Mary TUDOR

(Queen of France and D. of Suffolk)

La volenté De Dieu me suffit

(The will of God is sufficient for me)

Born: 18 Mar 1496, Richmond Palace, England

Died: 25 Jun 1533, Westhorpe, Suffolk, England

Father: HENRY VII TUDOR (King of England)

Mother: Elizabeth PLANTAGENET (Queen of England)

Married 1: LOUIS XII VALOIS (King of France) 9 Oct 1514, Abbeville

Married 2: Charles BRANDON (1° D. Suffolk) 3 Mar 1515, Paris, France

Children:

1. Henry BRANDON (1° E. Lincoln) (b. 11 Mar 1515)

2. Frances BRANDON (D. Suffolk)

3. Eleanor BRANDON (C. Cumberland)

A sketch of Mary Rose Tudor probably from 1514-1515

when she was Queen of France

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Princess Mary Rose Tudor was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on Mar 18, 1496 and was the youngest child of the King and Queen to live past childhood. As she grew, Mary became a beautiful lady and was widely considered to be one of the most attractive women in Europe at the time.

Mary was betrothed to Carlos (the future Holy Roman Emperor), who, through his mother, was a nephew of Catalina De Aragon , with a marriage planned for May 1514. After diplomatic delays and secret dealings between Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and France, Henry VIII (Mary's brother) canceled the betrothal. Mary was apparently please with this, since she probably had no desire to marry a boy four years younger.

Unfortunately, Henry 's choice for a replacement was 34 years older than she- Louis XII, King of France, described as "feeble and pocky" and not a very pleasing prospect for a young, healthy and beautiful Princess. The King was a widower with no heir, and Henry was more than ready to supply his sister as a way of making truce with a continental power.

Mary had enjoyed unprecedented freedom at Henry VIII 's court. Just fourteen when her father died, she had spent the next five years virtually unchaperoned in his hectic court, her brother openly encouraging her participation in every event. She shared her brother Henry 's exuberance for spectacle and was the star of his court. Like him, she loved dancing, masques, and parties; they were also close emotionally. So when Henry told her that she would marry the widowed King of France, a man in his fifties with gout and a pock-marked face, she poured out her heart. Mary refused to wed the French King, weeping and sulking, and demanding to be allowed to marry Carlos. Of course, her brother refused. Finally she would do her duty as a Princess, since royal princesses were commonly regarded as a bartered commodity. But she told Henry when the marriage was over, she wanted to choose her next spouse - and choose him for love alone. It was an extraordinary demand for any woman of that time but Henry VIII loved his sister and he agreed. Why? Partly because he loved her but also because he wanted her to leave for France peacefully and willingly; and also, perhaps more troubling, because she had confessed her secret love to him - it was his best friend, Charles Brandon .

Brandon was the Duke of Suffolk, but was not royal; the title was granted because of his father's loyalty and service at Bosworth field. But Mary wanted to wed him, even though such a match would have been considered her marrying beneath her. In turn, Charles was attracted to the princess, and was available, with two annulled marriages and a broken precontract.

Louis XII of France The marriage of Mary and Louis XII of France at Abbeville in 1514. Series of drawings by Pierre Gringoire, an eyewitness

British Library Mary and Louis XII of France

British Library Mary first took part in a proxy marriage at Greenwich Palace on 13 Aug 1514, with the Duc De Longueville standing in for Louis (he lay down on a bed with Mary and touched her body with his naked leg - the marriage was declared consummated). Mary enjoyed herself at her wedding festivities and its attendant celebrations. It would have been impossible to feel otherwise. She had a splendid trousseau, marvelous jewels sent over from France, and all the honors due to the Queen of France. All contemporary accounts remark on her great beauty - particularly her clear complexion and long red-gold hair, the Tudor trademark. Her husband was eager to see her, telling the English Ambassador that he had many gifts for his bride and expected a kiss for each one. Mary eventually traveled from Dover to Boulogne on 2 Oct, after waiting weeks for stormy weather to end. (She left in the midst of more storms since Henry VIII had grown bored waiting for them to end.) Upon her departure, she kissed her brother and reminded him of his promise about her future. Henry , eager to leave, committed her to God and her husband and left. There were fourteen ships in Mary's retinue but the weather was so terrible that only four reached port on time (the rest docked at various ports on the French coast.) Poor Mary, suffering from seasickness and constant rain, was carried ashore by one of her gentlemen, Sir Christopher Garnish. She journeyed from Montreuil to Abbeville and contemporary chroniclers recorded her outfit (they were much impressed with her beauty and charm): cloth of gold on crimson with tight sleeves in the English style and a hat of crimson silk which she wore cocked over one eye. Her husband met her at a carefully arranged 'accident' outside Abbeville and, on 9 Oct, they married in that city, followed by weeks of celebrations. Most of the English entourage the princess had brought with her to France were sent back, although a few, including the Boleyn sisters Anne and Mary , remained. Mary remained the complacent princess, biding her time. The marriage obviously put a strain on her aging new husband. The marriage lasted for eighty-two days. On 31 Dec 1514, Louis died quite abruptly. Despite his ill health, he had been quite active during his marriage (a factor which may have contributed to his demise; he boasted that on their wedding night, he had 'crossed the river' three times). BEF his death, he was visited by the Duke of Suffolk on a diplomatic trip and Charles wrote to Henry that his sister was discreet and dignified. This undoubtedly relieved both men; they had perhaps wondered how Mary would greet her true love. Mary, however, was aware of her position as Queen of France and, during her brief marriage, conducted herself with aplomb.

