Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset
Encyclopedia
Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset (1519 – 7 December 1557), formerly Lady Mary Howard, was the only daughter-in-law of King Henry VIII of England
, being the wife of his only acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
.
: a member of the ambitious Howard Family
. At the time of her birth, her father was the second most senior noble in the English peerage; her maternal grandfather Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
, the most senior. After Buckingham's execution in 1521, her father was one of only two dukes in the Kingdom, (the other being Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk). This changed in 1525, when Henry VIII
elevated Henry FitzRoy
, his six year-old illegitimate son by Elizabeth Blount
, to the Dukedom of Richmond and Somerset. When in 1529 Thomas Wolsey, who was charged with Fitzroy's care, fell from grace the mantle passed to Thomas Howard. At the same time the idea arose, allegedly from either the King or Anne Boleyn, that Fitzroy should marry his daughter. Four years later, in November 1533, negotiations were completed and Mary, now aged fourteen or fifteen, and Fitzroy, himself just fifteen, were married.
The match was a triumph for the Boleyn family as Mary was a former member of the Queen
's household, and a staunch advocate of reform. It was also a very advantageous match for Mary as with no legitimate male heir to the throne the Duke was seen at the time as a likely future King. However, the marriage was not to last as FitzRoy died of consumption
within three years. He had barely turned seventeen.
Fearful that too much sexual activity had hastened his elder brother Arthur
's death, the King had ordered the couple not to consummate their marriage; which was probably not obeyed. As a result the Duchess was not allowed to keep many of the lands which would normally have been her entitlement as widow: the King insisted without the consummation it was not a true marriage. She remained at court, closely associated with the King's niece, Margaret Douglas
, and one of his mistresses, Mary Shelton
. In 1539 Margaret Douglas
and the Duchess were appointed to meet Anne of Cleves
at Calais.
When Catherine Howard
fell from grace, the Duchess and her entire family were arrested and briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London
. In both 1538 and 1546 her father petitioned for her to be married to Thomas Seymour
. The King gave his approval for the match, but her brother, Henry, Earl of Surrey
, objected strongly, as did the Duchess herself; and the marriage did not take place. Surrey then suggested that the Duchess should seduce the aged King, her father-in-law, and become his mistress, to "wield as much influence on him as Madame d'Etampes
doth about the French King
". The Duchess, outraged, said she would "cut her own throat" rather than "consent to such villainy". She and her brother fell out, and she later laid testimony against Surrey that helped lead to his trial and execution for treason.
The Duchess never remarried and her presence at court dwindled not long after Henry VIII died in January 1547. She, knowing how merciless her family was about power, and perhaps not wanting to be involved in another scandal, possibly chose to stay out of their plans in order to live a quiet life. She died in late 1557.
or television program
thus far, she has appeared in many books of noted historical fiction
, most notably The Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan which features Mary as the main character, and The Sixth Wife
, in which she is a rival of Catherine Parr
, and is used by her brother Surrey to try and become a "seventh wife" of the King despite her protests. As in history's account, her character mainly falls into the background toward the end of the novel after the king has died.
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...
, being the wife of his only acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
.
Biography
Mary Fitzroy (formerly Lady Mary Howard) was the second daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
: a member of the ambitious Howard Family
Howard family
The Howard family is an English aristocratic family founded by John Howard who was created Duke of Norfolk by Plantagenet monarch Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson of the 1st Duke of 1st creation...
. At the time of her birth, her father was the second most senior noble in the English peerage; her maternal grandfather Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers and sister-in-law of King Edward IV.-Early life:Stafford was born at Brecknock Castle in Wales...
, the most senior. After Buckingham's execution in 1521, her father was one of only two dukes in the Kingdom, (the other being Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk). This changed in 1525, when 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...
elevated Henry FitzRoy
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
, his six year-old illegitimate son by Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount , who was better known by her nickname of "Bessie", was a mistress of Henry VIII of England.-Early life:She was the daughter of Sir John Blount and Catherine Pershall, of Kinlet, Bridgnorth, Shropshire...
, to the Dukedom of Richmond and Somerset. When in 1529 Thomas Wolsey, who was charged with Fitzroy's care, fell from grace the mantle passed to Thomas Howard. At the same time the idea arose, allegedly from either the King or Anne Boleyn, that Fitzroy should marry his daughter. Four years later, in November 1533, negotiations were completed and Mary, now aged fourteen or fifteen, and Fitzroy, himself just fifteen, were married.
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...
's household, and a staunch advocate of reform. It was also a very advantageous match for Mary as with no legitimate male heir to the throne the Duke was seen at the time as a likely future King. However, the marriage was not to last as FitzRoy died of consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
within three years. He had barely turned seventeen.
Fearful that too much sexual activity had hastened his elder brother Arthur
Arthur, Prince of Wales
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
's death, the King had ordered the couple not to consummate their marriage; which was probably not obeyed. As a result the Duchess was not allowed to keep many of the lands which would normally have been her entitlement as widow: the King insisted without the consummation it was not a true marriage. She remained at court, closely associated with the King's niece, Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...
, and one of his mistresses, Mary Shelton
Mary Shelton
Margaret Shelton and Mary Shelton were two sisters in Tudor England, one of whom may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII....
. In 1539 Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...
and the Duchess were appointed to meet Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
at Calais.
When Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
fell from grace, the Duchess and her entire family were arrested and briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. In both 1538 and 1546 her father petitioned for her to be married to Thomas Seymour
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
. The King gave his approval for the match, but her brother, Henry, Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, KG, , known as The Earl of Surrey although he never was a peer, was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry.-Life:...
, objected strongly, as did the Duchess herself; and the marriage did not take place. Surrey then suggested that the Duchess should seduce the aged King, her father-in-law, and become his mistress, to "wield as much influence on him as Madame d'Etampes
Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly
Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly , Duchess of Étampes, was the mistress of Francis I of France.She was a daughter of Adrien de Pisseleu, seigneur d'Heilly, a nobleman of Picardy, who, with the rise of his daughter at court, was made seigneur of Meudon, master of waters and forests of Île de France, of...
doth about the French King
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
". The Duchess, outraged, said she would "cut her own throat" rather than "consent to such villainy". She and her brother fell out, and she later laid testimony against Surrey that helped lead to his trial and execution for treason.
The Duchess never remarried and her presence at court dwindled not long after Henry VIII died in January 1547. She, knowing how merciless her family was about power, and perhaps not wanting to be involved in another scandal, possibly chose to stay out of their plans in order to live a quiet life. She died in late 1557.
Further reading
- Beverley A. Murphy's Bastard Prince: Henry VIII's Lost Son
- Kelly Hart's The Mistresses of Henry VIII
- Henry VIII's Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey by Jessie Childs
- Henry Howard, the Poet Earl of Surrey: A Life by W.A. Sessions
Fictional portrayals
Though the Duchess has not been portrayed in any filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
thus far, she has appeared in many books of noted historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
, most notably The Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan which features Mary as the main character, and The Sixth Wife
The Sixth Wife
The Sixth Wife is a 1953 historical novel by noted novelist Jean Plaidy. It recounts the tale of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, King of England. The novel covers the life of Catherine as Queen, and her fearful feeling of being replaced in the King's eyes. Though the novel conveys...
, in which she is a rival of Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, and is used by her brother Surrey to try and become a "seventh wife" of the King despite her protests. As in history's account, her character mainly falls into the background toward the end of the novel after the king has died.
Ancestors
External links
- A portrait of the Duchess titled "Lady of Richmond" was sketched by Hans HolbeinHans Holbein the YoungerHans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
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