| Henry Frederick | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales (more) | |
 Portrait afterIsaac Oliver,c. 1610 | |
| Born | 19 February 1594 Stirling Castle,Stirling, Scotland |
| Died | 6 November 1612 (aged 18) St James's Palace,London, England |
| Burial | 8 December 1612 Westminster Abbey in theMary, Queen of Scots vault |
| House | Stuart |
| Father | James VI and I |
| Mother | Anne of Denmark |
| Scottish and English Royalty |
| House of Stuart |
|---|
.svg) |
| James VI and I |
Henry Frederick, Prince of WalesKG (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612) was the eldest son andheir apparent ofKing James VI and I andAnne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers:Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; andFrederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to theEnglish,Irish, andScottish thrones. However, at the age of 18, he predeceased his father, dying oftyphoid fever. His younger brother, the futureCharles I, succeeded him as heir apparent to the thrones.
Henry was born on 19 February 1594 atStirling Castle, Scotland, and automatically received the titlesDuke of Rothesay,Earl of Carrick,Baron of Renfrew,Lord of the Isles, andPrince and Great Steward of Scotland at birth. His nurses includedMistress Primrose and Mistress Bruce.[1]
His baptism, held on 30 August 1594, was celebrated withelaborate theatrical entertainments written by the poetWilliam Fowler and took place in a newly constructed Chapel Royal at Stirling, purpose-built byWilliam Schaw.[2] Ambassadors were given portraits of Henry depicting him as "a fine thriving child".[3] To cover the expenses,James VI imposed a tax of £100,000. Textiles and costumes for the event were purchased using thedowry of £100,000 Scots belonging toAnne, which had been held in trust by various towns.[4] In the month leading up to the baptism, rumours circulated at the Scottish court that King James was jealous ofQueen Anne and suspected thatLudovic Stewart, Duke of Lennox might be Henry’s biological father.[5]
James placed the prince in the care ofJohn Erskine, Earl of Mar, and his motherAnnabell Murray atStirling Castle, out of the care of Queen Anne.[6] James worried that Anne's tendency towardCatholicism might affect Henry. The child's removal to Stirling caused enormous tension between Anne and James,[7][8] and Henry remained there under the care of Mar's family until 1603.[9] James VI wrote a note to the Earl of Mar in June 1595 instructing him, in the event of his death, not to deliver Henry to Anne of Denmark or theParliament of Scotland until he was 18 and gave the order himself.[10]
Anne was reluctant to go to Stirling and was said to be afraid that her enemies would give her a poisonedposset at the Castle.[11] James frequently visited the prince,[12] and travelled to Stirling for his son's first birthday.[13] As early as August 1595, James encouraged the infant to hold a pen and make a penstroke on a document, which the king humorously certified, "I will testify this is the prince's own mark".[14][15]
The prince had silver candlesticks, a silver cup and a silver plate with a salt cellar.[16]Elizabeth I contributed to the expenses at Stirling, paying £5000Scots in 1595.[17] At this time,Patrick Gray, Master of Gray, was keeper of Henry's wardrobe, and took delivery of a little coffer worth £8 Scots for the prince's clothes.[18]Adam Newton became his schoolmaster or tutor.William Keith of Delny and thenGeorge Lauder were his legal tutors, administrators of his estates and incomes.[19][20]
In 1596 Queen Elizabeth, viaRobert Devereux, Earl of Essex, and his secretaryAnthony Bacon, sent her miniature portrait byNicholas Hilliard to Prince Henry, and this was received by the Earl of Mar at Stirling.[21] It was said that Henry would be godfather to his younger brotherRobert in May 1602 and afterwards stay atDunfermline Palace with his mother, but James VI forbade this.[22]
Alexander Wilson became Henry's tailor.[23] In 1602 it was planned that Henry would visit his mother atFalkland Palace, but this was postponed because of her sickness.[24] The French ambassador in LondonChristophe de Harlay, Count of Beaumont, reported a rumour, spread by James's friends, that Anne of Denmark was cruel and ambitious, and hoped to rule Scotland as regent or governor for Henry after the death of her husband.[25][26]
James became king of England in 1603 at theUnion of the Crowns and his family moved south. Queen Anne came to Stirling to collect her son, and after an argument with the prince's keepers,Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar and theMaster of Mar, was allowed to take Henry to Edinburgh on 28 May.[27] On the following Sunday Anne took him toSt Giles Kirk in her silver coach.[28] Anne and Henry arrived in England, at the fortified town ofBerwick-upon-Tweed, on 1 June.[29]
