen’s Family

Foreign Royalty

Rulers of British Protectorates

Other Notable Foreign Dignitaries

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The Coronation Ceremony

Coronation of King George VI by Frank O. Salisbury, 1938; Credit – Wikipedia

The link below is the very detailed Order of Service for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It contains exactly what was said and what was done during the coronation.

The doors to Westminster Abbey opened at 8:30 AM for the arrival of the guests. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at the Abbey at 11:00 AM.

Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury with his coronation cope and miter by Philip de László, 1937; Credit – Wikipedia

The main clergy who participated in the coronation:

The Procession

The Procession into Westminster Abbey

The procession was led by members of the clergy, followed by the Lord Mayor of London, Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and each of the dominions, senior officials of the Royal Household, and twelve members of the Yeoman of the Guard. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth followed and were surrounded by their regalia which were carried by peers.

As the procession preceded down the aisle, the choir sang the anthem I was glad by Hubert Parry, first sung at the coronation of King George VI’s grandfather King Edward VII in 1902.

King George wore his great robes of state, carried by nine pages of honor, all teenage boys:

Queen Elizabeth was attended by six maids of honor, all daughters of peers:

The Recognition

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth sat in their Chairs of Estate, which were used during the first part of the ceremony, before the sovereign’s anointing and crowning with St. Edward’s Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Sirs, I here present unto you King George, your undoubted King: wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?” The people replied loudly “God save King George”.

The Oath

King George VI then knelt before the altar and swore on the Bible his coronation oath. Afterward, he signed a copy of the oath.

The Communion Service

The Archbishop of Canterbury then began the Communion Service which would continue after the anointing and crowning. The Bishop of London read the Epistle and the Archbishop of York read the Gospel.

The Anointing

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth knelt while the choir sang Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit). After some prayers, the choir sang one of the Coronation Anthems by George Frideric Handel, Zadok the Priest. Written for and first performed at the coronation of King George II, it has been sung at every coronation ever since. The words, taken from the Old Testament, are: Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king; and all the people rejoiced and said: God save the king, Long live the king, May the king live forever. Amen. Hallelujah.

The Lord Great Chamberlain, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster, removed King George VI’s Crimson Robe and his Cap of State. The king then sat in the Coronation Chair, also known as St. Edward’s Chair and King Edward’s Chair, and four Knights of the Garter held a canopy over him for privacy: James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope, Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, and Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry.

After William Foxley Norris, Dean of Westminster poured some Holy Oil from the Ampulla into the Spoon, he gave the Spoon to the Archbishop of Canterbury who anointed the king in the form of a Cross on his hands, on his breast, and on the crown of his head.

Crowning the King

The King sitting in the Coronation Chair

The canopy was removed and King George VI was dressed in the Colobium Sindonis, a simple sleeveless white linen shift, and the Supertunica, a long coat of gold silk that reaches to the ankles and has wide-flowing sleeves. The Spurs were brought from the altar by the Dean of Westminster, and given to the Lord Great Chamberlain who presented them to the King. Afterward, the Spurs were returned to the altar. Next, the Archbishop of Canterbury took the Sword from the altar and assisted by the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, and the Bishop of Winchester put the Sword in the King’s hands and said a prayer. The King then went to the altar, returned the sword to its scabbard, and sat down in the Coronation Chair.

King George VI receiving the Sceptre from the Archbishop of Canterbury

The Dean of Westminster delivered the Armills to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said a prayer while putting them on the King’s wrists. The King stood and was clothed with the Robe Royal. After he sat down, the Sovereign’s Orb was brought from the altar by the Dean of Westminster and delivered into the King’s right hand by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The King then gave the orb to the Dean of Westminster who returned it to the altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury put the Sovereign’s Ring on the fourth finger of the King’s right hand and handed him the two scepters – the Sovereign’s Sceptre with the Cross (for royal power) and the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove (for mercy and equity).

