by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

James’ godparents were:

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

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

• Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (1660 – 1661)
• Queen Mary II of England (1662 – 1694), married her first cousin Willem III, Prince of Orange in 1677, ascended to the throne in 1689 as co-ruler with her husband as King William III of England after the deposition of her father, no surviving children
• Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665 – 1714), married Prince George of Denmark, no surviving children
• Charles Stuart, Duke of Kendal (1666 – 1667)
• Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (1667 – 1671)
• Henrietta Stuart (born and died 1669)
• Catherine Stuart (born and died 1671)

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

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

A posthumous portrait of James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge by Willem Wissing; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick

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

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

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

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

Edward had three siblings but only one survived childhood:

• Anne of Clarence (born and died 1470), born and died on a ship off Calais
• Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (1473 – 1541), married Sir Richard Pole, had five children, executed by King Henry VIII
• Richard of Clarence (1476 – 1477), died in childhood

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester;  Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

Henry had eight siblings:

• Prince Charles James of England, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, born and died May 13, 1629
• King Charles II of England (1630 – 1685), married Catherine of Braganza, no children, but Charles II had at least 14 illegitimate children
• Mary, Princess Royal (1631 – 1660), married Willem II, Prince of Orange, had one child: Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England
• King James II of England (1633 – 1701), married (1) Anne Hyde, had eight children, but only two survived childhood, both reigning Queens: Queen Mary II of England and Queen Anne of England (2) Maria Beatrice of Modena, had seven children but only two survived childhood including James Francis Edward Stuart, The Old Pretender
• Princess Elizabeth of England (1635 – 1650), died in her teens from pneumonia
• Princess Anne of England (1637 – 1640) died young from tuberculosis
• Princess Catherine of England, born and died June 29, 1639
• Princess Henrietta of England (1644 – 1670), married her first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans, had three children

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

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

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

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

Henry’s father King Charles I at his trial; Credit – Wikipedia

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

A 19th-century depiction of Elizabeth and Henry at Carisbooke Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

Henry’s mother Henrietta Maria; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Henry’s eldest brother Charles in exile; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Unofficial Royalty: Royal Deaths 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

• Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Elizabeth Stuart, Princess of England, Daughter of King Charles I of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-elizabeth-of-england-daughter-of-king-charles-i-of-england/ (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Execution of Charles I, King of England (1649), Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/execution-of-charles-i-king-of-england-1649/ (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/henrietta-maria-of-france-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) King Charles I of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-i-of-england (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Henry, Duke of Gloucester (2023) Westminster Abbey. Available at: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/henry-duke-of-gloucester (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stuart,_Duke_of_Gloucester (Accessed: February 16, 2023).
• Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
• Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Elizabeth; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Elizabeth of England, also known as Elizabeth Stuart, was born on December 28, 1635, at St. James’s Palace in London, England. She was the fifth of the nine children and the second of the five daughters of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents were King James I of England and Anne of Denmark. Her maternal grandparents were King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici.

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

Elizabeth had eight siblings:

• Prince Charles James of England, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, born and died May 13, 1629
• King Charles II of England (1630 – 1685), married Catherine of Braganza, no children, but Charles II had at least 14 illegitimate children
• Mary, Princess Royal (1631 – 1660), married Willem II, Prince of Orange, had one child: Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England
• King James II of England (1633 – 1701), married (1) Anne Hyde, had eight children, but only two survived childhood, both reigning Queens: Queen Mary II of England and Queen Anne of England (2) Maria Beatrice of Modena, had seven children but only two survived childhood including James Francis Edward Stuart, The Old Pretender
• Princess Anne of England (1637 – 1640) died young from tuberculosis
• Princess Catherine of England, born and died June 29, 1639
• Prince Henry of England, Duke of Gloucester (1640 – 1660) unmarried, died from smallpox
• Princess Henrietta of England (1644 – 1670), married Philippe, Duke of Orléans, had three children

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On August 23, 1650, less than a week after arriving at Carisbrooke Castle, Elizabeth began to feel ill. On September 1, she went to bed and soon she could no longer get up. She died on September 8, 1650, aged fourteen, probably from pneumonia. Reportedly, Elizabeth was found dead with her head on her father’s Bible. She was buried in a small crypt under the altar at Saints Thomas Church in Newport, on the Isle of Wight.

