by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

On January 30, 1649, Charles I, King of England was beheaded for treason and other high crimes at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

Charles I, King of England

Charles I, King of England by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1638; Credit – Wikipedia

Born at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland on November 19, 1600, Charles I, King of England was the second son and fourth of the seven children of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. At the time of Charles’ birth, his six-year-old elder brother Henry Frederick was the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland. On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and Charles’ father became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII of England had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII of England through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor who had married James IV, King of Scots.

Charles overcame early physical problems, although he grew no taller than five feet four inches, and learned to ride, shoot, and fence. However, he was no physical match for his stronger and taller elder brother Henry, whom he adored. When 18-year-old Henry died in 1612 from typhoid, it was a loss that Charles felt greatly. Charles had automatically become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his brother’s death and was created Prince of Wales in 1616.

On March 27, 1625, King James I died and Charles succeeded him as King of England and King of Scots. Charles married Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of Henri IV, King of France, several months later. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children including King Charles II, King James II, and Mary, the first Princess Royal, who married Willem II, Prince of Orange and had one child: Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England.

The Road to the English Civil War and Charles I’s Downfall

Charles had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. In the early years of Charles’ reign, Parliament was summoned and dissolved three times. Finally, in 1629, Charles, who believed in the divine right of kings, decided to govern without Parliament, beginning eleven years of personal rule. During his personal rule, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford were Charles’ most influential advisers. Parliament was finally summoned again in 1640 and demanded the execution of Stafford. Charles signed the death warrant, but never forgave himself. After this incident, the reconciliation of the King and Parliament became impossible.

Speaker Lenthall asserting the Privileges of the Commons (Speaker of the House William Lenthall kneels to Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members), fresco in the Houses of Parliament by Charles West Cope, fresco done 1865-1866; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 4, 1642, a point of no return was reached. On that day, Charles committed the unprecedented act of entering the House of Commons with an armed guard and demanding the arrest of five Members of Parliament. There was a great public outcry, Charles fled London and civil war appeared inevitable. Since that day no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting and a tradition recalling this is enacted at every State Opening of Parliament. When the monarch arrives in the House of Lords to read the speech from the throne, the Lord Great Chamberlain raises the wand of office to signal to the Gentleman/Lady Usher of the Black Rod (known as Black Rod), whose duty is to summon the House of Commons. On Black Rod’s approach, the doors to the House of Commons are slammed shut in Black Rod’s face, symbolizing the rights of the House of Commons and its independence from the monarch. Black Rod then strikes with the end of the ceremonial staff (the Black Rod) three times on the closed doors of the House of Commons and is then admitted. This is a show of the refusal by the House of Commons never again to be entered by force by the monarch or one of the monarch’s representatives when the House of Commons is sitting.

English Civil War

Raising the royal standard at Nottingham: King Charles I, with his left arm upraised, his right around the shoulders of his son, the future Charles II. This was the event that signaled the start of the Civil War; Credit – http://www.explore-parliament.net/

On August 22, 1642, at Nottingham, Charles raised the Royal Standard and called for his loyal subjects to support him, and the Civil War between the Royalists or Cavaliers (Charles’ supporters) and the Roundheads (Parliament’s supporters) had begun. The Battle of Edgehill, the first real battle, was fought on October 26, 1642, and proved indecisive. The Cavaliers were defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644, and at the Battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645. The balance was now permanently tipped to the parliamentary side. In April of 1646, Charles left Oxford, which had served as his capital city during the conflict, and surrendered to the Scottish Army expecting to be safe and well-treated. However, the Scots delivered Charles to Parliament in 1647. Except for one brief period in 1647, when he escaped, Charles was confined in several castles and great homes for the rest of his life.

The Trial

Engraving from “Nalson’s Record of the Trial of Charles I” in the British Museum. Charles (in the dock with his back to the viewer) facing the High Court of Justice; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 20, 1649, Charles’ 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. A High Court of Justice was appointed to try Charles for high treason in the name of the people of England. There were 135 commissioners appointed but only 68 would sit in judgment.

