Although their eldest son, Arthur would die young, three of Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren by their second son, King Henry VIII, became monarchs - King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. The descendants of their adult daughters, Mary and Margaret, would become involved in the perennial problem for the Tudor Dynasty (as it would for its successor, the Stuart Dynasty, as we have seen); the issue of an heir.
In our look back at the Royal Heraldry of the British Isles, we consider the last of the Tudors first, the children of King Henry VIII. In the family portrait above, King Henry is depicted allegorically with his favoured wife, Jane Seymour, at his side with his longed-for male heir, Edward Prince of Wales, who would succeed him as King Edward VI. To the left is his eldest child, Mary, daughter of Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon and later Queen Mary I. To the right is Elizabeth, his daughter by Anne Boleyn, who became the last Tudor monarch as Queen Elizabeth I.
HM King Edward VI
Edward (12th October 1537 – 6th July 1553) was the son of Henry VIII and his third Jane Seymour; she died 12 days after childbirth. He succeeded his father as King of England and Ireland in 1547 as a child and was crowned on 20th February the following year at the age of nine. During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because he never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick (1550–1553), who from 1551 was Duke of Northumberland. Edward was a precocious child and intelligent beyond his years. He had every indication of the capacity to be as much a tyrant as his father had been. However, Edward's reign was marked by economic problems and social unrest which erupted in 1549 into riot and rebellion. An expensive war with Scotland – a continuation of his father's ‘Rough Wooing’ of Mary, Queen of Scots as a bride for Edward after the rejection of the Treaty of Greenwich, which resulted in her being transported to France as the future bride of the Catholic Dauhpine - at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. |
Henry VIII’s long-awaited male heir, “the most beautiful boy that ever was seen”, his “precious jewel” and the saviour of his dynasty, enjoyed robust health for most of his young life, and had a will of steel to match. Far from being dominated by ambitious councillors, he had strong opinions and ideas of his own. In short, he was a chip off the old block (So to speak…).
In April 1552, Edward contracted measles and, although he recovered, his immune system was fatally weakened. He fell prey to what was almost certainly tuberculosis in February of the following year, at the age of 15. When his sickness was discovered to be terminal, he and his Council drew up a "Devise for the Succession", to prevent the country's return to Catholicism. Edward named his first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey (granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister Mary) as his heir, excluding his own half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. This decision was disputed following Edward's death, and Jane was deposed by Mary nine days after becoming queen. During her reign, Mary reversed Edward's Protestant reforms, which nonetheless became the basis of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559.
Whilst certainly entitled to the use of his father's Arms with a plain white Label, there is very little if any evidence that Edward used Arms as Prince. There is evidence that the Feather Badge of the English Heir (commonly, though somewhat erroneously, called the Prince of Wales's Feathers) was associated with Edward as can be seen. Whilst he was proclaimed Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester at his christening, there is evidence that preparations were being made for his investiture as Prince of Wales when his father died and Edward became King. |
Quarterly, First and Fourth, azure three Fleurs-de-Lys or (France Modern) and Second and Third, gules three Lions passant guardant in pale also or (England).
Edward signed Charters to establish various grammar schools either in his name or named after him, including Stratford-Upon-Avon, where it is almost certain that William Shakespeare attended, Birmingham and Southampton. The schools still show King Edward's Coat of Arms in some form or another to this day.
Lady Jane Grey
Jane was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary, and was a first cousin once removed of Edward VI. Provided with excellent tutors and an excellent humanist education, Jane had a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. She spoke and wrote Greek and Latin at an early age and was also proficient in French, Hebrew, and Italian. When she was barely nine years old, Jane went to live in the household of Queen Catherine Parr. On the latter’s death in September 1548, Jane was made a ward of Catherine’s fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, Lord Seymour of Sudeley. He planned Jane’s marriage to the young King Edward VI, his nephew (being the brother of Queen Jane Seymour) and her cousin. But Seymour was beheaded for treason in 1549 and Jane returned to her family home at Bradgate.
