Henry, Duke of Cornwall

English Royalty House of Tudor
Royal Coat of Arms Henry VIII Henry, Duke of Cornwall Mary I Elizabeth I Edward VI

Henry, Duke of Cornwall was the name of two sons of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

1 The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall
2 The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall
3 Henry's children by Catherine of Aragon
4 Henry's other children
5 Impact of Henry, Duke of Cornwall's death on history
6 References

The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall

The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January - 22 February 1511 [1]) was the second child, oldest son and Heir Apparent of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon. He was born on 1 January, 1511, eighteen months after his parents' marriage and coronation. His older sister, born 31 January 1510 was three months premature and had not survived.[1]

Henry and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivalling that of his coronation for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was scheduled later in adulthood to become Prince of Wales, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. Henry carried Catherine's favour in a tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart;" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of Catherine's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy," the prince was almost instantly beloved by the entire realm. However on 22 February, 1511 the young prince died suddenly. The cause of Henry's death was not recorded.

Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their second child and expected future king. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by unsuccessfully waging war against Louis XII of France with his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon.

v • d • eAncestors of Henry, Duke of Cornwall 16. Owen Tudor 8. Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond 17. Catherine of Valois 4. Henry VII of England 18. John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset 9. Margaret Beaufort 19. Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso 2. Henry VIII of England 20. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York 10. Edward IV of England 21. Cecily Neville 5. Elizabeth of York 22. Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers 11. Elizabeth Woodville 23. Jacquetta of Luxembourg 1. Henry, Duke of Cornwall 24. Ferdinand I of Aragon 12. John II of Aragon 25. Eleanor of Alburquerque 6. Ferdinand II of Aragon 26. Fadrique Enríquez, Count of Melba and Rueda 13. Juana Enríquez 27. Mariana de Córdoba 3. Catherine of Aragon 28. Henry III of Castile 14. John II of Castile 29. Katherine of Lancaster 7. Isabella of Castile 30. Infante João, Lord of Reguengos 15. Infanta Isabel of Portugal 31. Isabella of Braganza

Henry, Duke of Cornwall House of TudorBorn: 1 January 1511 Died: 11 February 1511 English royaltyPreceded by
Margaret Tudor Heir to the English Throne
as heir apparent
1 January- 11 February 1511Succeeded by
Margaret Tudor

The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall

The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall (December 1514) was the third son and fourth child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Little is known about the prince, who died within one month of his birth.

Henry's children by Catherine of Aragon

Henry in total had six children by Catherine of Aragon; 2 girls, 3 boys, and 1 whose sex is unrecorded. Only one of their children, Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I) survived infancy.

Henry's other children

Henry had an additional four publicly recognized sons:

Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519 - 1536), by his mistress, Elizabeth Blount
Edward VI (1537 - 1553), by his third wife, Jane Seymour

In total Henry had eight children by his first three wives-none by the last three. At least five of his legitimate children were sons. Only one, the future Edward VI, survived infancy.

In addition to Henry Fitzroy, Henry is believed to have had other illegitimate, but unrecognised, children. During Henry's lifetime, it was rumoured that these included a daughter and son by his mistress Mary Boleyn, the sister of his second wife Anne Boleyn. Both of these children, Catherine Carey and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, later held prominent positions in the court of Elizabeth I, and were publicly recognized as her cousins. Modern historians are divided on their relationship to Henry VIII.

Impact of Henry, Duke of Cornwall's death on history

Historians have speculated as to the course English history might have taken, had either of the two Henrys, Duke of Cornwall, or any of the other legitimate sons survived. Given that Henry's search for a male heir, after Catherine's failure to give birth to any more live sons, was the cited reason which led him to have their marriage annulled, a living male child may have at least forestalled, or even prevented, the marriage to Anne Boleyn and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.

This theme has also been explored in some alternate history science fiction, such as Kingsley Amis' The Alteration (1976), in which another alternate history English Reformation is depicted, even without the succession crisis caused by the absence of a male heir until the birth of Edward VI to Henry and Jane Seymour. However, Amis' book within a book does not specify whether this alternate history Henry IX is one of the Dukes of Cornwall, or Henry Tudor (II) (born and died 1534), son of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

References

Weir, Alison (1999). Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy. The Bodley Head; London, U.K.. page 152

Ashley, Mike (2002). British Kings & Queens. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1104-3. page 237

^ thePeerage.com

v • d • e Dukes of Cornwall

HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall

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