by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English was from the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex. He was a great-great-grandson of King Alfred the Great and the father of two kings, Edmund Ironside and Edward the Confessor. His nickname in Old English was unræd which means “no counsel” and describes the poor quality of advice that Æthelred received throughout his reign. Æthelred is number eight on the top ten list of longest-reigning British monarchs. He reigned for two separate periods (March 18, 978 – December 25, 1013 and February 3, 1014 – April 23, 1016) for a total of 37 years, 362 days.

Æthelred was born circa 966 – 968 to King Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth, daughter of Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon.

He had three elder siblings:

• Eadgyth, a half-sibling (961 – 984), later known as Saint Edith of Wilton
• Edward the Martyr, King of England, a half-sibling (c. 962 – 978)
• Edmund, a full sibling who died young, circa 970

In 975, King Edgar died and left two sons, Edward around 13 years of age and Æthelred around 8 years old. Various nobles and clergy formed factions that supported each of the brothers’ succession to the crown. Both boys were too young to have played any significant role in political maneuvering, and so it was the brothers’ supporters who were responsible for the turmoil that accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. In the end, Edward’s supporters proved more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out.

Edward’s reign was short-lived. On March 18, 978 while visiting Æthelred and his mother, Edward was stabbed to death. Although Æthelred was not suspected of participation, it appears that his supporters committed the murder, and the specter of his half-brother’s murder hung over him for the rest of his life. Edward is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Church, and is known as Saint Edward the Martyr.

Æthelred was crowned on April 14, 979 at Kingston Upon Thames, now in southwest London, then an ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned. In an Icelandic saga, by Gunnlaugr Ormstunga (Gunnlaugr “Serpent-Tongue” or “Wormtongue”), Æthelred is described as, “[A] tall, handsome man, elegant in manners, beautiful in countenance, and interesting in his deportment.” Gunnlaugr’s travels took him to England and he met Æthelred.

Around 985, Æthelred married Ælfgifu of York, daughter of Thored, Ealdorman of York.  Ælfgifu appears to have died by 1002, possibly in childbirth. Æthelred and Ælfgifu’s known children are:

(Note: Ætheling was used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty eligible for the kingship.)

• Æthelstan Ætheling (died 1014)
• Ecgberht Ætheling (died c. 1005)
• Edmund Ironside, King of the English (died 1016), married Ealdgyth, had issue
• Eadred Ætheling (died before 1013)
• Eadwig Ætheling (died 1017)
• Edgar Ætheling (died c. 1008)
• Eadgyth or Edith, married Eadric Streona
• Ælfgifu, married Uhtred the Bold, Ealdorman of Northumbria
• Wulfhilda, married Ulfcytel Snillingr
• Name unknown, Abbess of Wherwell Abbey

In 1002, Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, the daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy.  Emma’s brother, Richard II, Duke of Normandy, attempted to improve relations with England through his sister’s marriage to King Æthelred. This marriage was also important because it gave Richard II’s grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England. Æthelred and Emma had three children:

• Edward the Confessor, King of the English (between 1003 and 1005 – January 5, 1066), married Edith of Wessex, no children
• Alfred Ætheling (died 1036–7)
• Goda of England (1004 – c. 1047), married (1) Drogo of Mantes, Count of the Véxin, had three sons (2) Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, no children

After Æthelred’s death, Emma married Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway and their son Harthacnut was King of England and Denmark.

In England, the beginning of the Viking Age is dated to June 8, 793, when Vikings destroyed Lindisfarne Abbey, a center of learning on an island off the northeast coast of England in Northumberland. The Scandinavians’ desire for goods led to the exploration and development of extensive partnerships in new territories. In addition, it has been suggested that the Scandinavian population was too large for their home peninsula and there was not enough good farmland for everyone. This led to a hunt for more land. This hunt for trade and farming land was often violent and there were many conflicts and battles between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons. In 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalized, defining the boundaries of the English kingdom and Danish or Norse kingdoms (called Danelaw), with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings.

• Wikipedia: Viking Age
• Wikipedia: Danelaw

England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by King Edgar, Æthelred’s father. King Edgar allowed for limited autonomy in the Danelaw. However, in 980 a series of Viking coastal raids began. During this time, the Normans (comes from the French Normans/Normanz meaning Norseman) who were descended from Viking conquerors, allowed the Viking raiders to take refuge in their ports. This led to tension between the English and Norman courts, and Pope John XV had to negotiate peace between England and Normandy, ratified in Rouen, Normandy in 991.