As the trial opened, Solicitor General John Cook, standing immediately to Charles’ right, rose to read the indictment. Cook had just uttered only a few words when Charles tried to stop him by tapping him on the shoulder with his cane and ordering him to “Hold.” Cook ignored Charles and so he poked him again but Cook still continued. Angry at being ignored, Charles then hit Cook so forcefully across the shoulders that the silver tip of his cane broke off and fell to the floor between Cook and Charles. Charles waited for someone to pick up the silver tip. When no one did so, Charles had to bend down and pick it up himself. Perhaps Charles realized that this incident was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Charles at his trial, by Edward Bower, 1649. He let his beard and hair grow long because Parliament had dismissed his barber, and he refused to let anyone else near him with a razor; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles refused to enter a plea saying that no court had jurisdiction over a monarch. He insisted that the trial was illegal and his authority to rule came from the divine rights of kings given by God. The court challenged Charles, saying “the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise.”

On Saturday, January 27, 1649, Charles was declared guilty and sentenced to death. His sentence read: “That the court being satisfied that he, Charles Stuart, was guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did judge him tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.” To show their agreement with the sentence, all of the commissioners who were present rose to their feet.

The Execution

Contemporary German print of Charles I’s beheading; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 29, 1649, the day before his execution, Charles burned his personal papers. He was allowed to see the two of his children who were still in England, 13-year-old Elizabeth and 8-year-old Henry. 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 among 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. Charles spent a restless last night, only going to sleep at 2:00 AM.

Charles awoke early on January 30, 1649, the day of his execution, and dressed all black and wore a blue sash. He requested one extra shirt from Thomas Herbert, his Gentleman of the Bedchamber so that the crowd gathered would not see him shiver from the cold and mistake it for fear. Charles walked the short distance from St. James’ Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

From the first floor of the Banqueting House, Charles stepped onto the scaffold from a window. Before his execution, Charles delivered a speech that can be read at this link: Execution Speech of Charles I.

In the speech, Charles declared his innocence and said he was a “martyr of the people”. The crowd could not hear the speech because of the many parliamentarian guards blocking the scaffold but Charles’ supporter on the scaffold, William Juxon, then Bishop of London, later Archbishop of Canterbury, recorded the speech in shorthand.

Charles then had a conversation with the executioner which was recorded by an eyewitness:

Charles: Is my hair well? (Charles had let his beard and hair grow long because Parliament had dismissed his barber and he refused to let anyone else near him with a razor. The executioner put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.)

Then Charles took off his cloak and his George, the enameled figure of St. George, which he gave to Bishop Juxon, saying: “Remember.”

Charles took off his doublet and put his cloak on again. Then looking upon the block, Charles said to the executioner: “You must set it fast.”

Executioner: It is fast, sir.

Charles: It might have been a little higher. (About the block)

Executioner: It can be no higher, sir.

Charles: When I put out my hands this way, then.

Charles then said a few words to himself with his hands lifted up and his eyes looking upward. He then immediately stooped down and laid his neck on the block. The executioner again put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.

Charles: Stay for the sign.

Executioner: Yes, I will, and it please Your Majesty.

After a short pause, Charles stretched out his hands, and the executioner, with one blow, severed his head from his body.

The Aftermath

Charles I’s coffin being brought to St.George’s Chapel in a snowstorm; Credit – http://www.explore-parliament.net/

Following the reattachment of the head and the embalming of the body, Charles I’s remains were placed in a simple wooden coffin which was then placed in a leaden coffin.  The coffin was taken to St. James’ Palace in London while Parliament decided where to inter Charles’ remains. No state funeral or public mourning would be allowed and Charles would not be permitted to be buried at Westminster Abbey.  Instead, Charles would be buried at the more private St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to avoid Charles’ burial site from becoming a place of pilgrimage. A week after the execution Charles’ coffin was transported to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

On February 9, 1649, in a snowstorm, the body of Charles I was taken from Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel. The coffin was carried by James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond (Charles’s 3rd cousin), William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey), Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton and Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey. However, Bishop Juxon was barred by a Parliamentary officer from entering St. George’s Chapel as seen in the picture above. Charles I’s coffin was lowered into the vault in the choir aisle where King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour were buried.

The slab in the aisle indicates where Charles I was buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Coffins of King Charles I with a child of Queen Anne (left), King Henry VIII (center, damaged), and Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour (right), vault under the choir, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, marked by a stone slab in the floor; Credit – Wikipedia

England was a republic (Commonwealth of England) for eleven years until the monarchy was restored and Charles I’s eldest son Charles II became king in 1660.

