Born on June 15th, 1519, Henry FitzRoy was an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII whom he had acknowledged. He was an older half-brother to Queen Elizabeth I and King Edward VI and also a young half-brother to Queen Mary I.
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He was born at the Priory of St Lawrence in July 1536.
FitzRoy’s mother died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. He was created Earl of Nottingham and Duke of Richmond and Somerset on 18 June 1533, shortly after his father’s accession to the throne.
FitzRoy was a Knight of the Garter and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He also served as Henry VIII’s ambassador to the court of Emperor Charles V.
FitzRoy married Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in 1545. They had four children:
Henry FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1546-1572)
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham (1547-1624)
Anne Howard (1548-1549)
Elizabeth Howard (1550-1552)
FitzRoy died on 23 July 1536, aged 17, probably of tuberculosis. He was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His titles were forfeit on his death and were not restored until after the accession of his son, Henry FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Somerset, to the throne in 1603.
Birth of Henry FitzRoy
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Who was Henry FitzRoy’s mother?
Henry’s mother was Elizabeth Blount who was a mistress of King Henry VIII who was 27 years old when Henry was born. To avoid any kind of scandal, Lady Elizabeth Blount was moved to the Augustinian Priory from the royal courthouse, at Blackmore’s St. Lawrence close to Ingatestone in Essex.
Although 15th June 1519 is accounted as the date of birth of Henry FitzRoy, his actual birth date has no records of its own. It is said that he was born earlier than the proposed date. To take care of the possible disturbance related to the birth of FitzRoy, Thomas Cardinal Wolsey was away for 10 days from London, close to the time of the birth of the boy.
He was expected at the Hampton Court on 19th June but he appeared directly on 29th of June and the plan worked. No diplomacy had to be dealt and the birth of FitzRoy was kept low.
The baptism of Henry has no records even though it is said that his Godfather, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey had attended the event. It is supposed that it must have happened when he was away from court despite his arrival in London after a 10-day vacation.
The acknowledgment of the Royal blood
Henry FitzRoy – The Tudors
The infant Henry was given the second name to give a clear understanding that he was the son of the royal blood. Since there was no other male heir to his throne, this made Henry VIII acknowledge FitzRoy as his son and gave up all discretion for the boy.
Not just that Henry VIII was proud to have a son and exhibited him to his court and later on in a recently renovated manor in Essex in the city of Newhall.
On the morning of June 18th 1525, the six-year-old Henry FitzRoy was called upon to Bridewell Palace where the plan was to strengthen him.
The rooms of the palace have been highly decorated and to witness the elevation of the boy there were notable figures present which were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 3Rd Duke of Norfolk and others.
After being created the Earl of Nottingham, the boy knelt down before his father. When the ceremony was completed, FitzRoy rose as the Duke of Richmond and Somerset. This was the second time that an illegitimate child has been raised to power.
Siblings
Henry VIII’s children were the half brothers and sisters of Henry FitzRoy. In that order, Henry Duke of Cornwall, Mary I of England, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I was all siblings of Henry FitzRoy.
Henry is the heir
What happened to HenryFitzRoy?
After the ceremony at the Bridewell Palace, Henry was more commonly known as the Richmond. He received several more designations like Warden of the marches towards Scotland, Lord High Admiral of England and President of the council of the North.
His upbringing was always important to his father and he was raised like a prince.
Henry is crowned king
FitzRoy had already been made the Lord of Ireland and to keep his dominance for the crown. The plan was to create a separate kingdom for Richmond. However, a few of court men of King Henry VIII were not in favour considering the fact that the upcoming kingdom will have a ruler who is not from Ireland and this might lead to an act of opposition.
It was later proposed in 1542 under the Crown of Ireland act that the king of England will be the king of Ireland as well.
The married life of FitzRoy
It was suggested for FitzRoy that he should marry his half-sister Mary to keep hold of his claim to the throne and save the marriage of King Henry VIII and lady Catherine from being annulled. This was even granted from the Pope.
However, Duke got married at the age of 14 to Lady Mary Howard. She was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Yet the marriage was never completed.
The end of Henry FitzRoy
When did Henry FitzRoy die?
The Duke and his career was untimely put to an end in 1536.
Henry FitzRoy’s cause of death
It is said that he had been ill for quite sometime before his death from tuberculosis. He died on July 23rd, 1536 at St. James Palaceon.
His burial was carried out secretly and his tomb is located at the Framlingham Church in Suffolk.
King Henry VIII lived 10 years longer than his son and also was blessed with a legitimate son after the death of FitzRoy.