After Lady Jane’s father, hitherto Marquess of Dorset, was created Duke of Suffolk in October 1551, she was constantly at the royal court. On 21st May 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who exercised considerable power at that point in the minority of the young King, joined with Suffolk in marrying Jane to his son, Lord Guildford Dudley. Her Protestantism, which was extreme, made her the natural candidate for the throne of those who supported the Reformation. Northumberland had persuaded the dying Edward to set aside his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth in favour of any male heirs who might be born to the Duchess of Suffolk and, failing them as there were no male Tudor heirs at the time, to Lady Jane. At first outraged, Jane’s mother, who was herself heiress through her own mother, Henry VII’s daughter Mary, was required to renounce her own rights to the Throne. Jane and her male heirs were therefore designated successors.
Edward died on 6th July 1553. Northumberland delayed the announcement of the King’s death to secure Jane’s person in the Tower of London, then a royal palace, and to secure his own forces. On 10th July Lady Jane—who fainted when the idea was first broached to her—was proclaimed Queen. Northumberland soon realised that he had miscalculated drastically, not least in failing to secure Mary Tudor's person before Edward's death. Mary, the heir according to Act of Parliament (1543/1544) and Henry VIII’s Will (1547), had the support of the populace, and on 19th July even Suffolk, who by now despaired of success in the plans for his daughter, attempted to retrieve his position by proclaiming Mary queen. Jane's nine-day reign came to an end. At the beginning of Mary’s reign, both Jane and her father were committed to the Tower of London, but he was soon pardoned. Lady Jane and her husband, however, were arraigned for high treason on 14th November 1553. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. The execution of the sentence was suspended, but the participation of her father, in early February 1554, in Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion sealed her fate. She and her husband were beheaded on 12th February 1554; her father was executed 11 days later.
Somewhere along the line, the Groby Arms (Barry of six, argent and azure) acquired three Torteaux (red discs) in Chief. In the intrigues of Tudor life, note that the Grey Arms appear in the many Quarteringss of both Jane's father, Thomas Grey (differenced by a Label ermine) and her father-in-law (differenced by a plain white Label).
Before her disastrous ascension to the Throne, Jane marshalled her Grey Arms with the Dudley Arms of her husband. That branch bore a green rampant Lion on a yellow background. It is presumed that Jane would have continued to use the established Coat of Arms of the Realm as a Tudor monarch. It is unlikely that she would have used a dynastic Inescutcheon of Grey as that might have weakened her claim. Either way, nine days would not have given anyone much time to find out!
HM Queen Mary I ('Bloody Mary')
Mary (18th February 1516 – 17th November 1558) was the fifth child of Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, but the only one to survive to adulthood. She was a typically precocious Tudor child. At age 6 she was betrothed to Charles V, the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor and her mother’s nephew, who broke off the engagement after three years but remained a lifelong ally. Mary had her own court in Ludlow and was Princess of Wales in her own right in all but name. However, Henry desperately wanted a son as heir and sought permission from the papacy to end his marriage to Mary’s mother. When Pope Clement VII refused to grant the annulment, Henry declared himself exempt from papal authority, asserting that England’s king should be the sole head of its church. Mary’s childhood and youth were thereafter plagued by being forced to deny her Catholic faith and her father’s denial of her legitimacy. Henry then famously married Anne Boleyn, who bore him another daughter, Elizabeth. Catherine of Aragon died, neglected if not poisoned, the same year that Anne Boleyn was beheaded and Henry married Jane Seymour who gave him his longed-for male heir, Edward, only to die herself of complications arising from the birth. |
Edward succeeded their father in 1547 as we have seen. When Edward became mortally ill in 1553, he attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession because he supposed, correctly, that she would reverse the Protestant reforms that had continued during his reign. Upon his death, Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed as queen. Mary had her own succession strategy planned: she speedily assembled a force in East Anglia and deposed Jane, who was ultimately beheaded. Mary was - excluding the disputed reigns of Jane and the Empress Matilda - the first queen regnant of England.
In 1554 she announced her intention to marry Prince Philip of Spain, the son of her previous fiancé Charles V. Mary persuaded Parliament to assent to her unpopular plan after Charles consented to leave Mary in full control and to keep the throne in English hands if the union produced no heirs. However, Mary’s marriage to Philip was nearly as troubled as her father’s unions. Twice she was declared pregnant and went into seclusion, but no child was born as these “phantom pregnancies” may have been wishful thinking or even the first signs of possible uterine cancer. Her first pregnancy lasted almost a year! Either way, Philip found her unattractive and spent most of his time in Europe.