The crowning of King George VI by the Archbishop of Canterbury

The congregation stood up and the Archbishop of Canterbury took St. Edward’s Crown from the altar, then laid it back on the altar, and said a prayer. The Archbishop then proceeded to the King who was sitting in the Coronation Chair. The Dean of Westminster brought him the crown and the Archbishop of Canterbury reverently put the crown on the King’s head. The people repeatedly shouted, “God Save The King.” The Princes and Princesses, the Peers and Peeresses put on their coronets. Trumpets sounded, and the great guns at the Tower of London were fired.

The Benediction

The Archbishop of Canterbury blessing King George VI

Now that the King had been anointed and crowned, and had received all the signs of the sovereign, the Archbishop of Canterbury blessed him and all those assembled at Westminster Abbey replied with a loud Amen.

The Enthroning

The King went to the throne and was lifted up into it by the Archbishops and Bishops, and other Peers of the Kingdom. Lords bearing the regalia stood on the steps around the throne.

The Homage

King George VI receiving the homage

The Archbishop of Canterbury knelt down before the King while the rest of the Bishops knelt in their places and did their Homage together. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said the following, each Bishop also said it: “I Cosmo, Archbishop of Canterbury [Bishops:  I <name> Bishop of <place>] will be faithful and true, and Faith and Truth will bear unto you, our Sovereign Lord, and your Heirs Kings of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Defenders of the Faith, and Emperors of India. And I will do, and truly acknowledge, the Service of the Lands which I claim to hold of you, as in right of the Church. So help me God.” Then the Archbishop of Canterbury kissed the King’s left Cheek.

Then the King’s brother Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, took off his coronet and knelt down before the King. The rest of the Princes of the Blood Royal, being Peers of the Realm, knelt in their places, took off their coronets, and pronounced the words of Homage the Duke of Gloucester, “I <name>Prince, or Duke of <place> do become your Liege man of Life and Limb,
and of earthly worship; and Faith and Truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of Folks. So help me God.”

The most senior peer of each of the five ranks of peerage – Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron – individually knelt before the King. The other peers who were in seats, in turn, knelt down, took off their coronets, and did their homage: the Dukes first by themselves, then the Marquesses, the Earls, the Viscounts, and the Barons. Each rank of peerage, said together, “I, <name> Duke, or Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron of <place> do become your liege man of Life and Limb, and of earthly worship; and Faith and Truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of Folks. So help me God.

The Queen’s Coronation

Crowning of Queen Elizabeth by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Queen Elizabeth went to the steps of the altar, and supported by two bishops, knelt down on the faldstool (kneeler) placed before the high altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury said a prayer asking God’s blessing upon the Queen. Four peeresses, the Duchess of Norfolk, the Duchess of Rutland, the Duchess of Buccleuch, and the Duchess of Roxburghe held a canopy over her for privacy. The Archbishop of Canterbury anointed the crown of the Queen’s head and placed the Queen Consort’s Ring on her fourth finger on her right hand. The Archbishop of Canterbury then took the Queen’s Crown from the high altar and reverently set it upon the Queen’s head, at which time, the Princesses and Peeresses put their coronets on their heads. The Queen was then handed her Sceptre with the Cross and the Ivory Rod with the Dove, before walking over to her own throne beside the King, where she sat.

The Communion

The King and Queen gave their regalia to The Lord Great Chamberlain and then they privately received Holy Communion from the Archbishop of Canterbury in a communion service that included a general confession and absolution, and, along with the people, recited the Lord’s Prayer. The King and Queen received their crowns again and returned to their throne where they were given their scepters. A Te Deum was sung by the choir.