Memorial to Princess Elizabeth, erected over her grave by Queen Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

There was no marker on Elizabeth’s grave. Eventually, travelers to the Isle of Wight began to discover Elizabeth’s burial place from the initials ES – for Elizabeth Stuart – carved on the nearest wall. In 1856, Queen Victoria ordered a white marble monument designed and made by Carlo Marochetti, an Italian-born French sculptor, to be installed over Elizabeth’s grave. The effigy shows Elizabeth with her head resting on an open Bible. The Bible is opened to Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The inscription on the memorial says: “In memory of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Charles I, who died at Carisbrooke Castle on September 8, 1650, and was buried under the altar of this church. This monument erected in respect to her virtue and sympathy for her hardships by Queen Victoria, 1856″.

Elizabeth’s effigy; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

• Elizabeth Stuart (1635-1650) – Find a Grave… (no date) Find a Grave. Available at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17950850/elizabeth-stuart (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Elizabeth Stuart (daughter of Charles I) (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Stuart_(daughter_of_Charles_I) (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Елизавета Стюарт (дочь карла I) (Elizabeth Stuart) (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82_(%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%87%D1%8C_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0_I) (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Execution of Charles I, King of England (1649), Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/execution-of-charles-i-king-of-england-1649/ (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/henrietta-maria-of-france-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) King Charles I of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-i-of-england (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stuart,_Duke_of_Gloucester (Accessed: February 12, 2023).
• Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
• Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Bridget of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Destined to be a nun, Bridget of York was born on November 10, 1480, at Eltham Palace in London, England. She was the youngest of the ten children and the seventh of the seven daughters of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. Bridget’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg.

The name Bridget was unusual for the English royal family. It was probably chosen by her paternal grandmother Cecily Neville, Duchess of York who was interested in the Order of the Bridgettines which St. Bridget of Sweden (circa 1303 – 1373) founded. The infant princess was baptized in the chapel of Eltham Palace the day after her birth with her paternal grandmother Cecily Neville, her eldest sister Elizabeth of York, and William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester acting as her godparents. Bridget was confirmed immediately after her baptism with her maternal aunt Margaret Woodville, Lady Maltravers acting as her sponsor.

Bridget’s father King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Bridget’s father King Edward IV was the eldest surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York who had a strong claim to the English throne. The social and financial troubles that followed the Hundred Years’ War, combined with the mental disability and weak rule of the Lancastrian King Henry VI had revived interest in the claim of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and so the Wars of the Roses were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1487. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield and his son Edward was then the leader of the House of York. After winning a decisive victory on March 2, 1461, at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 19-year-old Edward proclaimed himself king. In 1464, King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville.

Bridget’s mother Elizabeth Woodville; Credit – Wikipedia

Bridget had nine siblings:

• Elizabeth of York (1466 – 1503), married King Henry VII of England, had seven children including King Henry VIII of England, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France
• Mary of York (1467 – 1482), unmarried, died in her teens
• Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (1469 – 1507), married (1) Ralph Scrope of Upsall, no children, marriage annulled (2) John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, had two daughters who died young (3) Sir Thomas Kyme, possible children
• King Edward V of England (1470 – circa 1483), briefly succeeded his father, as King Edward V of England, was the elder of the Princes in the Tower
• Margaret of York (born and died 1472)
• Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – circa 1483), was the younger of the Princes in the Tower
• Anne of York, Lady Howard (1475 – circa 1511 – 1513), married Lord Thomas Howard, the future 3rd Duke of Norfolk, had four children but none survived childhood
• George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford (1477 – 1479), died in childhood probably from the bubonic plague
• Catherine of York, Countess of Devon (1479 – 1527), married William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, had two sons and one daughter

Bridget had two half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby:

• Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455 – 1501), married (1) Anne Holland, no children; (2) Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington and 2nd Baroness Bonville, had 14 children; Thomas and Cecily are the great-grandparents of Lady Jane Grey
• Sir Richard Grey (1457 – 1483), unmarried, executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (future King Richard III)

Bridget’s brother King Edward V of England, one of the missing Princes in the Tower; Credit – Wikipedia

When Bridget was two-years-old, her father King Edward IV died on April 9, 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday. Bridget’s twelve-year-old brother succeeded their father as King Edward V, and King Edward IV’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was named Lord Protector of his young nephew and moved to keep the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville, from exercising power. The widowed queen sought to gain political power for her family by appointing family members to key positions and rushing the coronation of her young son. The new king was accompanied to London by his maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and his half-brother Sir Richard Grey. Rivers and Grey were accused of planning to assassinate Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and were arrested, and taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were later executed without trial. Richard, Duke of Gloucester then proceeded with the new king to London where Edward V was presented to the Lord Mayor of London. For their safety, King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York were sent to the Tower of London and were never seen again. They are the famous Princes in the Tower.

On June 22, 1483, a sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Cross in London declaring Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and his children illegitimate. This information came from Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who claimed a legal pre-contract of marriage to Eleanor Butler, had invalidated King Edward IV’s later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. The citizens of London presented Richard, Duke of Gloucester with a petition urging him to assume the throne, and he was proclaimed king on June 26, 1483. King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville were crowned in Westminster Abbey on July 6, 1483, and their son Edward of Middleham was created Prince of Wales. In January 1484, Parliament issued the Titulus Regius, a statute proclaiming Richard the rightful king.

Bridget’s brother-in-law King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1485, Henry Tudor from the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. On January 18, 1486, Henry VII married Bridget’s eldest sister Elizabeth of York uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York into the new House of Tudor. Henry VII had Parliament repeal the Titulus Regius, the act that declared King Edward IV’s marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thereby legitimizing his wife.

Bridget’s sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

It is probable that early in her life, Bridget’s parents began to consider sending her to a convent where she would lead a religious life as a nun. Her uncle King Richard III planned to marry Bridget to one of his supporters when she was old enough. Bridget’s brother-in-law King Henry VII had similar marriage plans but when Bridget expressed a strong desire to become a nun, no marriage arrangements were made for her.

Dedication of Bridget to the nunnery at Dartford, as imagined by James Northcote,1822; Credit – Wikipedia

When Bridget entered Dartford Priory in Dartford, Kent, England to become a nun is unknown. It happened after 1486, the year Bridget turned six-years-old, when marriage arrangements (the marriages never happened) for two of Bridget’s sisters were made with Scottish princes, but before 1492, the year Bridget’s mother died and the year that Bridget’s twelfth birthday occurred. Her mother Queen Dowager Elizabeth Woodville died at Bermondsey Abbey in London, England on June 8, 1492, at the age of 55. Except for her daughter Queen Elizabeth, who was awaiting the birth of her fourth child, and her daughter Cecily, her other daughters, Anne, Catherine, and Bridget attended her funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Elizabeth Woodville was buried with her husband King Edward IV of England. It is known that twelve-year-old Bridget left Dartford Priory to attend her mother’s funeral and returned to the priory after the funeral.

Dartford Priory, founded by King Edward III and developed under his grandson and successor King Richard II, was chosen for Bridget because of its royal background and because it was common for daughters of the nobility to become nuns there. The nuns were dedicated to a contemplative life and spent their time in prayer and spiritual recreation, such as devotional reading. Dartford Priory was an enclosed or cloistered convent and the nuns there separated themselves from the outside world. Except for her mother’s funeral, there is no evidence that Bridget ever left Dartford Priory.

Very little is known about Bridget’s life once she entered Dartford Priory. She did exchange letters with her eldest sister Queen Elizabeth who provided some funds for Bridget’s expenses. Sir Thomas More (1478 – 1535), the English humanist, lawyer, philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist, wrote of Bridget, “Bridget represented the same virtue as the one whose name she bore, professing and observing the canons of religious life in Dartford.”