The King of France's death changed her world considerably. Now a Queen dowager in a foreign country she had barely begun to settle in, she was suddenly pushed into strict seclusion for 40 days. This was French custom; after all, the widowed Queen might be pregnant and the child's paternity must be certain. Mary was not pregnant but she was sent to the Hotel De Cluny for her period of mourning, without even the comfort of her English attendants. The new King, Francois, had appointed several Frenchwomen to attend her and dismissed her women. May was undoubtedly terrified. She was closed off from the world, shut behind heavy black drapes, and once more a pawn for her brother. Would Henry arrange another marriage or would he keep his promise? Frantic, Mary wrote to him from Cluny in early Jan 1515, just two weeks after her husband's death; she begged him to contact Francois and have her sent home to England and reminded him: "Sir, I beseech your grace that you will keep all the promises that you promised me when I took my leave of you by the waterside. Sir, your grace knoweth well that I did marry for your pleasure at this time and now I trust you will suffer me to marry as me liketh for to do... wherefore I beseech your grace for to be a good lord and brother unto me" If Henry did not keep his promise, Mary said she would enter a nunnery and "never no man shall joy of me".

Mary also had to deal with visits from the new French King. He was twenty-one and knew the English-French alliance was breaking down. He did not want Mary wed by Henry to some Hapsburg prince. He suggested two of his own kinsmen as husbands and then hinted that Henry was trying to marry her to Charles of Castile again. Alone, and in her fragile state, Mary was terribly frightened; Francois's words touched on her greatest fears. She eventually confessed her love for Suffolk to Francois. Surprisingly, she found him sympathetic and kind. He promised to help secure her future happiness, a promise which Mary found generous and Francois found opportunistic. For, by this time, he knew the Duke of Suffolk was on his way to France to bargain for Mary's return, specifically the return of her jewels, plate, and dower rights. With the dowager Queen's confession, Francois had a powerful bargaining tool (and peace of mind; if Mary wed her English Duke, she was no longer Henry 's political pawn).

Charles had been sent to France by Henry , specifically promising to keep his relations with the widow on a formal basis. Henry had no reason to distrust him. Charles was his creation, dependent on him for everything, and also ambitious. Why would he bite the hand that so generously fed him? So Suffolk departed on his most important mission ever; it was well-known that the matter would be complicated. The French would not want to surrender any property to Mary and she would naturally want her rightful share. Beyond that, perhaps Henry meant to keep his promise. After all, he knew his sister's feelings - and now he sent her true love to bring her home. But rattled by Francois's suggestions of a Hapsburg marriage, Mary was set on a course which nearly ruined her and Suffolk .

Suffolk arrived on 27 Jan; five days later, he met Francois at Senlis. Francois summoned Suffolk to a private audience and bluntly dropped his bombshell - the Duke had come to marry the Dowager Queen, had he not? Poor Suffolk was taken aback and protested vehemently. Francois went on to share Mary's confession and reassure the Duke. He was their friend, Francois said, and he would write to the English King and explain all. Suffolk took no chances; he dashed off his own account of the interview to Wolsey and then went to see Mary. It was a most emotional reunion. She accused him of taking her to England only to have her married off again against her will. He protested but she would have none of it. She issued an ultimatum - either marry me now or never marry me at all. There would be no better time, she said, for he had jealous enemies on the Privy Council who would prevent it in England. She had her brother's explicit promise that she could follow her heart and Henry knew her greatest desire. What was the risk for him, anyway? She was a princess and Queen, very beautiful, and imperious. Why would any man deny her? Suffolk was understandably torn between his obedience to Henry and his desire for Mary.