The Recess

The newly crowned King George VI about to leave Westminister Abbey after the Coronation

The King and Queen proceeded to St. Edward’s Chapel, directly behind the high altar, where the Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor stands. The King gave St. Edward’s Crown, the Sceptre, and the Rod to the Archbishop of Canterbury who laid them on the altar in the chapel. The King’s Robe Royal was exchanged for a robe of purple velvet and he now wore the Imperial State Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury put the Sceptre with the Cross into the King’s right hand and the Orb in his left hand. The King and Queen, still carrying her Sceptre with the Cross in her right hand and the Ivory Rod with the Dove in her left hand, left the St. Edward’s Chapel to the singing of the National Anthem and then proceeded up the aisle to the West Door of the Westminster Abbey.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • A Guide to Coronations (no date) Westminster Abbey. Available at: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/coronations-at-the-abbey/a-guide-to-coronations (Accessed: March 23, 2023).
  • A History of Coronations (no date) Westminster Abbey. Available at: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/coronations-at-the-abbey/a-history-of-coronations (Accessed: March 23, 2023).
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  • Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_George_VI_and_Elizabeth (Accessed: March 23, 2023).
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  • England and Scotland Monarch Coronations and Other Related British Royal Information (2022) Coronation of British Kings & Queens. Available at: http://kingscoronation.com/ (Accessed: March 23, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present), Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/coronations-after-the-norman-conquest-1066-present/ (Accessed: March 23, 2023).
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Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick

Because he was a potential claimant to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch of England, Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick was beheaded. His only surviving sibling Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury had the same ending during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Warwick Castle, Edward’s birthplace; Credit – By Peter K Burian – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70141883

Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, was born on February 25, 1475, at Warwick Castle in Warwickshire, England. He was the third of the four children and the elder of the two sons of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville. His paternal grandparents were Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Edward’s maternal grandparents were Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker of the Wars of the Roses) and Anne de Beauchamp. Edward’s paternal uncles were King Edward IV of England and King Richard III of England. His maternal aunt Anne Neville was the wife of King Richard III.

Stained glass window of Edward’s parents, George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville at Cardiff Cathedral; Credit – By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16924164

Edward had three siblings but only one survived childhood:

Edward’s mother Isabel died when he was not quite two years old. Now it is thought that Isabel died of either tuberculosis or childbed fever, but George, Duke of Clarence falsely believed his wife had been poisoned by a servant who was subsequently tried and hanged. In 1478, when Edward was three-years-old, his father was tried for treason against his brother King Edward IV and privately executed in the Tower of London. Edward and his elder sister Margaret were placed in the care of their maternal aunt Anne Neville.

On March 16, 1485, Edward’s maternal aunt Anne, then Queen Consort as the wife of Edward’s paternal uncle King Richard III, died from tuberculosis. Five months later, on August 22, 1485, Edward’s uncle, the last Yorkist king, Richard III, was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth and the Lancaster claimant Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond assumed the throne as King Henry VII. Henry VII then married Edward’s first cousin Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of King Edward IV.

Edward’s sister Margaret ended up at the Tudor court as a lady-in-waiting to a royal cousin. However, ten-year-old Edward, who was the next male Yorkist claimant to the throne, was soon imprisoned at the Tower of London. After the rise of the Tudors, the remaining members of the House of York were a threat to the new House of Tudor and were systematically dealt with through marriage, imprisonment, and eventually, execution. Edward remained a potential threat to King Henry VII, particularly after the appearance of the pretender Lambert Simnel in 1487. In 1490, Edward was confirmed in his title of 17th Earl of Warwick despite his father’s attainder because his claim to the earldom of Warwick was through his mother.

In 1491, Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Edward’s first cousin Prince Richard, Duke of York, the second son of King Edward IV, immortalized as one of the two “Princes in the Tower” who mysteriously disappeared in 1483. Warbeck received support from some European royals and nobles including Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, the paternal aunt of Edward and the real Richard, Duke of York, and James IV, King of Scots. In 1497, Perkin Warbeck was captured in England and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Edward became involved in a plot with Warbeck to escape from the Tower of London. On November 23, 1499, Perkin Warbeck was led from the Tower of London to Tyburn, London where he was hanged.