Henry's tutorAdam Newton continued to serve the prince, and several Scottish servants from the Stirling household were retained, including the poetDavid Murray. The prince was lodged atOatlands andNonsuch Palace, and was relocated toWinchester during an outbreak of plague. At Winchester, in September 1603, Queen Anne produced amasque to welcome her son, which was controversial.[30] In November 1603 he was staying atWilton House, and King James joked that a letter presented to Henry by the Venetian diplomats was bigger than he was.[31] Henry rode with theEarl of Nottingham and his governorSir Thomas Chaloner to Salisbury to dine with the Venetian ambassadorNicolò Molin and other diplomats. This was the first time he had made an appearance and dined outside the royal household, and his father joked that Henry was the ambassador's prisoner.[32]
On 15 March 1604, Henry rode on horseback behind his father through the streets of London during thedelayed Royal Entry.[33] From 1604 onwards, Henry often stayed atSt James's Palace. Alphonsus Fowle improved the gardens for him.[34] Henry's daily expenses in England were managed by theCofferer of the Household,Henry Cocke and after 1610David Foulis.[35]David Murray of Gorthy was keeper of the prince's privy purse and his accounts reveal some details of Henry's interests.[36]
Two Scottish tailors, Alexander Wilson and Patrick Black, moved to London and made the prince's clothes.[37] Wilson made him doublets and hose from cloth supplied by Robert Grigge, and a hunting coat of green chamlet lined with velvet. The prince was supplied withperfumed gloves made of stag's leather, perfumed gloves fromCórdoba, and embroidered waistcoats "wrought very curiously in colour silks".[38]
Prince Henry was introduced to a variety of sports at Stirling Castle. In September 1600 he was bought two golf clubs, two staffs, and four rackets.[40] The handles were covered with velvet and dressed with metalpassementerie.[41] In September 1601, an English visitor,Thomas Musgrave, saw Henry dance, leap, and wield apike.[42] On Sunday 8 May 1603 Henry exercised in the castle garden, watched by his mother, played billiards after dinner, and after supper "ran and played at the boards".[43] Henry had a huntsman,Thomas Pott, who continued to serve him in England. Pott travelled abroad several times, taking gifts of dogs from the young prince to European rulers.[44]
Henry was tutored in music byAlfonso Ferrabosco the younger, Nicholas Villiard, and Walter Quinn. Thomas Giles taught him to dance.[45] In August 1604 Henry danced for the Spanish envoy, the ConstableVelasco, and showed him military pike exercises in the palace garden.[46] Charles Guerolt taught Henry the "science of defence",fencing.[47] At Oatlands in 1603 Prince Henry toldScaramelli, a Venetian diplomat, about his interests in dancing, tennis and hunting.[48] George Moncrieff was his falconer and kept his hawks.[49]
In 1606 the French ambassadorAntoine Lefèvre de la Boderie noted that Prince Henry played golf, which he described as a Scottish game not unlike "pallemail" orpall-mall. One of Prince Henry's biographers, "W. H.", mentioned that Henry nearly hit Adam Newton with a golf ball, and Henry said that would have paid him back.[50] Henry also played tennis, and in July 1606 played with his uncleChristian IV of Denmark atGreenwich Palace.[51] He had a court for "pall-mall", laid out at St James's Fields, north ofSt James's Palace. It was a long alley surfaced with cockle shells crushed into clay or loam.[52]
In 1607 Henry sought permission to learn to swim, but the Earls ofSuffolk andShrewsbury wrote to Newton that swimming was a "dangerous thing" that their own sons might practise "like feathers as light as things of nought", but was not suitable for princes as "things of great weight and consequence".[53]
A riding school, one of the first in England, was built for him at St James's Palace in 1607.[54]Robert Douglas was the prince's master of horse by 1610.[55] Henry competed atrunning at the ring with foreign visitors and diplomats includingLouis Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard, in April and May 1610.[56] Henry talked of the merits of various breeds of horses and his own Barbary horses to the Venetian ambassadorAntonio Foscarini in 1611.[57]
In March 1609, Henry was entertained by a man with a baboon.[58] He revealed an interest in Venetian maritime power and had a plan of the fortification ofPalmanova.[59] As an indoor amusement, Henry played chess.[60]
In England, Henry's writing masters included Peter Bales, who practiced "small writing" and made a miniature copy of the king's book of advice, theBasilicon Doron for him to wear as a tablet book.[61] Bales encouraged Henry to copy improving Latin phrases, known assententiae.[62] Henry translated works byGuy Du Faur, Seigneur de Pibrac and sent them to his mother, Anne of Denmark. He was a patron ofJoshua Sylvester, who translated the poems ofGuillaume de Salluste Du Bartas. Henry started to translate Sylvester's version into Latin to present to his father.[63] He paid £100 toGeorge Heriot for a diamond ring sent to his friend the essayistJohn Harington of Kelston,[64] who sent him a translation of the sixth book of theAeneid with notes referring to his father'sBasilicon Doron. Henry seems not to have studied ancient Greek authors, but he apparently encouraged the translation project ofGeorge Chapman (Chapman dedicated his translations ofThe Iliad andThe Odyssey to Prince Henry, but hisOdyssey was not completed until after Henry's death.). He told the Venetian ambassador he would learn modern Italian.[65]Esther Inglis presented him with miniature manuscript books, includingA Book of the Armes of England, as a New Year's Day gift for which he rewarded her £5.[66] The Venetian ambassador,Nicolò Molin, judged that Henry learnt under the impetus of his father's spur, rather than his own inclination, and his brotherCharles, Duke of York, was more earnest in his studies.[63]