Charles I’s eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) and his second son James, Duke of York (the future King James II) spent their exile in France, where their mother Henrietta Maria also lived in exile with their sister Henriette, and where their first cousin King Louis XIV was on the throne. Henriette married her first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans, King Louis XIV’s younger brother. Charles and James also lived some of the time with their sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands.

Charles I’s two children Elizabeth and Henry, whom he was able to see before his execution, both died young. Elizabeth was never reunited with her family after her father’s execution. She died in 1650, a year after her father’s execution, at the age of 14, from pneumonia at Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight, England. In 1660, soon after his eldest brother Charles II was restored to the throne, Henry died at age 20 from smallpox.

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

• Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
• Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
• Emersonkent.com. (2020). Execution Speech – Charles I 1649. [online] Available at: http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/execution_speech_charles_i.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Charles I of England. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-i-of-england/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• Fraser, Antonia. (2007). King Charles II. London: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd).
• Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On February 12, 1554, 16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey was executed for high treason by beheading at the Tower of London.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England

The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1536 or 1537, the eldest of the three daughters of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon. Lady Frances was the granddaughter of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, and the daughter of King Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Frances was the elder of her parents’ two surviving children. Two sons died in childhood, so the only surviving children were Frances and her younger sister Lady Eleanor Brandon who died in 1547.

Lady Jane was very well educated. She studied Greek and Hebrew with John Aylmer, later Bishop of England, and Italian and Latin with Michelangelo Florio, a former Franciscan friar who converted to Protestantism. In 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of King Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who married King Henry VIII’s sixth wife and widow, Catherine Parr. Jane lived with the couple until the death of Catherine in childbirth in September 1548 and acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral.

The current monarch, King Edward VI, the only son of King Henry VIII, was a minor and a council was to rule until he reached the age of 18. By 1550, John Dudley, Viscount Lisle headed the Privy Council as Lord Protector and was the de facto ruler of England. John Dudley was created Duke of Northumberland in 1551.

The powerful Duke of Northumberland thought marrying one of his sons to Lady Jane Grey would be a good idea. On May 25, 1553, three weddings were celebrated at Durham Place, the Duke of Northumberland’s London home. Lord Guildford Dudley, the fifth surviving son of the Duke of Northumberland married Lady Jane Grey, Guildford’s sister Lady Katherine Dudley married Henry Hastings, Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon’s heir and Jane’s sister Lady Catherine Grey married Henry Herbert, the heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

How did Lady Jane get to be Queen of England?

Embed from Getty Images 
‘Lady Jane Grey’s Reluctance to Accept the Crown’, (19th century). Artist: Herbert Bourne

In the early summer of 1553, fifteen-year-old Protestant King Edward VI, King Henry VIII‘s only son, lay dying, probably of tuberculosis. His eldest half-sister Mary (the future Queen Mary I), the Catholic daughter of King Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon, was the heir presumptive. The Third Succession Act of 1543 had restored Mary and Edward’s other half-sister Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I), daughter of King Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn, to the succession. In addition, the Third Succession Act stipulated that if the children of King Henry VIII did not have heirs, the heirs of his younger sister Mary Tudor should inherit the throne. The heirs of Henry’s elder sister Margaret Tudor who married James IV, King of Scots were excluded presumably to ensure the English throne was not inherited by a Scot. However, in 1603, upon the death of the unmarried and childless Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Tudor’s great-grandson James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne and reigned as King James I of England.

As King Edward VI lay dying in the early summer of 1553, the succession to the throne according to the Third Succession Act looked like this, and note that number four in the succession was the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law.

1) Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
2) Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
3) Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor
4) Lady Jane Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
5) Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
6) Lady Mary Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
7) Lady Margaret Clifford, daughter of Countess of Cumberland (born Lady Eleanor Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor)

King Edward VI’s death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would spell trouble for the English Reformation. Many of Edward’s Council members feared this, including the Duke of Northumberland. What exact role the Duke of Northumberland had in what followed is still debated, but surely he played a big part in the unfolding of the events. King Edward VI opposed Mary’s succession not only for religious reasons but also because of her illegitimacy and his belief in male succession. He also opposed the succession of his half-sister for reasons of illegitimacy and belief in male succession. Both Mary and Elizabeth were still considered to be legally illegitimate.