In August of 991, a large Danish fleet invaded southeast England and headed up the Thames estuary toward London. The Battle of Maldon ensued which ended in the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons. Æthelred and his council bought the Danes off with 22,000 pounds of gold and silver, thereby instituting the policy of regular protection money called Danegeld to the Danes. These raids and the subsequent payment of Danegeld continued for several years.

According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 1002 King Æthelred was told that the Danish men in England “would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councilors, and possess his kingdom afterward.” In response, Æthelred “ordered slain all the Danish men in England.” St. Brice’s Day Massacre occurred on November 13, 1002, the feast day of St. Brice, fifth-century Bishop of Tours. There was a significant loss of life including Gunhilde, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway. In retaliation, Sweyn attacked England in 1003 – 1004, burning Norwich, but famine in 1005 caused him to retreat.

The Danish invaders returned and within a few years, all of England came under Danish rule. In 1013, Sweyn was acknowledged as King of England. Æthelred fled to the Isle of Wight and then to Normandy. Sweyn died on February 3, 1014, and the Danes in England swore their allegiance to Sweyn’s son Cnut the Great, but leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. Æthelred launched an attack against Cnut and his allies, but Cnut’s army had not completed its preparations and, in April 1014, he decided to withdraw from England without a fight. Æthelred returned to England and reigned until he died in London on April 23, 1016. He was buried in Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, but his tomb was destroyed along with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Æthelred’s son Edmund Ironside was now King but had to fight Cnut to keep the Kingdom of England. The war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun on October 18, 1016. Because Edmund’s reputation as a warrior was great, Cnut agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country beyond the River Thames. However, Edmund died on November 30, 1016, and Cnut the Great became King of England. Cnut later became King of Denmark and King of Norway and married Æthelred’s widow Emma of Normandy.

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.

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Unofficial Royalty: House of Wessex Index
• Unofficial Royalty: British Royal Burial Sites: House of Wessex
• Unofficial Royalty: Coronations before the Norman Conquest (871 – 1066)

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Henry VIII of England is known for his six wives, but he also makes the list for the top ten longest-reigning British monarchs coming in at number nine with a reign of 37 years, 281 days. He became king in 1509, two months short of his 18th birthday, and reigned until his death at the age of 55 in 1547. Henry and his siblings represented the merging of the Lancasters and the Yorks who fought for power during the Wars of the Roses. By 1483, Henry VIII’s father, Henry Tudor, was the senior male Lancastrian claimant. Henry VIII’s mother, Elizabeth of York, was the eldest daughter of the Yorkist King Edward IV, the elder brother of King Richard III. In 1485, Henry Tudor won the throne when his forces defeated the forces of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, becoming king by the right of conquest. The new dynasty was the House of Tudor descended in the male line from the Tudors of Penmynydd in Wales. Upon his marriage to Elizabeth of York, Henry VII adopted the Tudor Rose combining the white rose of the House of York and the red rose of the House of Lancaster.

Henry was born at Greenwich Palace on June 28, 1491, the third child and the second son of his parents. He had six siblings:

• Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486 – 1502), married Catherine of Aragon, no issue
• Margaret Tudor (1489 – 1541), married (1) James IV, King of Scots, had issue including James V, King of Scots, father of Mary, Queen of Scots (2) Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, had one daughter Lady Margaret Douglas who was the mother of Henry, Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots and father of Mary’s only child James VI, King of Scots/James I, King of England (3) Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, no issue
• Elizabeth Tudor (1492 – 1495), died young
• Mary Tudor (1496 – 1533), married (1) Louis XII, King of France, no issue (2) Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, had issue, grandmother of Lady Jane Grey
• Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset (1499 – 1500), died young
• Katherine Tudor (born and died 1503), died shortly after birth, her mother died of childbirth complications

The heir to the throne, Arthur, Prince of Wales had his own household at Ludlow Castle in the Marches of Wales. Henry and his other siblings were raised at Eltham Palace at Greenwich in London. Henry’s first tutor was the English poet John Skelton who taught his pupil Latin, ancient authors, history, music, and poetry. Henry continued to receive a Renaissance humanist education with tutors William Hune and Giles Duwe. Henry was fluent in French and Latin, played several instruments, and composed religious and secular songs.