It is unsure whether Edward’s participation in the plot was willing or unwilling. However, this incident convinced King Henry VII that a radical solution to the threat Edward posed to Henry VII’s throne was necessary. On November 28, 1499, 24-year-old Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, who had spent fourteen years imprisoned in the Tower of London, was beheaded on Tower Hill. King Henry VII allowed his remains to be taken to Bisham Priory in Berkshire, England for burial. Bisham Priory was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII. It was thought another reason for Edward’s execution was the pressure from King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile to ensure there would be no potential heirs who could jeopardize the eventual accession to the throne of King Henry VII’s heir Arthur, Prince of Wales who was to marry Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was said to feel very guilty about Edward’s death and believed that her trials in later life were punishment for it.

Portrait of unknown sitter, traditionally thought to be Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward’s sister Margaret had a similar ending. King Henry VII arranged for Margaret to marry Sir Richard Pole. It is thought that this marriage was arranged because Sir Richard’s mother was a half-sister of the king’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and this would make it more difficult to use her in a plot to overthrow the Tudors. After the accession of King Henry VIII in 1509, Margaret was initially in favor at court. She was created Countess of Salisbury in her own right in 1513 and was godmother and later governess of Mary Tudor (later Queen Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Some of the lands that the family lost when George, Duke of Clarence was attainted were restored and Margaret became the fifth richest English peer.

Margaret, whose family remained Roman Catholic, had a strong and independent personality and eventually, she angered King Henry VIII. In 1539, Margaret was accused of conducting treasonable correspondence with her son Cardinal Reginald Pole and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. An Act of Attainder was passed by Parliament and Margaret lost all her land and her title. It is suspected that the charges and the evidence were fabricated by Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s chief minister, who himself fell out of favor and was executed in 1540.

On May 27, 1541, Margaret was told that she would be executed that day. She argued that there was no proof that she had committed a crime. The 67-year-old Margaret was dragged to the block on Tower Green where she refused to place her head saying, “So should traitors do, and I am none.” The inexperienced executioner proceeded to “hack her head and shoulders to pieces” with ten blows of the ax. Margaret was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London. Pope Leo XIII beatified her as a martyr of the Roman Catholic Church on December 29, 1886, and she is known as Blessed Margaret Pole.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Plantagenet,_17th_Earl_of_Warwick (Accessed: February 17, 2023).
  • Эдуард Плантагенет, 17-й граф уорик (Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick) (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AD%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%9F%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%82,_17-%D0%B9_%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84_%D0%A3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA (Accessed: February 17, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/george-plantagenet-duke-of-clarence/ (Accessed: February 17, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-pole-8th-countess-of-salisbury-daughter-of-george-duke-of-clarence/ (Accessed: February 17, 2023).
  • Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
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  • Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Henry Stuart, Prince of England, Duke of Gloucester

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester by Jan Boeckhorst, circa 1658 – 1660; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry Stuart, Prince of England, Duke of Gloucester was born on July 8, 1640, at Oatlands Palace, a Tudor and Stuart royal palace near Weybridge in Surrey, England. He was the youngest of the four sons and the eighth of the nine children of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. Henry’s paternal grandparents were King James I of England and Anne of Denmark. His maternal grandparents were King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici.

King Charles I’s five eldest surviving children in 1637: Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry had eight siblings:

Henry was well connected to European royalty through his maternal aunts and uncles: King Louis XIII of France; Elisabeth of France, Queen of Spain, wife of King Felipe IV of Spain; Christine Marie of France, Duchess of Savoy, wife of Vittorio Amedeo I, Duke of Savoy; and Gaston of France, Duke of Orléans. His only surviving paternal aunt or uncle was Elizabeth Stuart who had married Friedrich V, Elector Palatine. It was through Elizabeth and Friedrich’s daughter Sophia that the Protestant Hanovers came to the British throne in 1714 through the 1701 Act of Settlement.

