Henry, Duke of Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Henry, Duke of Cornwall was the name of two sons of King Henry VIII of England
and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon
. Henry and Catherine had five children, but only Princess Mary
(later Queen Mary I) survived infancy.
of King Henry VIII of England
and Catherine of Aragon
. Catherine had already had a daughter who died aged 2 days old and remained unnamed.
, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Louis XII of France
, and his godmother was Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy. At the christening, the baby prince's great aunt Anne of York, Countess of Surrey stood proxy for Margaret of Hapsburg, and Richard Foxe
Bishop of Winchester stood proxy for the French King.
for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall
and was expected to become Prince of Wales
, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. Henry carried Catherine's favour in a tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of Catherine's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy", the prince was fondly regarded by Henry's court. However, on 23 February 1511 the young prince died suddenly. The cause of his death was not recorded.
Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their second child and expected future king. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by unsuccessfully waging war against Louis XII of France
with his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon
.
|-
|-
history might have taken, had either of the two Henrys, Duke of Cornwall, or any other legitimate son survived. Given that Henry's search for a male heir, after Catherine's failure to give birth to any more live sons, was the cited reason which led him to have their marriage annulled
, a living male child might have at least forestalled, or even prevented, the marriage to Anne Boleyn
and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.
This theme has also been explored in some alternative history
science fiction, such as Kingsley Amis
' The Alteration
(1976), in which another alternative history
English Reformation
is depicted, even without the succession crisis caused by the absence of a male heir until the birth of Edward VI
to Henry and Jane Seymour
. However, Amis' book within a book does not specify whether this alternative history
Henry IX
is any specific son of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Henry and Catherine had five children, but only Princess Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(later Queen Mary I) survived infancy.
The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall
The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January - 23 February 1511) was the second oldest child and Heir ApparentHeir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Catherine had already had a daughter who died aged 2 days old and remained unnamed.
Birth and Christening
He was born on 1 January 1511, eighteen months after his parents' marriage and coronation. He was christened on the 5th of January. His two godfathers were William WarhamWilliam Warham
William Warham , Archbishop of Canterbury, belonged to a Hampshire family, and was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, afterwards practising and teaching law both in London and Oxford....
, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
, and his godmother was Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy. At the christening, the baby prince's great aunt Anne of York, Countess of Surrey stood proxy for Margaret of Hapsburg, and Richard Foxe
Richard Foxe
Richard Foxe was an English churchman, successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.-Life:...
Bishop of Winchester stood proxy for the French King.
Celebrations and Death
Henry and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivalling that of their joint coronationCoronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall
Duke of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in the peerage of England.The present Duke of Cornwall is The Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning British monarch .-History:...
and was expected to become Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. Henry carried Catherine's favour in a tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of Catherine's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy", the prince was fondly regarded by Henry's court. However, on 23 February 1511 the young prince died suddenly. The cause of his death was not recorded.
Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their second child and expected future king. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by unsuccessfully waging war against Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
with his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
.
|-
The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall
The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall (December 1514) was the third child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. After the first Henry, Catherine had another boy in 1513. Little is known about the prince, who died within one month of his birth. His parents would later have two daughters born to them: first, born in 1516, was Mary, later Mary I, Queen of England; and then an unnamed infant daughter who died within a week of her birth in November 1518.|-
Impact of Henry, Duke of Cornwall's death on history
Historians have speculated as to the course EnglishKingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
history might have taken, had either of the two Henrys, Duke of Cornwall, or any other legitimate son survived. Given that Henry's search for a male heir, after Catherine's failure to give birth to any more live sons, was the cited reason which led him to have their marriage annulled
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
, a living male child might have at least forestalled, or even prevented, the marriage to Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.
This theme has also been explored in some alternative history
Alternative history
Alternative history may refer to a number of subjects relating to history, the chronology and study of the past. It may mean:* Alternate history, a subgenre of speculative fiction dealing with divergences from the world's actual history...
science fiction, such as Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
' The Alteration
The Alteration
The Alteration is a 1976 alternate history novel by Kingsley Amis, set in a parallel universe in which the Reformation did not take place. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1977.-Creative origins:...
(1976), in which another alternative history
Alternative history
Alternative history may refer to a number of subjects relating to history, the chronology and study of the past. It may mean:* Alternate history, a subgenre of speculative fiction dealing with divergences from the world's actual history...
English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
is depicted, even without the succession crisis caused by the absence of a male heir until the birth of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
to Henry and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
. However, Amis' book within a book does not specify whether this alternative history
Alternative history
Alternative history may refer to a number of subjects relating to history, the chronology and study of the past. It may mean:* Alternate history, a subgenre of speculative fiction dealing with divergences from the world's actual history...
Henry IX
Henry IX
Henry IX may refer to:* Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, also called the Black* Henry Benedict Stuart , Jacobite claimant to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland...
is any specific son of Henry VIII