At the age of three, Henry was created Duke of York and a year later he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. On November 14, 1501, ten-year-old Henry led Catherine of Aragon (the youngest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon), his brother Arthur’s bride, to the altar at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral. Five months later, Arthur died from “a malign vapor which proceeded from the air” and Henry was the heir to the throne. He immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on February 18, 1503.

King Henry VII did not want to lose Catherine of Aragon’s dowry or the alliance he had made with Spain, so he offered Henry, who was five years younger than Catherine, to be her husband. Several problems with negotiations made it doubtful that the marriage would ever take place. With little money, Catherine lived as a virtual prisoner at Durham House in London from 1502 – 1509. King Henry VII died on April 21, 1509, and 17-year-old Henry succeeded him.

Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellors: The Lord Chancellor was the King’s chief adviser.

• William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury: married and crowned Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
• Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York: started as Henry’s almoner, but within a few years became powerful in all matters of state, lost all his government titles after failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, died on his way to London to answer charges of treason
• Sir Thomas More: lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and Renaissance humanist; opposed the Protestant Reformation, tried for treason for not taking the Oath of Supremacy, was convicted and beheaded, canonized as a Roman Catholic saint
• Sir Thomas Audley, later Baron Audley of Walden: barrister and judge, supported the King’s divorce from Catherine and the marriage with Anne Boleyn, presided at the trials of Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More; participated in Anne Boleyn’s trial, recommended to Parliament the new Act of Succession, which made Jane Seymour’s issue legitimate
• Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton: diplomat, one of the King’s personal secretaries, personally tortured the reformer Protestant Anne Askew on the rack, one of the executors of Henry’s will
• William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester: a statesman who held many offices, one of the judges for the trials of Bishop John Fisher, Sir Thomas More, and the alleged lovers of Anne Boleyn

Other Important People During Henry VIII’s Reign

• Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk: boyhood friend of Henry VIII, second husband of Henry’s sister Mary, held several positions in the royal household
• Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury: a leader of the English Reformation, helped build the case for the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, burned at the stake for heresy during the reign of Henry’s Catholic daughter Mary I
• Thomas Cromwell: lawyer, statesman, and chief minister to Henry VIII from 1532 – 1540, advocate of the English Reformation, helped to engineer an annulment of the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, played a prominent role in the downfall of Anne Boleyn, fell from power after arranging the King’s unsuccessful marriage to Anne of Cleves, executed for treason and heresy
• Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk: politician, played a major role in arranging the marriages of his nieces Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard to Henry VIII, was stripped of the dukedom and imprisoned in the Tower, avoiding execution when Henry VIII died
• Sir Richard Rich: lawyer, Solicitor General, a major participant in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, helped prepare the cases against Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More, played a major role in the downfall of Thomas Cromwell, was Lord Chancellor under King Edward VI

Wife One: Catherine of Aragon

One of Henry’s first acts as king was to plan to marry his widowed sister-in-law. Marriage to his brother’s widow depended on the Pope granting a dispensation because according to canon law, marriage to a brother’s widow was forbidden. Catherine testified that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, and according to canon law, the marriage was not valid. On June 11, 1509, King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were privately married at the Grey Friars’ Church in Greenwich. The couple’s coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on June 23, 1509.

Catherine was pregnant six times and had only one surviving child Mary I, Queen of England.

• Unnamed daughter and son (January 31, 1510), stillborn
• Henry, Duke of Cornwall (January 1, 1511 – February 22, 1511)
• Henry, Duke of Cornwall (November 1513), lived for a few hours.
• Henry, Duke of Cornwall (January 5, 1515), stillborn
• Mary I, Queen of England (February 18, 1516 – November 17, 1558), married King Philip II of Spain, no issue
• Unnamed daughter (November 10, 1518 – November 17, 1518)

Henry and Catherine’s marriage was initially happy, but Henry was desperate for a male heir. By the mid-1520s, it became obvious that Catherine, who was five years older than Henry, was unlikely to have any more children. Henry became convinced that his marriage was cursed because Leviticus 20:21 says, “And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.” Around the same time, Henry became enamored of Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting to Catherine, and Henry began pursuing her.