King Edward composed a document “My devise for the succession” in which he passed over his half-sisters and the Duchess of Suffolk (Frances Brandon). Edward meant for the throne to go to the Duchess’ daughters and their male heirs. The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were outraged at the Duchess’ removal from the succession, but after a meeting with the ailing king, the Duchess renounced her rights in favor of her daughter Jane. Many contemporary legal experts believed the king could not contravene an Act of Parliament without passing a new one that would have established the altered succession. Therefore, many thought that Jane’s claim to the throne was weak. Apparently, Jane did not have any idea of what was occurring.

After great suffering, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, most likely from tuberculosis. On July 9, Jane was told that she was Queen, and reluctantly accepted the fact. She was publicly proclaimed Queen with much pomp after Edward’s death was announced on July 10. Queen Jane made a state entry into the Tower of London.

What happened to Jane?

Entry of Queen Mary I with Princess Elizabeth into London in 1553 by John Byam Liston Shaw, 1910; Credit – Wikipedia

The Duke of Northumberland had to find Mary and hopefully capture her before she could gather support. However, as soon as Mary knew her half-brother was dead, she wrote a letter to the Privy Council with orders for her proclamation as Edward VI’s successor and started to gather support. By July 12, 1553, Mary and her supporters assembled a military force at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. The Duke of Northumberland set out from London with troops on July 14. The nobility was incensed with Northumberland and the people, for the most part, wanted Mary as their Queen, not Jane. In Northumberland’s absence, the Privy Council switched their allegiance from Jane to Mary and proclaimed her Queen on July 19, 1553. Mary arrived triumphantly into London on August 3, 1553, accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen.

Jane and Guildford had been in residence at the Tower of London following Jane’s proclamation as Queen. They were separated and remained at the Tower. After a few days, Guildford’s father John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Guildford’s four surviving brothers were imprisoned at the Tower of London along with Jane’s father Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk. All the men were eventually attainted and condemned to death. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553.

Jane and her husband were charged with high treason. Their trial took place on November 13, 1553, at Guildhall in London and they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane’s sentence was to “be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases.” Queen Mary appeared as if she was going to be lenient and perhaps pardon Jane but the Protestant rebellion of Thomas Wyatt the Younger in January 1554 sealed Jane’s fate, although she had nothing to do with the rebellion. Wyatt’s Rebellion was a reaction to Queen Mary’s planned marriage to the future King Philip II of Spain.

The Execution

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche, 1833; Credit -Wikipedia

16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey and her 18/19-year-old husband Lord Guildford Dudley were both beheaded on February 12, 1534. The day before their execution, Guildford asked for a last meeting with his wife but Jane refused saying that it “would only … increase their misery and pain, it was better to put it off … as they would meet shortly elsewhere, and live bound by indissoluble ties.” About ten o’clock on the morning of February 12, 1534, Guildford was led to Tower Hill outside the Tower of London where he was to have a public execution. He gave a brief speech to the assembled crowd, as was customary. Guildford then knelt down, prayed, and asked the people to pray for him. He was killed with a single blow of the ax.

From the window of her room, Jane witnessed a horse and cart bringing Guildford’s body back to the Tower.  Jane was then brought out to Tower Green inside the Tower of London where she was to have a private execution. Jane gave a short speech before her execution:

“Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen’s highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.”

Jane then recited Psalm 51, a penitential psalm (“Have mercy upon me, O God) in English and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked for her forgiveness, which she granted him, adding, “I pray you dispatch me quickly.” Referring to her head, she asked, “Will you take it off before I lay me down?” The executioner answered, “No, madam.” Jane then blindfolded herself but she failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, “What shall I do? Where is it?” Probably Sir Thomas Brydges, the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus, “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!”

Jane and Guildford were buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London where many executed there were buried including the two beheaded wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Memorial in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London, Credit: www.findagrave.com

Aftermath

The effigy of Lady Frances Brandon on her tomb in Westminster Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

Jane’s father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was executed on February 23, 1554. The life of his wife Frances was now in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her first cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in March 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died on November 20, 1559, at her residence Charterhouse in London with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her bedside. The cost of her funeral was paid by her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Lord Guildford Dudley’s brothers John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley remained imprisoned at the Tower of London in the Beauchamp Tower where they made carvings in the walls. John carved their heraldic devices with his name “IOHN DVDLI” which can still be seen. In 1554, Guildford’s mother Jane Dudley and his brother-in-law Sir Henry Sidney were busy befriending the Spanish nobles around Queen Mary’s new husband, Prince Philip of Spain, hoping they would use their influence to have the Dudley brothers released. In October 1554, John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley were released due to their efforts. Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I from her accession until his death.