She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father and continued by her brother. During her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian Persecutions, which led to her denunciation as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents. This overshadowed events including attempts at currency reform, expanded international trade and a brief war with France that lost England its last French enclave at Calais, the loss of which was said, maybe apocryphally, would be found engraved on her heart.
After Mary's death in 1558, her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed when the now largely Protestant country rallied round her younger half-sister and successor, Elizabeth I.
Mary continued the Tudor Coat of Arms of her father and half-brother. However, when she married Philip and he was proclaimed (with certain restrictions) King of England, she, naturally for the times and because they became of equal rank, marshalled her husband's Arms with Philip's Quarterings and Eagle of St John Supporter in prime position. Mary also introduced a personal Motto: Veritas Temporis Filia (Truth the Daughter of Time), a Roman proverb expressing the notion that truth often reveals itself only after the passage of time. Predating Shakespeare's use, the proverb is believed to have Greek origins but became popular in Tudor times because of Dutch philosopher and Catholic priest Erasmus, a humanist teacher who was committed to reforming the Catholic church from within and of whom the scholarly Mary would have been very well aware. It is also said that the Motto was inspired by the play 'Respublica' which was presented at Court during Christmas 1553 and dedicated to Mary. An allegory of England's return to Catholicism, one of the characters is called 'Veritas' or Truth. Mary, in her small way, was making use of feminine virtues to underpin her position, something her half-sister would excel at.
King Philip II of Spain
The son of Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Spanish kingdoms Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip was called Felipe el Prudente ('Philip the Prudent') in the Spanish kingdoms; his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, the Spanish kingdoms reached the height of their influence and power – the so-called Spanish Golden Age.
Philip’s great reserve and his inability to speak fluently any language except Castilian made him unpopular outside Spain. State bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596 were partly the cause of the declaration of independence which created the Dutch Republic in 1581. A devout Catholic, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation.
Philip was married four times and widowed four times. Queen Mary I of England, his cousin once removed, was his second wife. The marriage was arranged by Philip’s father who had been Mary’s mother’s nephew and closest ally. However, England was still uneasy about a regnant Queen and the marriage was contracted by Act of Parliament. Philip became co-sovereign, with certain restrictions, for as long as their marriage should last. In reality, the Act served as a business contract between England and Spain. This suited Philip as there was little love involved in the union on his part. Philip was out of the country when Mary died as his own father had passed away in 1556. Mary had been Queen Consort of Spain for two years. At first, Philip tried to maintain his interests in England and attempted to woo Mary’s half sister and successor, Elizabeth. However, she kept Philip at arm’s length whilst restoring the country’s Protestantism. English Catholics still maintained Elizabeth’s illegitimacy and wanted Mary, Queen of Scots to be recognised as Queen of England. The last straw for Philip was when Mary was eventually beheaded and Elizabeth backed Protestant rebels in the Netherlands. |
Philip II died in El Escorial, the historical residence of the King of Spain, near Madrid, on 13 September 1598, of cancer.
His personal Motto: Nec spec nec metu has variously been translated from the Latin as 'Without Hope, Without Fear' and 'NOT Without Hope, NOT Without Fear'.
HM Queen Elizabeth I ('Good Queen Bess')
Elizabeth (7th September 1533 – 24th March 1603) was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was executed two-and-a-half years after Elizabeth's birth. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Whilst the irony may have seemed lost on Henry, he did not neglect his children and Elizabeth received a rigorous education to become a typically precocious Tudor child. In fact, she was always being compared to men, leading both to one of her most famous speeches: "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too..." and also to the rumour of the Bisley Boy, whereby she died at the age of 9 shortly before her father was due to visit and was quickly replaced by a similar looking boy from that Cotswold village. So convincing was the substitution that it supposedly carried on. Roger Ascham, her childhood tutor stated: "The constitution of her mind, is exempt from female weakness, and she is embued with a masculine power of application". |
Edward bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey and ignored the claims of his two half-sisters, the Roman Catholic Mary and the younger Elizabeth, in spite of the Third Succession Act of 1543/1544 whereby Henry had reinstated his two daughters. After Edward's death, Mary deposed Lady Jane Grey and became Queen. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels and her need for circumspection and political acumen became even greater
Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the Throne in 1558 and set out to rule by good counsel, depending heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as Queen was the establishment of an English Protestant Church, of which she became the supreme governor, following her father. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. She was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. After the Pope declared her illegitimate in 1570 and released her subjects from obedience to her, several conspiracies threatened her life, all of which were defeated with the help of her ministers' secret service.