Henry instructed Cardinal Wolsey to start negotiations with the Vatican to have his marriage to Catherine annulled. Catherine put up a valiant fight to save her marriage and was supported by her nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.  After several long years of negotiations, Cardinal Wolsey failed to obtain the annulment incurring the anger of Anne Boleyn, who brought about Wolsey’s dismissal as Chancellor. A far more reaching consequence was Henry’s break with Rome which was to lead to the Reformation in England and the establishment of the Church of England. In 1533, Henry nominated Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury, and in May 1533, Cranmer declared that because Henry and Catherine’s marriage was against the law of God, it was null and void. Catherine was banished from the court and Henry refused her the right to any title but “Dowager Princess of Wales” in recognition of her position as his brother’s widow. She was forbidden to see her daughter and died at Kimbolton Castle on January 7, 1536.

Wife Two: Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Lady Elizabeth’s brother was the Tudor courtier, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Anne’s birth date and birthplace are uncertain, but Anne grew up with her siblings at Hever Castle. She served at the French court as a maid of honor to Mary Tudor, the wife of King Louis XII of France, and Claude of France, daughter of Louis XII and wife of his successor François I, King of France. Upon her return to England, she was appointed a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon.

The lively and vivacious Anne soon attracted admirers at the English court including King Henry VIII. As stated above, Henry was desperate for a male heir and thought Anne could give him one. Anne refused to become Henry’s mistress as her sister Mary had. However, she continued to flirt with him and entered into an amorous correspondence with him. Meanwhile, Henry set into action the machinations that would annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When Henry secretly married Anne on January 25, 1533, at the Palace of Westminster, she was already pregnant with her first child. On May 25, 1533, Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine’s marriage null and void and five days later, he declared Henry and Anne’s marriage valid. Anne was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 1, 1533.

Anne was pregnant three times but only gave birth to one live child.

• Elizabeth I, Queen of England (September 7, 1533 – March 24, 1603), unmarried, no issue
• Stillborn son (August/September 1534)
• Miscarried son (January 29, 1536)

The loss of the last son sealed Anne’s fate. Henry was determined to be rid of her, and Thomas Cromwell engineered her fall and execution. Many historians believe that the case charging Anne with adultery with her brother George Boleyn and four other men was completely fabricated. Anne was arrested on May 2, 1536, and taken to the Tower of London. On May 14, 1536, Thomas Cranmer declared her marriage to Henry was null and void. Her trial occurred at the Tower on May 15, 1536, and she was found guilty of adultery, incest, and high treason. On May 18, 1536, Anne’s brother and the four other men were executed. Anne was beheaded on Tower Green on May 19, 1536, by a headman from Calais, France who used a sword rather than an axe.

Wife Three: Jane Seymour

Sometime in early 1536, Henry VIII began to show an interest in Jane Seymour, maid of honor to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth, Jane was born around 1508 into a prominent gentry family. During the period of Anne Boleyn’s arrest, trial, and execution, Jane left the court and stayed at the family home, Wolf Hall.  As soon as Henry heard the guns at the Tower of London announcing Anne Boleyn’s death, he left for Wolf Hall. Jane and Henry were betrothed the next day and on May 30, 1536, they were married by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in a private ceremony held in the Queen’s Closet at Whitehall Palace. Early in 1537, Jane became pregnant and on October 12, 1537, she gave Henry his much-longed-for son.

• Edward VI, King of England (October 12, 1537 – July 6, 1553), unmarried, no issue

The King’s joy was short-lived. On October 17, 1537, Jane’s condition deteriorated and she was given the last rites.   She died at Hampton Court Palace on October 24, 1537, most likely from puerperal fever or childbed fever, a bacterial infection.

Fourth Wife: Anne of Cleves

After Jane’s death, Henry’s ambassadors to other courts were instructed to make inquiries about a possible fourth bride. Henry remained a widower for over two years and his fourth marriage was to prove the shortest of his six marriages. Anne of Cleves was born in 1515 in Düsseldorf, now in Germany. The Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, and encompassed parts of present-day Germany and the Netherlands. Anne was the daughter of Johann III, Duke of Cleves and Maria of Jülich-Berg.  Anne’s brother Wilhelm was the reigning Duke of Cleves. After seeing Hans Holbein’s portrait of Anne (above) and being urged on by his chief minister Thomas Cromwell, Henry agreed to the marriage.