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

• Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
• Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley,_1st_Duke_of_Northumberland [Accessed 28 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Lady Jane Grey. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-10-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Lord Guildford Dudley. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/lord-guildford-dudley/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Henry VI, King of England died at the Tower of London during the night of May 21, 1471, most likely murdered on the orders of Edward IV, King of England.

Henry VI, King of England

Henry VI, King of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry VI, King of England, born on December 6, 1421, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, is the youngest ever English monarch. He was the only child of Henry V, King of England and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of King Charles VI of France. Henry VI’s father, a warrior king, the victor against the French at the Battle of Agincourt, was determined to conquer France once and for all, but he succumbed to dysentery, a disease that killed more soldiers than battle, on August 31, 1422, at the age of 35, leaving a nine-month-old son to inherit his throne. On October 21, 1422, Henry VI became the titular King of France upon his grandfather Charles VI’s death in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes.

Henry VI, more interested in religion and learning than military matters, was not a successful king. He was shy, peaceful, and pious, hated bloodshed and deceit, and was not a warrior like his father. When it was time for him to marry, his advisers persuaded Henry that the way to achieve peace with France was to marry Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII of France. Margaret was to prove as strong as Henry was weak. Henry and Margaret had one child, born eight years after their marriage: Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales.

Shortly before his son was born, Henry VI had a mental breakdown. He was unable to recognize or respond to people for over a year. These attacks may have been hereditary. Henry’s maternal grandfather King Charles VI suffered from similar attacks, even thinking he was made of glass. Sometimes Henry also had hallucinations which makes some modern medical experts think he may have had a form of schizophrenia. Porphyria, which may have afflicted King George III, has also been suggested as a cause. During Henry’s incapacity, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and the next in line to the throne after Henry’s son, governed as Lord Protector.

Planting the Seeds of the Wars of the Roses: Lancaster versus York

The Red Rose of the House of Lancaster and the White Rose of the House of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Even before the birth of Henry VI’s son, factions were forming and the seeds of the Wars of the Roses were being planted. Henry VI was the great-grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (third son of Edward III) and the grandson of Henry IV, the first king of the House of Lancaster who had deposed his first cousin Richard II, the childless, only surviving child of Edward III’s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) who had predeceased his father.

Margaret believed her husband was threatened with being deposed by Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York who thought he had a better claim to the throne and would be a better king than Henry. Richard was a descendant of two sons of King Edward III. When Henry IV, the son of John of Gaunt, Edward III’s third son, deposed his cousin Richard II, the heirs of Edward III’s second son Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence were bypassed. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York was the senior heir of Lionel of Antwerp. He was also the senior heir of Edward III’s fourth son Edmund of Langley, Duke of York.

Henry VI’s wife Margaret aligned herself with Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, a grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. After Henry’s recovery in 1455, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York was dismissed, and Margaret and the Duke of Somerset became all-powerful. Eventually, things came to a head between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, and war broke out.

The Wars of Roses in a Nutshell

Battle of Tewkesbury; Credit – Wikipedia

The Wars of the Roses, fought between 1455 and 1487, was a series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

At the First Battle of St. Albans on May 22, 1455, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset was killed. Afterward, there was a peace of sorts, but hostilities started again four years later. On July 10, 1460, Henry VI was captured at the Battle of Northampton and forced to recognize Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York as his heir instead of his own son. Margaret of Anjou rallied the Lancastrian forces and was victorious at the Battle of Wakefield on December 29, 1460. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland were both killed in the battle.

The leader of the Yorkists was now the late Duke of York’s eldest son Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV, King of England). During the Second Battle of St. Albans on February 17, 1461, Henry VI’s freedom was secured and it is said that he laughed and sang insanely throughout the battle. The Yorkists regained the upper hand at the Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461. Edward, Earl of March defeated the Lancastrian forces in a snowstorm. Henry fled to Scotland, and England had a new king, Edward IV from the House of York.

Henry VI returned from Scotland in 1464 and participated in an ineffective uprising. In 1465, Henry was captured and taken to the Tower of London. Margaret of Anjou, exiled in France, wanted to restore the throne to her husband. Coincidentally, King Edward IV had a falling out with his major supporters, his brother George, Duke of Clarence and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker. Margaret, Clarence, and Warwick formed an alliance at the urging of King Louis XI of France. Edward IV was forced into exile, and Henry VI was restored to the throne on October 30, 1470. However, once again, Edward IV got the upper hand. Edward IV returned to England in early 1471 and Warwick was killed at the Battle of Barnet. The final decisive Yorkist victory was at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471, where Henry’s 16-year-old son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales was killed.