In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was "video et taceo" ("I see but say nothing"). She was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the major powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, and Ireland. By the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. England's victory against the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history.
As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir; however, despite numerous courtships, she never did. She displayed an unwillingness to compromise her power. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day. Her reign became known as the Elizabethan Era, famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of English adventurers such as Francis Drake. Sometimes portrayed as short-tempered and indecisive, her 44 years on the Throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.
Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor, dying on 24th March 1603. She was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, James VI of Scotland, laying the foundation for the Kingdom of Great Britain, even though she had earlier been responsible for the imprisonment and execution of James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.
Elizabeth again continued the established Coat of Arms of the Tudor Dynasty, only many representations have both the Lion and Dragon Supporters in gold. This may simply be artistic license to reflect the glory of the Elizabethan Era.
She also continued the political, if somewhat romantic at times, use of badges to reinforce her position whilst simultaneously reflecting her feminine virtues. The first is shown at the top of this section, namely her mother Anne Boleyn's Silver Falcon badge. Mentioned at the time of Anne Boleyn's Coronation, the badge is full of symbolism.
The white Falcon itself came from the heraldic crest of the Butlers who were Earls of Ormonde. Anne’s father, Thomas Boleyn, was related to the Butlers of Ireland through his mother and was granted the Earldom by Henry VIII after the King forced Piers Butler to relinquish the title in 1528.
Heraldic Clipart (www.heraldryclipart.com/symbolism/f.html) makes the following observation about the symbolism of the Falcon:
A venerable symbol of majesty and power, heraldic writers add that the Falcon denotes someone eager, or hot in the pursuit of an object much desired; if seated on its 'rest' or perch it may signify a bearer who is ready and serviceable for high affairs.
The Falcon had also been a Plantagenet Badge, first used by King Edward III. It was adopted by Henry's maternal grandfather, Edward IV, who placed it within a Fetterlock. Anne's mother, Elizabeth Boleyn (née Howard) was descended from King Edward I.
The Crown and Sceptre are symbols of authority derived from her husband, King Henry VIII. In a way, Anne's Badge also symbolised the authority of her husband.
Elizabeth resurrected the use of her mother's Badge, not in the hope of life bursting forth “from the barrenness of the Tudor stock,” but to reinstate the legitimacy of her parents' marriage and thereby her own legitimacy and right to the Throne. The white Falcon badge can be found on many of Elizabeth's documents to symbolise authority.
Already we have two references for Elizabeth - the Resurrection, not only from the religious persecution of her half-sister's reign, but also the persecution she experienced under her father's reign for her illegitimacy after her mother's execution, and also the cult of the Virgin Queen, lacking the need for reproduction, her power coming from her unique, female, chaste, pure/purified body. Whilst used previously, notably by the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, the uniqueness of the Phoenix could only represent one person at a time and that person was the only Queen of England. It also asserted dynastic continuity and the perpetuity of hereditary kingship
Elizabeth also took the personal Motto: Semper Eadem (Always the Same) representing the Queen’s steadfastness and that, against all odds, hers was an unchanging regime.
In addition to her dynastic Tudor Rose, Elizabeth adopted the more natural Eglantine rose, symbolizing royalty and chastity, as a personal device, In fact, the Phoenix Jewel and the 'Rosa Electa' print by William Rogers show Elizabeth surrounded by Tudor Roses and Eglantine. In fact, Shakespeare used Eglantine in his play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream':
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight.
More visual evidence of her association with Eglantine roses is her court painter Nicholas Hilliard’s miniature, Young Man among Roses (1585-95), in which a young courtier (often identified as Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex) pays tribute to her simply by standing among Eglantine roses with his hand on his heart.