When Henry met Anne, he said, “She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported.” Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible. Henry turned on Cromwell as did Cromwell’s enemies, leading to his downfall. Thomas Cromwell was arrested, charged with treason and heresy, and executed on July 28, 1540.

Henry went forward with the wedding on January 6, 1540, at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.” On July 9, 1540, the marriage was annulled on the grounds of non-consummation. Anne received a generous settlement, including Richmond Palace and the Boleyns’ former home Hever Castle, and was referred to as “the King’s Beloved Sister.” She was invited to court and was given precedence over all English women except the King’s wife and daughters.

Anne was the longest surviving of all Henry VIII’s wives. She survived long enough to see the coronation of Henry’s daughter Mary I. Anne died on July 16, 1557, two months before her forty-second birthday, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Fifth Wife: Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard was born in about 1520, the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpepper. As the mother of Anne Boleyn, Catherine’s father was the child of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Therefore Catherine was the first cousin of Anne Boleyn and the niece of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. After a rather lax upbringing in the household of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, Catherine’s uncle, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, found a place for her in the household of Henry’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves.

Being was disinterested in Anne of Cleves, Catherine quickly caught Henry VIII’s eye. Catherine, well aware of the King’s interest, set out to captivate him. Her relatives encouraged her scheming and soon the King was showering favors upon Catherine. On the day after the annulment of his marriage to Anne of Cleves, Henry was urged by his council, headed by Catherine’s uncle, to marry again “for the comfort of the realm.” Henry and Catherine were married at Hampton Court Palace on July 28, 1540.

For a while, Henry’s marriage seemed to rejuvenate him. However, young Catherine found no joy in a husband who was old, physically gross, and repugnant. Catherine began affairs with Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpepper, two young men whom she had affairs with while in the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk’s household. Jane Boleyn, one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting and the widow of George Boleyn, executed for supposedly having an affair with his sister Anne Boleyn, aided and abetted Catherine in these affairs. Jane had testified, most likely falsely, against her husband and sister-in-law. An informer told the council about Catherine’s affairs.

Catherine was arrested and imprisoned at Syon Abbey where she remained throughout the winter of 1541 – 1542. Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpepper were executed on December 10, 1541. Catherine was taken to the Tower of London on February 10, 1542, and was beheaded there, along with Jane Boleyn, on February 13, 1542.

Sixth Wife: Catherine Parr

King Henry VIII now required a nurse rather than a wife. He had become obese and needed to be moved around with the help of mechanical devices. He was covered with painful, pus-filled boils and probably suffered from gout. His obesity and other medical problems can be traced to the jousting accident in 1536, in which he suffered a leg wound that never healed. The jousting accident is believed to have caused Henry’s mood swings, which may have had a dramatic effect on his personality and temperament. Upon hearing good reports about the twice-widowed Catherine, Lady Latimer (born Catherine Parr) who cared for her elderly second husband John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, Henry married her on July 12, 1543, at Hampton Court Palace. Catherine proved to be a good nurse to Henry and a kind stepmother to his three children. She was influential in Henry’s passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 which restored his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, to the line of succession to the throne.

Catherine’s religious views were reform Protestant, in the sense of the definition of the word Protestant today. Her religious views incited a pro-Catholic/anti-Reform Protestant faction led by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Thomas Wriothesley, Lord Chancellor, to bring a charge of heresy against her in 1546. Catherine found out about this and eloquently pleaded her case successfully to Henry.

After Henry died in 1547, Catherine married Thomas Seymour, uncle of King Edward VI. In August of 1548, Catherine and Seymour had a daughter, but tragically Catherine died on September 5, 1548, of puerperal fever (childbed fever). Her daughter appears to have died young.

Illegitimate Son

King Henry VIII acknowledged only one illegitimate child. His mother was Henry’s mistress Elizabeth Blount.

• Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (June 15, 1519 – July 23, 1536), married Lady Mary Howard, of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, no issue

Some Events of Henry VIII’s Reign

• Battle of the Spurs, 1513: Henry invaded France and defeated the French army
• Battle of Flodden, 1513: The English army defeated the Scots army, James IV, King of Scots, the husband of Henry’s sister Margaret is killed
• Treaty of London, 1518: a non-aggression pact between the major European nations
• Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520: Henry meets François I, King of France near Calais

• Publication of Defense of the Seven Sacraments, 1521: written by Henry in response to Martin Luther’s attack on indulgences
• Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith), 1521: Pope Leo X rewards Henry for writing Defense of the Seven Sacraments with the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith); revoked following the king’s break with the Catholic Church in the 1530s, but re-awarded to his heir by the English Parliament
• First Succession Act, 1533: makes the yet unborn Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII by Anne Boleyn, Henry’s heir and makes Princess Mary, the King’s daughter by Catherine of Aragon, a bastard
• Act of Supremacy, 1534: Henry is declared the supreme head of the Church of England
• Treasons Act, 1534: made it high treason, punishable by death, to refuse the Oath of Supremacy
• Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act, 1536: provided for administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded Catholic monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries in England, Wales, and Ireland, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided for their former members and functions
• Second Succession Act, 1536: declared Henry’s children by Jane to be next in the line of succession and declared both Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate and excluded from the succession
• Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551): conflict between Scotland and England in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to a marriage between his son Edward and the infant Mary, Queen of Scots
• Third Succession Act, 1543: returned Henry’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession behind their half-brother Edward
• Henry founded Trinity College, Cambridge, 1546

Henry’s health issues certainly hastened his death. As he lay dying in January of 1547 at the age of 55, he was able to ponder aloud on his misdoings. After some urging, he sent for Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, but when he arrived, Henry could no longer talk and was only able to press Cranmer’s hand when asked to give a sign that he trusted in God. King Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, at Whitehall Palace in London, England. The news of his death was withheld for three days, while the council debated the fate of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk who had been held at the Tower of London, under a death sentence, since the fiasco with his niece Catherine Howard. The council decided to spare him. King Henry VIII was buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England next to Jane Seymour, the wife that gave him a son. Henry had made plans for a magnificent tomb but they were never carried out. In 1649, the remains of the beheaded King Charles I were buried in Henry and Jane’s vault.

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England: House of Tudor Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Tudor Index
• British Royal Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Important Events
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• First Cousins of King Henry VIII
• History and Traditions: Tudor Weddings
• House of Tudor Burial Sites
• House of Tudor Christenings

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Henry I is the tenth longest-reigning British monarch, reigning 35 years, 120 days. He became King in 1100 at about the age of 32 and reigned until he died in 1135 at about the age of 67. Henry was the fourth and the youngest son of William the Conqueror (King William I) and Matilda of Flanders. His birth date and birthplace are uncertain, but he was probably born in September 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England.

Henry had at least nine siblings. The birth order of the boys is clear, but that of the girls is not. The list below is not in birth order.  It lists Henry’s brothers first in their birth order and then his sisters in their probable birth order.

• Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy (1051-1054 – 1134), married Sybil of Conversano, had one son
• Richard of Normandy (circa 1054 – circa 1070), died in a hunting accident in the New Forest
• William II Rufus, King of England (1056-1060 – 1100), unmarried, killed in the New Forest
• Agatha of Normandy died before 1074, unmarried
• Adeliza of Normandy (circa 1055 – before 1113), probably a nun at the Abbey of St Léger in Préaux, Duchy of Normandy
• Cecilia of Normandy (circa 1056 – 1127), Abbess of Holy Trinity in Caen
• Matilda of Normandy (circa 1061 – c. 1086)
• Constance of Normandy (1057-1061 – 1090, married Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, no issue
• Adela of Normandy (circa 1067 – 1137), married Stephen II, Count of Blois, had ten children including King Stephen of England

Henry received a good education, learning to read and write in Latin and also studying English (unusual for the time) and English law. As a younger son, his destiny probably was to enter the Church. He was very proud of his nickname “Beauclerc” (fine scholar). Later in life, he said that “an unlettered King was but a crowned ass.” Contrary to plans, Henry was knighted by his father in 1086.