What happened to Henry VI?

Traditional site of Henry VI’s death in the Wakefield Tower; Credit – Wikipedia

After the Lancaster loss at the Battle of Barnet on April 14, 1471, Henry VI was taken to the Tower of London. Traditionally, Henry was said to have been imprisoned at the Wakefield Tower, the second largest tower at the Tower of London. However, the Offical Guidebook of the Tower of London says that “long before Henry VI’s imprisonment the Wakefield Tower had become a storehouse for official documents, and it is more likely that he was imprisoned in the Lanthorn Tower where the King’s lodging were.”

In mid-May 1471, Thomas Neville, Viscount Fauconberg, an illegitimate son of William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent (a grandson of John of Gaunt), made a failed attack on London with the goal of freeing Henry VI from the Tower of London. The action of Fauconberg, who was later beheaded, may have caused Edward IV to realize the danger of keeping Henry VI alive.

On May 21, 1471, King Edward IV made a triumphant entry into London led by his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III). During the night of May 21, 1471, the same day Edward IV had returned to London, Henry VI died at the age of 49. The official Yorkist chronicler wrote that due to his defeat and the death of his son, Henry VI died “of melancholy.” However, it is far more probable that Henry VI was murdered on the order of Edward IV. Traditionally, it has been said that Henry was murdered while praying at a small oratory in the Wakefield Tower. Apparently, there is evidence that Richard, Duke of Gloucester was in the Tower of London that night and there has been speculation that he killed Henry.

The next day, Henry VI’s body was placed in an open coffin and carried through London to Old St. Paul’s Cathedral where it was displayed for several days for the people to see that he was really dead. Henry’s coffin was then taken to the Blackfriars Monastery in London where the funeral service was conducted. The coffin was then loaded on a barge for a fifteen-mile journey up the Thames for burial in the Lady Chapel at Chertsey Abbey in Chertsey, Surrey, England. Henry’s burial site at Chertsey Abbey soon became a popular pilgrimage site. On August 12, 1484, Henry VI’s body was exhumed on the order of King Richard III, brother of King Edward IV, and moved to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. Ironically, the burial sites of King Henry VI and his rival King Edward IV lie opposite each other in eternal peace.

Tomb of Henry VI; Credit – findagrave.com

In 1910, Henry VI’s body was exhumed and examined. His skull was discovered to be in pieces, which may or may not be the result of a violent death. Some of the remaining hair was matted with a substance that looked like blood. It is possible that a blow to the head could have been the cause of death, but without further forensic examination, the exact cause of Henry VI’s death is still a matter of speculation.

Aftermath

Henry Tudor, the son of Henry VI’s half-brother and the founder of the House of Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward IV of the House of York reigned until his death in April 1483 when he was briefly succeeded by his 12-year-old son as King Edward V. Edward V and his brother Richard were sent to the Tower of London by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester who then reigned as King Richard III. The two young princes, known as the Princes in the Tower, were seen less and less until the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown and remains one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Henry VI had half-siblings from his mother’s second marriage to Owen Tudor, one of whom was Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond who married Lady Margaret Beaufort, niece of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Their son Henry Tudor (the future King Henry VII), eventually was the senior male Lancastrian claimant remaining after the Wars of the Roses. In 1485, Henry Tudor won the English throne when his forces defeated the forces of King Richard III, King Edward IV’s brother, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, becoming King Henry VII by the right of conquest. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of the Yorkist King Edward IV, and founded the House of Tudor.

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

• Dodson, Aidan. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Henry VI of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-vi-of-england/ [Accessed 2 Jan. 2020].
• Henrysixth.com. (2016). KING HENRY VI. [online] Available at: http://www.henrysixth.com/ [Accessed 2 Jan. 2020].
• Jones, Dan. (2014). The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. New York: Viking.
• Thurley, S., Impey, E. and Hammond, P. (2005). Official Guidebook: The Tower of London. London: Historic Royal Palaces.
• Weir, Alison. (1995). The Wars of the Roses. New York: Ballantine Books.