Bridget’s nephew King Henry VIII in 1509; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 2, 1503, Bridget’s eldest sister Queen Elizabeth gave birth to her seventh child, a daughter Katherine. Shortly after giving birth, Elizabeth became ill with puerperal fever (childbed fever) and died on February 11, 1503, her 37th birthday. Little Katherine died on February 18, 1503. In 1509, Bridget’s brother-in-law King Henry VII died and was succeeded by his son and Bridget’s nephew King Henry VIII.

Bridget died at Dartford Priory but exactly when she died is unknown. John Weever (1576 – 1632), an English antiquarian and poet, wrote in his 1631 book Ancient Funerall Monuments that Bridget died in 1517. Sir Thomas More, writing in his 1513 book History of King Richard III, does not say she is alive but mentions that her only surviving sibling Catherine was still living, so possibly Bridget died before 1513. Bridget was interred in the choir of the Dartford Priory church. However, Dartford Priory was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 – 1541), administrative and legal processes ordered ironically by her nephew King Henry VIII who had a new royal manor house constructed on the property. Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves lived at the new manor house for four years before her death in 1557.

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

• Bridget of York (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_of_York (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/elizabeth-of-york-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) King Edward IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iv-of-england/ (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
• Higginbotham, Susan. (2012) A Royal Christening: Bridget of York, November 11, 1480, Susan Higginbotham. Available at: https://www.susanhigginbotham.com/posts/a-royal-christening-bridget-of-york-november-11-1480/ (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
• Higginbotham, Susan. (2013) Bridget of York: A Royal Nun, Susan Higginbotham. Available at: https://www.susanhigginbotham.com/posts/bridget-of-york-a-royal-nun/ (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
• Jones, Dan. (2012) The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
• Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

The five eldest surviving daughters of King Edward IV, left to right: Elizabeth, Cecily, Anne, Catherine, and Mary. This stained glass window in Canterbury Cathedral was made by order of King Edward IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on August 14, 1479, at Eltham Palace in Greenwich, England, Catherine of York, Countess of Devon was the ninth of the ten children and the sixth of the seven daughters of King Edward IV of England, the first King of England from the House of York, and Elizabeth Woodville. Anne’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg.

Catherine’s father King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine’s father King Edward IV was the eldest surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York who had a strong claim to the English throne. The social and financial troubles that followed the Hundred Years’ War, combined with the mental disability and weak rule of the Lancastrian King Henry VI had revived interest in the claim of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and the Wars of the Roses were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1487. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield and his son Edward was then the leader of the House of York. After winning a decisive victory on March 2, 1461, at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 19-year-old Edward proclaimed himself king. In 1464, King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville.

Catherine’s mother Elizabeth Woodville; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine had nine siblings:

• Elizabeth of York (1466 – 1503), married King Henry VII of England, had seven children including King Henry VIII of England, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France
• Mary of York (1467 – 1482), unmarried, died in her teens
• Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (1469 – 1507), married (1) Ralph Scrope of Upsall, no children, marriage annulled (2) John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, had two daughters who died young (3) Sir Thomas Kyme, possible children
• King Edward V of England (1470 – circa 1483), briefly succeeded his father, as King Edward V of England, was the elder of the Princes in the Tower
• Margaret of York (born and died 1472)
• Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – circa 1483), was the younger of the Princes in the Tower
• Anne of York, Lady Howard (1475 – circa 1511 – 1513), married Lord Thomas Howard, the future 3rd Duke of Norfolk, had four children but none survived childhood
• George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford (1477 – 1479), died in childhood probably from the bubonic plague
• Bridget of York (1480 – 1517), became a nun

Catherine had two half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby:

• Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455 – 1501), married (1) Anne Holland, no children; (2) Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington and 2nd Baroness Bonville, had 14 children; Thomas and Cecily are the great-grandparents of Lady Jane Grey
• Sir Richard Grey (1457 – 1483), unmarried, executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (future King Richard III)

Being the daughter of the King of England, Catherine was a desirable royal bride.  A preliminary marriage agreement was arranged before she was even one month old. Catherine was to marry Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias, the eldest son and heir of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, King of Castile and León and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. When Catherine’s father suddenly died, the marriage negotiations were terminated.

