Question from JHGirl - Someone at all or most of Henry VIII's weddings
Is there anyone (besides Henry himself) who was present at all or most of Henry VIII's six wedding ceremonies? This would imply there was at least one person with whom Henry remained on good terms for most of his life.
Brandon was not always in Henry's favor though and wasn't he actually banished from court for a period of time (for marrying Henry's sister without his permission)? I don't think that was during any of Henry's weddings but I can't be sure.
I don't think I've ever see any historian come up with a "guest list" for any of Henry's weddings. And I find it odd that even his 1st marriage was a quiet little queen's closet affair, esp when you compare the pomp of Catherine of Aragon's lavish public wedding to Arthur at St Paul's. Strange that their marriage wasn't combined with their joint coronation. Also odd that there were no plans for a gala show b4 Henry said I like her not re: Anne of Cleves, since it was a diplomatic alliance. Jane Seymour & Catherine Howard, the timing was in poor taste (esp Seymour), maybe by the time he married Catherine Parr he was simply too old & fat for public playacting. And no one really knows when/where Henry married Anne Boleyn; it could've been in Calais & as early as Nov 1532 or in England & as late as Jan 1533.
While Suffolk was in charge of Anne Boleyn's coronation (tacky timing on Henry's part, as his sister Mary, the Duchess of Suffolk, was engaged in dying at the time), I've never seen any mention of who was at the Boleyn nuptials; no one can even definitively decide on who officiated, much less who attended.
Suffolk wasn't really "in disgrace" per se. Henry just socked him with such a huge fine (all of Mary's French dowry, approx 200,000 pounds) that the Suffolks couldn't afford the expense of becoming permanent court fixtures, tho they did periodically show up for special events like state visits from Margaret Tudor, Charles V, Isabella of Denmark, went to the Field of Cloth of Gold, etc. Mary took precedence over everyone save CofA despite only being Queen of France for 82 days. And Henry & CofA threw the Suffolks a 2nd "official" wedding (again, in that queen's closet at Greenwich) in May 1515. Suffolk was appointed Earl Marshal of England when Norfolk (the elder one, hero of Flodden Field, not his son, the Norfolk whose sister married Thomas Boleyn) died in the early 1520s & so he did do a great deal of traveling about dispensing the king's justice. It would be interesting if someone had a bio of Brandon handy & could correlate the known wedding dates to his whereabouts at the time of them. But it still wouldn't be all of them b/c of the ambiguity of the Boleyn marriage.
Yes! Charles Brandon was Henry's best friend throughout his whole life!
ReplyDeleteBrandon was not always in Henry's favor though and wasn't he actually banished from court for a period of time (for marrying Henry's sister without his permission)? I don't think that was during any of Henry's weddings but I can't be sure.
ReplyDeleteWas Brandon present at the 'secret' wedding to Anne Boleyn? How secret was it?
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever see any historian come up with a "guest list" for any of Henry's weddings. And I find it odd that even his 1st marriage was a quiet little queen's closet affair, esp when you compare the pomp of Catherine of Aragon's lavish public wedding to Arthur at St Paul's. Strange that their marriage wasn't combined with their joint coronation. Also odd that there were no plans for a gala show b4 Henry said I like her not re: Anne of Cleves, since it was a diplomatic alliance. Jane Seymour & Catherine Howard, the timing was in poor taste (esp Seymour), maybe by the time he married Catherine Parr he was simply too old & fat for public playacting. And no one really knows when/where Henry married Anne Boleyn; it could've been in Calais & as early as Nov 1532 or in England & as late as Jan 1533.
ReplyDeleteWhile Suffolk was in charge of Anne Boleyn's coronation (tacky timing on Henry's part, as his sister Mary, the Duchess of Suffolk, was engaged in dying at the time), I've never seen any mention of who was at the Boleyn nuptials; no one can even definitively decide on who officiated, much less who attended.
Suffolk wasn't really "in disgrace" per se. Henry just socked him with such a huge fine (all of Mary's French dowry, approx 200,000 pounds) that the Suffolks couldn't afford the expense of becoming permanent court fixtures, tho they did periodically show up for special events like state visits from Margaret Tudor, Charles V, Isabella of Denmark, went to the Field of Cloth of Gold, etc. Mary took precedence over everyone save CofA despite only being Queen of France for 82 days. And Henry & CofA threw the Suffolks a 2nd "official" wedding (again, in that queen's closet at Greenwich) in May 1515. Suffolk was appointed Earl Marshal of England when Norfolk (the elder one, hero of Flodden Field, not his son, the Norfolk whose sister married Thomas Boleyn) died in the early 1520s & so he did do a great deal of traveling about dispensing the king's justice. It would be interesting if someone had a bio of Brandon handy & could correlate the known wedding dates to his whereabouts at the time of them. But it still wouldn't be all of them b/c of the ambiguity of the Boleyn marriage.