James greatly preferred the role of schoolmaster to that of father, and he wrote texts for the schooling of his children. He directed that Henry's household "should rather imitate a College than a Court",[67] or, as Thomas Chaloner wrote in 1607, "His Highness's household [...] was intended by the King for acourtly college or acollegiate court"[68] He passionately engaged in such physical pursuits as hawking, hunting, jousting and fencing,[69] and from a young age studied naval and military affairs and national issues, about which he often disagreed with his father. He also disapproved of the way his father conducted the royal court, dislikedRobert Carr, Earl of Somerset, a favourite of his father, and esteemedWalter Raleigh, wishing him to be released from theTower of London.[9]
The prince's popularity rose so high that it threatened his father. Relations between the two could be tense, and on occasion surfaced in public.[57] At one point, they were hunting nearRoyston when James criticised his son for lacking enthusiasm for the chase, and initially moved to strike his son with his cane, but Henry rode off.[70] Most of the hunting party then followed Henry.[71]
"Upright to the point of priggishness, he fined all who swore in his presence", according to Charles Carlton, a biographer of Charles I, who describes Henry as an "obdurate Protestant".[67] In addition to the alms box to which Henry forced swearers to contribute, he made sure his household attended church services. His religious views were influenced by the clerics in his household, who came largely from a tradition of politicisedCalvinism. Henry listened humbly, attentively, and regularly to the sermons preached to his household, and once told his chaplain, Richard Milbourne, that he esteemed most the preachers whose attitude suggested, "Sir, you must hear me diligently: you must have a care to observe what I say."[68]
Henry is said to have disliked his younger brother Charles and to have teased him, although this derives from only one anecdote: when Charles was nine years of age, Henry snatched the hat off a bishop and put it on his brother's head, then told his brother that when he became king he would make CharlesArchbishop of Canterbury, and then Charles would have a long robe to hide his ugly rickety legs. Charles stamped on the cap and had to be dragged off in tears.[67]
With his father's accession to the throne of England in 1603, Henry at once becameDuke of Cornwall. In 1610 he was further invested asPrince of Wales andEarl of Chester, thus for the first time uniting the six automatic and two traditional Scottish and English titles held by heirs-apparent to the two thrones.[72] The ceremony of investiture was celebrated with a pageantLondon's Love to Prince Henry, and a masque,Tethys' Festival, during which his mother gave a sword encrusted with diamonds, intended to represent justice.[73][74]
As a young man, Henry showed great promise and was beginning to be active in leadership matters. Among his activities, he was responsible for the reassignment ofSir Thomas Dale to theVirginia Company of London's struggling colony in North America. The city ofHenricus in colonial Virginia was named in his honour in 1611; his name also survives inHenrico County, Virginia[75] andCape Henry.[76] He was the "Supreme Protector" of the Company of Discoverers of theNorthwest Passage, and a patron ofRobert Harcourt's expedition toGuiana.[77]
The IrishGaelic lord ofInishowen, SirCahir O'Doherty, had applied to gain a position as acourtier in the household of Henry, to help him in his struggles against officials inIreland. Unknown to Sir Cahir, on 19 April 1608, the day he launchedO'Doherty's Rebellion byburning Derry, his application was approved.[78] Henry took an interest in theKingdom of Ireland and was known to be supportive of the idea of a reconciliation with the former rebelHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who had fled into exile during theFlight of the Earls. Because of this Tyrone and his entourage mourned when the prince met his early death.[79]
In 1611, King James gaveWoodstock Palace inOxfordshire to Prince Henry.[80] Henry had a banqueting house built of leafy tree branches in the park, in which he held a dinner for his parents and his sisterPrincess Elizabeth.[81] David Murray paid 110 shillings for transporting musical instruments from London to Woodstock for the event.[82]