A late-16th/early 17th-century image of Catherine’s brother King Edward V of England, one of the missing Princes in the Tower; Credit – Wikipedia

When Catherine was not quite four-years-old, her father King Edward IV died on April 9, 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday. Anne’s twelve-year-old brother succeeded their father as King Edward V, and King Edward IV’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was named Lord Protector of his young nephew and moved to keep the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville, from exercising power. The widowed queen sought to gain political power for her family by appointing family members to key positions and rushing the coronation of her young son. The new king was accompanied to London by his maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and his half-brother Sir Richard Grey. Rivers and Grey were accused of planning to assassinate Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and were arrested, and taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were later executed without trial. Richard, Duke of Gloucester then proceeded with the new king to London where Edward V was presented to the Lord Mayor of London. For their safety, King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York were sent to the Tower of London and were never seen again. They are the famous Princes in the Tower.

On June 22, 1483, a sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Cross in London declaring Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and his children illegitimate. This information came from Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who claimed a legal pre-contract of marriage to Eleanor Butler, had invalidated King Edward IV’s later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. The citizens of London presented Richard, Duke of Gloucester with a petition urging him to assume the throne, and he was proclaimed king on June 26, 1483. King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville were crowned in Westminster Abbey on July 6, 1483, and their son Edward of Middleham was created Prince of Wales. In January 1484, Parliament issued the Titulus Regius, a statute proclaiming Richard the rightful king.

Catherine’s brother-in-law King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1485, Henry Tudor from the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. On January 18, 1486, Henry VII married Catherine’s eldest sister Elizabeth of York uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York into the new House of Tudor. Henry VII had Parliament repeal the Titulus Regius, which declared King Edward IV’s marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, legitimizing his wife.

Catherine’s sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

King Henry VII wanted to establish peace with the Kingdom of Scotland, the northern neighbor of the Kingdom of England. A preliminary marriage agreement was reached in November 1487 with James III, King of Scots. Catherine’s elder sister Cecily was to marry James III’s eldest son, James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the heir to the throne of Scotland, the future James IV, King of Scots. Catherine was to marry James III’s second son James Stewart, Duke of Ross. However, when James III, King of Scots was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn in June 1488, the marriage negotiations were interrupted and were never resumed.

Catherine’s mother Queen Dowager Elizabeth Woodville died at Bermondsey Abbey in London, England on June 8, 1492, at the age of 55. Except for her daughter Queen Elizabeth, who was awaiting the birth of her fourth child, and her daughter Cecily, her other daughters, Anne, Catherine, and Bridget attended her funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Elizabeth Woodville was buried with her husband King Edward IV of England.

When Catherine reached a marriageable age, her sister Queen Elizabeth searched among the British nobility for a husband for Catherine. In October 1495, sixteen-year-old Catherine married twenty-year-old William Courtenay, son and heir of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a strong supporter of King Henry VII.

Catherine and William’s son Henry Courtenay, 2nd from left, wearing a mantle displaying his arms, detail from a procession of Garter Knights in the Black Book of the Garter, c.1535, Royal Collection, Windsor; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine and William had three children:

• Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter (circa 1496 – 1539, executed) married (1) Elizabeth Grey, 5th Baroness Lisle, 3rd Viscountess Lisle (in her own right), no children (2) Gertrude Blount, had two sons, only Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon survived childhood
• Edward Courtenay (1497 – 1502), died in childhood
• Lady Margaret Courtenay (circa 1499 – circa 1519) married Henry Somerset, Baron Herbert (later, after Margaret’s death, 2nd Earl of Worcester), no children

