The death of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk died on the 22nd of August at 4’oclock in the afternoon at Guildford. Despite wishing to be buried in the college church of Tattershall in Lincoln without any pomp or display Brandon was buried at St George’s Chapel in Windsor near the south door of the choir at the King’s expense. Of his death Charles Wriothesley wrote:

“This moneth also died at Gilford the excelent Prince Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolke, and Lord Great Master of the Kinges Household, whose death all true Englishment maie greatlie lament, which had been so valiant a captaine in the Kinges warres, booth in Scotland, Fraunce, and Irelande, to the great damage and losse of the Kinges enemies, whose bodie was honorably buried at Windsor at the Kinges costes”[2]

In his Chronicle of the history of England Edward Hall wrote…

“In thys moneth died Chalres, the noble and valiaunt duke of Suffolke a hardye gentleman, and yet not so hardy, as almoste of all estates and degrees of menne high and lowe, rych and poore, hartely beloued and hys death of theme muche lamented, he was buryed at Wyndsore”.

It is said that the King was struck with grief at the loss of his longest and most loyal friend and upon hearing the news of Brandon’s death the King declared that Brandon had been one of his best friends. He went on to say that Brandon had always been loyal and generous and that he had never taken unfair advantage of a friend or enemy and was truly fair towards all his political enemies.

Sources:

Gunn, S 2015, Charles Brandon, Amberley Publishing, Gloucestershire, UK.

Hutchinson R 2006, The Last Days of Henry VIII, Phoenix, London.

Hall, E 1809, Hall’s chronicle : containing the history of England, during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and the succeeding monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in which are particularly described the manners and customs of those periods. Carefully collated with the editions of 1548 and 1550, J. Johnson, London.

Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, 1509-47, ed. J.S Brewer, James Gairdner and R.H Brodie, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1862-1932.

Weir, A 2008, Henry VIII King & Court, Vintage Books, London.

Wriothesley, C 1875, A Chronicle of England During the Reigns of the Tudors, from A.D. 1485 to 1559, Camden Society.