In 1087, King William I divided his lands between his two eldest surviving sons. Robert Curthose was to receive the Duchy of Normandy and William Rufus was to receive the Kingdom of England. Henry was to receive 5,000 pounds of silver and his mother’s English estates. After his father died in 1087, Henry was constantly being forced to choose between his two brothers, and whichever brother he picked, he was likely to annoy the other. In 1096, Robert left for the Holy Land on the First Crusade. To raise money for the crusade, Robert mortgaged the Duchy of Normandy to his brother King William II. The two older brothers made a pact stating that if one of them died without heirs, both Normandy and England would be reunited under the surviving brother. On August 2, 1100, King William II was killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Robert was still on Crusade, so Henry was able to seize the crown of England for himself. The day after William’s funeral at Winchester, the nobles elected Henry King of England and he then left for London where he was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

On November 11, 1100, Henry married Edith of Scotland (renamed Matilda upon her marriage), the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland.  Through her mother, Matilda merged the bloodline of the Anglo-Saxon kings with Henry’s Norman bloodline. Saint Margaret was born an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her father was Edward the Exile also called Edward Ætheling, the son of King Edmund Ironside (King Edmund II).

Henry and Matilda had two surviving children:

• Matilda (1102 – 1167), married (1) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, no issue; married (2) Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, had issue including King Henry II of England
• William Ætheling (1103 – 1120), married Matilda of Anjou, no issue

In 1101, Robert Curthose tried to recapture the crown. His campaign failed, and under the Treaty of Alton, Robert recognized Henry as King of England. Four years later, Henry led an army across the English Channel to Normandy to avert another threat by his brother Robert. Henry defeated the Norman army in the Battle of Tinchebray, imprisoned his brother, and annexed the Duchy of Normandy as a possession of England.

On November 25, 1120, William Ætheling, Henry’s only legitimate son, was returning to England from Normandy when his ship hit a submerged rock, capsized, and sank. William Ætheling and many others drowned. See Unofficial Royalty: The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession.

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children, but the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. Henry’s nephews were the closest male heirs. In January 1121 at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Henry married Adeliza of Louvain, hoping for sons, but the marriage remained childless. On Christmas Day of 1126, King Henry I of England gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have as his successors. That plan did not work out.

Henry died on December 1, 1135. He fell ill after eating a number of lampreys against his doctor’s advice. It is possible the cause of death was ptomaine poisoning. Henry was buried in Reading Abbey in Reading, England, which was mostly destroyed during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Upon hearing of Henry’s death, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England on December 22, 1135. This started the terrible civil war between Stephen and Henry I’s daughter Matilda known as The Anarchy. England did not see peace for eighteen years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1153.

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.

England: House of Normandy Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Normandy Index
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings
• House of Normandy Burial Sites
• The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession

On September 9, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II will surpass her great great grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch. In honor of this milestone, we will be publishing a series of articles about the longest reigning British monarchs (listed below)  starting August 26, 2015 and continuing through September 8, 2015.

Top 10 Longest Reigning British Monarchs

1. Queen Elizabeth II, reigned February 6, 1952 – Present
2. Queen Victoria, reigned June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901; 63 years, 216 days
3. King George III, reigned October 25, 1760 – January 29, 1820; 59 years, 96 days
4. King Henry III, reigned October 18, 1216 – November 16, 1272; 56 years, 29 days
5. King Edward III, reigned January 25, 1327 – June 21, 1377; 50 years, 147 days
6. Queen Elizabeth I, reigned November 17, 1558 – March 24, 1603; 44 years, 127 days
7. King Henry VI, reigned August 31, 1422 – March 4, 1461 AND 31 October 31, 1470 – April 11, 1471; 38 years, 347 days
8. King Æthelred II, reigned March 18, 978 – December 25, 1013 AND February 3, 1014 – April 23, 1016; 37 years, 362 days
9. King Henry VIII, reigned April 22, 1509 – January 28, 1547; 37 years, 281 days
10. King Henry I, reigned August 3, 1100 – December 1, 1135; 35 years, 120 days

Honorable Mention: Scottish and Welsh Monarchs Who Could Be Included in the List

• King James VI of Scotland, reigned July 24, 1567 – 27 March 27, 1625; 57 years, 246 days (from March 24,1603, also King James I of England)
• King William I of Scotland, reigned December 9, 1165 – December 4, 1214; 48 years, 360 days
• Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd, reigned January 1, 1195 – April 11, 1240; 45 years
• King David II of Scotland, reigned June 7, 1329 – February 22, 1371; 41 years, 260 days

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