Henry’s father King Charles I had issues with Parliament, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. These issues eventually caused the English Civil War (1642 – 1651). During the English Civil War, of Henry’s surviving siblings, his sister Mary was married and living in the Dutch Republic, his eldest brother Charles, the future King Charles II,  had fled England and was in the Dutch Republic with their sister Mary or in France where their mother Queen Henrietta Maria and sister Henrietta were living in exile, and where their young first cousin King Louis XIV sat upon the throne of France. Henry’s brother James, the second son, remained in Oxford, England, the royalist stronghold, while his father King Charles I fought against the forces of the Parliamentarians, also known as the Roundheads.

(Left to Right) Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Princess Elizabeth and Prince James, Duke of York, the future King James II, by Sir Peter Lely, 1647; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry and his elder sister Elizabeth were unable to flee with their mother because they were not with her at that time. They remained in England and were placed under the care of the Parliamentarians. For several years, Elizabeth and Henry were moved from one residence to another due to the plague. They also had their governesses and guardians periodically changed. When the city of Oxford surrendered in 1646, Elizabeth and Henry’s elder brother James was arrested and placed with them in St. James’ Palace in London. In 1647, their father Charles I was arrested, and during the years 1647 – 1648, he was allowed to see his three children who were in England several times. In 1648, James managed to escape and fled to the Dutch Republic, where his sister Mary lived. James had wanted to take Henry with him but Elizabeth was afraid to let her younger brother go.

Henry’s father King Charles I at his trial by Edward Bower, 1649; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 20, 1649, Charles I’s trial at Westminster Hall in London, England, began. He was accused of treason against England by using his power to pursue his personal interest rather than the good of England. He was declared guilty and sentenced to death on January 27, 1649. On January 29, 1649, the day before his execution, Charles was allowed to see 13-year-old Elizabeth and 8-year-old Henry at St. James’s Palace in London where he was being held. He told Elizabeth to be faithful to the “true Protestant religion” and to tell her mother that “his thoughts had never strayed from her.” He warned Henry to “not be made a king” by the Parliamentarians because he suspected they would make the boy a puppet king. Charles divided his jewels between the two children, keeping only his George, an enameled figure of St. George, worn as a part of the ceremonial dress of the Order of the Garter. He gave Elizabeth his Bible.

A 19th-century depiction of Elizabeth and Henry at Carisbooke Castle by Margaret Dicksee, circa 1895; Credit – Wikipedia

After the execution of their father, Henry and Elizabeth became unwanted charges. Parliament refused to allow them to go to the Dutch Republic. Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester and his wife Dorothy agreed to take charge of Henry and Elizabeth at their home, Penshurst Place in Penhurst, Kent, England, 32 miles/51 km from London. However, in 1650, when Henry and Elizabeth’s eldest brother, now the titular King Charles II, traveled to Scotland to be crowned King of Scots, Parliament decided that they needed to be in a more secure place, far away from London. Henry and Elizabeth were moved to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, England. The number of their servants was reduced to four people. Henry and Elizabeth were deprived of their prince and princess titles and Henry was additionally deprived of his Duke of Gloucester title.

On August 23, 1650, less than a week after arriving at Carisbrooke Castle, Elizabeth began to feel ill. On September 1, she went to bed and then could no longer get up. She died on September 8, 1650, aged fourteen, probably from pneumonia. She was buried in a small crypt under the altar at Saints Thomas Church in Newport, on the Isle of Wight. Ten-year-old Henry was now all alone. He remained at Carisbrooke Castle until 1652 when he was allowed to leave England and travel to his sister Mary in the Dutch Republic. On Easter Sunday in 1653, Henry was created a Knight in the Order of the Garter by his brother Charles.

