Henry, Duke of Cornwall

English Royalty
House of Tudor
Royal Coat of Arms
Henry VIII
Henry, Duke of Cornwall
Mary I
Elizabeth I
Edward VI

Henry, Duke of Cornwall was the name of two sons of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry in total had six children by Catherine of Aragon; 2 girls, 3 boys, and 1 whose sex is unrecorded. Only one of their children, Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I) survived infancy.

[edit] The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall

The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January - 22 February 1511^[1]) was the second child, oldest son and Heir Apparent of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon. He was born on 1 January, 1511, eighteen months after his parents' marriage and coronation. His older sister, born 31 January 1510 was three months premature and stillborn.[1]

Henry and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivalling that of his coronation for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was scheduled later in adulthood to become Prince of Wales, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. Henry carried Catherine's favour in a tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart;" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of Catherine's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy," the prince was almost instantly beloved by the entire realm. However on 22 February 1511 the young prince died suddenly. The cause of Henry's death was not recorded.

Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their second child and expected future king. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by unsuccessfully waging war against Louis XII of France with his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon.

[edit] The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall

The second Henry, Duke of Cornwall (December 1514) was the third son and fourth child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Little is known about the prince, who died within one month of his birth.

[edit] Was there a third Henry, Duke of Cornwall?

Some^[who?]sources claim^{[citation needed]} that Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, had a son called Henry who died only a few hours after birth.^{[citation needed]} If so, he would have been Duke of Cornwall for his extremely short life^{[citation needed]}. However, most sources indicate that this pregnancy ended in a miscarriage or stillbirth.

[edit] Impact of Henry, Duke of Cornwall's death on history

Historians have speculated as to the course English history might have taken, had either of the two Henrys, Duke of Cornwall, or any of the other legitimate sons survived. Given that Henry's search for a male heir, after Catherine's failure to give birth to any more live sons, was the cited reason which led him to have their marriage annulled, a living male child may have at least forestalled, or even prevented, the marriage to Anne Boleyn and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.

This theme has also been explored in some alternate history science fiction, such as Kingsley Amis' The Alteration (1976), in which another alternate history English Reformation is depicted, even without the succession crisis caused by the absence of a male heir until the birth of Edward VI to Henry and Jane Seymour. However, Amis' book within a book does not specify whether this alternate history Henry IX is any specific son of Henry VIII

[edit] References

• Weir, Alison (1999). Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy. The Bodley Head; London, U.K..  page 152

• Ashley, Mike (2002). British Kings & Queens. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1104-3.  page 237

v • d • e Dukes of Cornwall HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall Edward, the Black Prince (1337–1376)  · Richard II (1376–1377)  · Henry V (1399–1413)  · Henry VI (1421–1422)  · Edward of Westminster (1453–1471)  · Edward V (1470–1483)  · Edward of Middleham (1483–1484)  · Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486–1502)  · Henry VIII (1502–1509)  · Henry Tudor (1511)  · Henry Tudor (1514)  · Edward VI (1537–1547)  · Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1603–1612)  · Charles I (1612–1625)  · Charles II (1630–1649)  · The Old Pretender (1688–1689)  · George II (1714–1727)  · Prince Frederick (1727–1751)  · George IV (1762–1820)  · Edward VII (1841–1901)  · George V (1901–1910) · Edward VIII (1910–1936)