Since none of Catherine’s brothers survived childhood and her sisters, except for Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII, did not leave surviving descendants recognized by the English crown, Catherine’s children became the only grandchildren of King Edward IV who inherited the dangerous claims to the English throne from the House of York. In 1538, there was a supposed attempt to overthrow King Henry VIII and replace him with Catherine’s son Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter. Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and Courtenay’s political rival, convinced Henry VIII that Courtenay was a part of the supposed plot. Cromwell likely exaggerated the conspiracy for political purposes. There is no evidence to suggest that Courtenay had the means to or intended to rebel against King Henry VIII. The charges brought against him were based on the correspondence with Cardinal Reginald Pole, a Yorkist claimant to the English throne, and the testimony of Reginald’s brother Geoffrey Pole, who was then pardoned of all wrong-doing. Henry Courtenay and his son Edward Courtenay were both arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Henry was found guilty, was executed, and his titles and lands were forfeited. His son Edward remained imprisoned for fifteen years until the accession of Queen Mary I when she ordered his release.

After her marriage, Catherine remained close to her eldest sister Queen Elizabeth, wife of King Henry VII. She attended the wedding of her eldest nephew Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in November 1501, and the betrothal of her eldest niece Margaret Tudor to James IV, King of Scots in January 1502.

In 1502, Edmund de la Pole, the son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York, the second surviving daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville and therefore Catherine’s paternal aunt, assumed his former title of Duke of Suffolk and called himself the “White Rose”, a nickname for the pretender to the throne from the House of York. After being a prisoner in the Tower of London for seven years, Edmund de la Pole was beheaded. Catherine’s husband William Courtenay was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London for his supposed but unproven participation in Edmund de la Pole’s conspiracy. William was attainted – deprived of his property and rights to inherit the titles and possessions of his father, as well as the right to transfer them to his children. Catherine’s sister Queen Elizabeth financially supported her and allocated funds for the upbringing and education of Catherine’s children.

On February 2, 1503, Catherine’s eldest sister Queen Elizabeth gave birth to her seventh child, a daughter Katherine. Shortly after giving birth, Elizabeth became ill with puerperal fever (childbed fever) and died on February 11, 1503, her 37th birthday. Little Katherine died on February 18, 1503. Elizabeth’s death was a great loss to Catherine, not only as a sister but as a provider of funds that she and her children needed. Catherine turned to her father-in-law, Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, who provided an allowance for his grandchildren but provided no funds for Catherine. Although there is no documentation, it is thought that Catherine’s nephew, the future King Henry VIII, who had become Prince of Wales and heir to the throne in 1503 upon the death of his brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, provided financial assistance to his aunt Catherine.

Catherine’s nephew King Henry VIII in 1509; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1509, Catherine’s brother-in-law King Henry VII died and was succeeded by his son and Catherine’s nephew King Henry VIII. On May 9, 1511, Catherine’s husband William Courtenay was released from the Tower of London by King Henry VIII, the title of Earl of Devon was recreated for him, and the Act of Parliament that prohibited the succession of titles to his children was repealed. King Henry VIII restored some possessions to his aunt and uncle with the right to transfer them by inheritance. William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon enjoyed his restored honors and possessions only for a month. He died from pleurisy at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England on June 9, 1511, aged 36, and was buried by royal warrant at Blackfriars Church in London, England with honors befitting the rank of an earl.

Tiverton Castle, one of Catherine’s residences and the place where she died; Credit – By Jack1956 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=100201369

Left a widow at the age of thirty-one, Catherine ensured a future life free from marriage by taking a vow of celibacy on July 13, 1511, in the presence of Richard FitzJames, Bishop of London. Her nephew King Henry VIII granted her the right to use for life all the possessions of her late husband in the Earldom of Devon. After the death of her husband, Catherine rarely was at court, preferring to live in Tiverton Castle or Colcombe Castle in Devon, England. One of her few appearances at court was in 1516 for the christening of her great-niece, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, the future Queen Mary I of England, at which Catherine was the godmother.

Catherine of York, Countess of Devon died on November 15, 1527, at Tiverton Castle in Tiverton, Devon, England, aged 48. She was buried in St. Peter’s Church, the local church in Tiverton, England. Catherine’s son had a tomb with an effigy built for his mother but it was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 – 1541) during the reign of her nephew King Henry VIII.  A memorial to Catherine (below) is displayed at St. Peter’s Church.

Memorial to Catherine at St. Peter’s Church in Tiverton, England; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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