Prince Henry, portrait by Adriaen Hanneman, circa 1653; Credit – Wikipedia

Eventually, Henry joined his mother Henrietta Maria in her native Paris, France. They had not seen each other for more than ten years. Henry’s elder brother Charles wanted to take Henry with him when he left Paris but Henrietta Maria wanted to keep her youngest son with her. Charles agreed but on the condition that his mother would not try to get Henry to change his religion from Protestantism to his mother’s Roman Catholicism. Henrietta Maria promised Charles she would not try to convert Henry to Catholicism but she did not keep her word. When Charles found out, he ordered Henry to join him in Cologne, a free imperial city, within the Holy Roman Empire, now in Germany. Henrietta Maria’s attempts to convert Henry to Catholicism not only failed and angered the royalists and Charles but also completely ruined her relationship with her youngest son.

Henry’s mother Henrietta Maria in mourning by Cornelius Janssens van Ceulen; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry remained with his brother Charles in Cologne until 1656 when the brothers left for Bruges, now in Belgium, then the capital of the County of Flanders. Later in 1656, Henry along with his elder brother James (the future King James II) joined the English regiment of the Spanish Habsburg army fighting against the French in the 1635 – 1659 Franco-Spanish War.

Henry’s eldest brother Charles in exile by Philippe de Champaigne, circa 1653; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, died. His son Richard Cromwell ruled only until April 1659 and there was a real possibility for the restoration of the monarchy. On May 13, 1659, Charles II restored Henry’s title of Duke of Gloucester and additionally created him Earl of Cambridge. Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch on May 1, 1660, in what has become known as The Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed at Dover, England on his 30th birthday, and Henry accompanied him.

The Palace of Whitehall in London where Henry settled upon his return to England and where he died

Henry settled in the Palace of Whitehall in London. On June 13, 1660, Henry was appointed Chief Steward of Gloucester, on June 30, 1660, he began to sit in the House of Lords, and on July 3, 1660, he was appointed Ranger of Hyde Park. King Charles II planned to betroth Henry to Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark to reinforce the English-Danish alliance, and King Frederik III of Denmark had agreed to the marriage.

In 1660, there was a smallpox epidemic in London and twenty-year-old Henry became ill with the disease. He died on September 13, 1660, at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England. Henry’s remains were moved to Somerset House in London on September 21, 1660, and then taken down the River Thames to Westminster Abbey where he was buried in the south aisle of the Henry VII Chapel in the vault where his great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots is buried. A number of Mary, Queen of Scots’ English Stuart descendants are also buried in her vault. Their names are engraved on a stone memorial between the tombs of Mary, Queen of Scots and Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox.

Henry’s death overshadowed the joy of a family reunion. In May 1660, Mary, Princess Royal, Dowager Princess of Orange had watched as her brothers Charles and James sailed away from the Dutch Republic, returning to England upon the restoration of the English throne to the Stuarts. Mary returned to her birth country in September 1660. Although the court was in mourning for her brother Henry, Duke of Gloucester, her brothers Charles and James traveled down the River Thames to meet her. This was the second smallpox death Mary had to endure. In 1650, Mary was pregnant with her first child when her husband Willem II, Prince of Orange fell ill with smallpox, and died on November 6, 1650, at the age of 24. Eight days later, on November 14, 1650, Mary gave birth to her only child Willem III, Prince of Orange at birth, later also King William III of England.

Sadly, Mary did not have much time to celebrate the restoration of her brother King Charles II. On December 20, 1660, it was obvious that Mary had contracted smallpox, and by the next day, she was dangerously ill. She died on December 24, 1660, at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England at the age of 29. On her deathbed, Mary expressed her wish to be buried next to her brother Henry, and so she was. Her son Willem III, Prince of Orange was just ten years old and had lost both parents to smallpox. Thirty-four years later, when Mary’s son Willem and his wife and first cousin Mary (daughter of his uncle King James II), co-reigned in England as King William III and Queen Mary II, his wife Mary would also die of smallpox at the age of 32.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Elizabeth Stuart, Princess of England, Daughter of King Charles I of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-elizabeth-of-england-daughter-of-king-charles-i-of-england/ (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
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