In between 1610 and 1612, potential brides from across Europe were considered for Henry. In particular,Cosimo II de' Medici of theHouse of Medici, and the ruler of theGrand Duchy of Tuscany in what is nowItaly, hoped to arrange a royal marriage between Henry and his sister,Caterina de' Medici.[83] To this end, Cosimo II sent fifteen small bronze statues, including one of a trotting horse, as well asGiambologna, a famous sculptor, to the English court in 1611.[84][85] However, Henry unexpectedly died in 1612, before the marriage negotiations could be finalized. Caterina instead marriedFerdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat in 1617.[86]
In May 1612, theDuke of Bouillon came to London as the ambassador ofMarie de' Medici, dowager queen of France, and cousin toCosimo II de' Medici through their paternal grandfather,Cosimo I de' Medici. According to the Venetian ambassador,Antonio Foscarini, his instructions included a proposal of marriage between Prince Henry andChristine, the daughter ofHenry IV of France. Queen Anne, Henry's mother, told one of the Duke's senior companions that she would prefer Henry married a French princess without a dowry than a Florentine princess (Caterina de' Medici) with any amount of gold.[87][83]
With Henry's death, Christine of France instead marriedVictor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, in 1619.[88] His brother Charles, who became the heir apparent to the English and Scottish thrones on his brother's death, fulfilled their mother's wishes by weddingHenrietta Maria of France in 1625.[89]
Henry died fromtyphoid fever at the age of 18 on 6 November 1612, during the celebrations that led up to thewedding of his sister Elizabeth. (The diagnosis can be made with reasonable certainty from written records of the post-mortem examination, which was ordered to be carried out in order to dispel rumours of poisoning.)[90] His mother, Anne of Denmark, had sent requests toWalter Raleigh in theTower of London for his special "great cordial", which failed to effect a cure.[91] It was reported that his last words were to ask for his sister Princess Elizabeth,[92] who was discouraged from visiting him by their parents' order for fear of contagion.[93]
After Henry's death, his brother Charles fell ill but was the chief mourner at the funeral, which King James (who detested funerals) refused to attend.[67] The body lay in state atSt. James's Palace for four weeks. On 7 December, over a thousand people walked in the mile-long cortège toWestminster Abbey. On top of the coffin there was a wooden effigy of the prince made by Richard Norris, with lifelike features modelled in wax byAbraham van der Doort,[94] clothed in robes of crimson velvet edged with fur.[95] The Archbishop of Canterbury,George Abbot, gave a two-hour sermon. As Henry's body was lowered into the ground, his chief servants broke their staves of office at the grave.[96]
Prince Henry's death was widely regarded as a tragedy for the nation. According to Charles Carlton, "Few heirs to the English throne have been as widely and deeply mourned as Prince Henry."[97] Henry's titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay passed to Charles, who until then had lived in Henry's shadow. Four years later, Charles, then 16 years old, was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
Henry's chaplain, Daniel Price, delivered a series of sermons about the young man's death. (Price borrowed fromJohn Donne's unrelatedThe First Anniversary, published in 1611, andThe Second Anniversary, published in 1612, for some of his language and ideas.):[98]
_-_Portrait_of_Henry%2c_Prince_of_Wales_(1594%25E2%2580%25931612).jpg)
Price also wrote two prose "Anniversaries" on the death:
Within a few months of the prince's death, at least 32 poets had versified on it. In addition to those listed below, the writers includedSir Walter Raleigh (a friend),John Donne,Edward Herbert,Thomas Heywood andHenry King.[67]
These poems were published in 1612 (see1612 in poetry):
These poems and songs were published in 1613 (see1613 in poetry):
Thomas Tomkins composed an anthem for the funeral, "Know ye not" which set words from the Old Testament selected byArthur Lake.[101]Both Thomas Tomkins andThomas Weelkes composed settings of "When David heard", a passage from theBooks of Samuel in which KingDavid laments the loss of his sonAbsalom in battle; it has been suggested that these settings were directly inspired by the death of the prince,[102] although the association has been regarded as speculative.[103]
John Ward composed two elegies for six voices on the death of the Prince. Ward includedWeep forth your tears, a "mourning song" for Prince Henry in hisFirst Set of Madrigals (published in 1613).[104]The other elegy,No object dearer, remained unpublished during the composer's lifetime.[105][106]
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Henry Frederick asPrince of Wales bore the arms of the kingdom,differenced by alabel of three points argent.[107]
| Ancestors of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales |
|---|
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Born: 19 February 1594 Died: 6 November 1612 | ||
| British royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Edward Tudor | Prince of Wales 1610–1612 | Succeeded by |
| Duke of Cornwall 1603–1612 | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Rothesay 1594–1612 | |
|  | |
See also:Principality of Wales | ||
|  | |
|  | |