The Death of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond & Somerset

on

On this day in 1536 17-year-old Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond & Somerset, died of Tuberculosis or another undiagnosed lung complaint. Although, some Historians debate whether he actually died on the 23rd of July.

Fitzroy was born in June 1519 and was the result of Henry VIII's affair with Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount. Henry was overjoyed to finally have the son he had wanted for years. Poor Catherine of Aragon had ‘failed’ to produce a healthy son and Fitzroy’s birth confirmed to Henry that the fault lay with Katherine and not him!


Image credit
Miniature portrait of Fitzroy by Lucas Horenbout between 1534-1535

Henry VIII had openly acknowledged his new son; his surname Fitzroy means ‘Son of the King’. However, he knew that his subjects would never likely accept a bastard on the throne. Henry still needed a legitimate Son. In 1525, when he was six, Henry Fitzroy was made Duke of Richmond & Somerset.

Henry clearly loved his son, Fitzroy regularly visited court to spend time with his father and he enjoyed sports and music. In 1533 he married Lady Mary Howard. Sadly, disaster struck when Fitzroy died suddenly at St. James’s Palace. The King must have been devastated. Henry Fitzroy’s funeral was a private one and it’s thought he was originally buried at Thetford Priory, Norfolk, but he was later moved to the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Framlingham, Suffolk.

------------------------------------------

References:
Borman, Tracy, The Private Lives of the Tudors, (2016).
Ackroyd, Peter, Tudors: The History of England Volume II, (2012).

Comments

Post a Comment