_The Duke of Richmond_
The points which must be settled before we can solve the mystery of the
_Bisley Boy_ are:
(1) Was there such an episode regarding the early life of the Princess
Elizabeth?
(2) Was there such a boy as was spoken of?
(3) How could such an imposture have been carried out, implying as it
did--
(a) A likeness to the Princess so extraordinary as not to have created
suspicion in the mind of anyone not already in the plot.
(b) An acquaintance with the circumstances of the life of the Princess
sufficiently accurate to ward off incipient suspicion caused by any
overlooking or neglect of necessary conditions.
(c) An amount of education and knowledge equal to that held by a child
of ten to twelve years of age who had been taught by some of the most
learned persons of the time.
(d) A skill in classics and foreign tongues only known amongst high
scholars and diplomatists.
(e) An ease of body and a courtliness of manner and bearing utterly
foreign to any not bred in the higher circles of social life.
If there could be found a boy answering such conditions--one whose
assistance could be had with facility and safety--then the solution is
possible, even if not susceptible of the fullest proof. Following the
lines of argument hitherto used in this book, let us first consider
reasons why such an argument is tenable. I may then perhaps be allowed
to launch the theory which has come to me during this investigation.
(_a_) _His Birth and Appearance_
A part--and no small part--of the bitterness of Henry VIII in not
having a son to succeed him was that, though he had a son, such could
not by the existing law succeed him on the throne.
Nearly ten years after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and after
a son and other children had been born to them, all of whom had died
shortly after birth, Henry had in the manner of mediæval kings--and
others--entered on a love affair, the object of his illicit affection
being one of the ladies-in-waiting to Queen Catherine, Elizabeth,
daughter of John Blount of Knevet, Shropshire.
The story of this love affair is thus given in quaint old English in
_Grafton’s Chronicle_ first published in 1569 which covers the period
from 1189 to 1558:
“You shall understande, the King in his freshe youth was in the
cheynes of love with a faire damosell called Elizabeth Blunt,
daughter of Syr John Blunt Knight, which damosell in synging,
daunsing, and in all goodly pastimes, excelled all other, by the
which goodly pastimes, she wanne the king’s hart: and she againe
shewed him such favour that by him she bare a goodly man childe,
of beautie like to the father and mother. This child was well
brought up lyke a Princes childe.”
(_b_) _His Upbringing and Marriage_
This son of an unlawful union--born in 1519 it is said--was called
Henry Fitzroy after the custom applicable in such cases to the natural
children of kings. Naturally enough his royal father took the greatest
interest in this child and did, whilst the latter lived, all in his
power to further his interests. A mere list of the honours conferred on
him during his short life will afford some clue to the King’s intention
of his further advancement, should occasion serve. The shower of
favours began in 1525 when the child, as is said, was only six years of
age. On the 18th of June of this year he was created Earl of Nottingham
and Duke of Richmond and Somerset, with precedence over all dukes
except those of the King’s lawful issue. He was also made a Knight of
the Garter--of which exalted Order he was raised to the Lieutenancy
eight years later. He was also nominated to other high offices: the
King’s Lieutenant General for districts north of the Trent; and Keeper
of the city and fortress of Carlisle. To these posts were added those
of Lord High Admiral of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony and
Aquitaine; Warden General of the Marches of Scotland, and Receiver
of Middleham and of Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire. He was also given an
income of four thousand pounds sterling per annum. In 1529, being then
only ten years of age, he was also made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports--three of the
most important offices of the Nation. A few months before his death
in 1536 there was a general understanding that Henry VIII intended to
make him King of Ireland and possibly to nominate him as his successor
on the throne of England. That some such intention was in Henry’s mind
was shown by the Succession Act passed just before the close of the
Parliament which was dissolved in 1536. In this Act it is fixed that
the Crown is to devolve on the King’s death to the son of Jane Seymour
and in default of issue by him, on Mary and Elizabeth in succession
in case of lack of issue by the former. In the event of their both
dying before the King and without issue he is to appoint by will his
successor on the throne.
The various important posts conferred on the young Duke of Richmond
were evidently preparations for the highest post of all, which in
default of legitimate issue of his own legitimate children he intended
to confer on him.
The education which was given to the little Duke is of especial
interest and ought in the present connection to be carefully studied.
It was under the care of Richard Croke, celebrated for his scholarship;
who in the modern branch was assisted by John Palsgrave the author of
the earliest English grammar of the French language “_Lesclarcissement
de la langue Francoyse_.” In spite of the opposition of his household
the Duke of Richmond devoted his young life to study rather than to
arms. Whilst still a young boy he had already read a part of _Cæsar_,
_Virgil_ and _Terence_, knew a little Greek, and was fairly skilful
in music--singing and playing on the virginals. There was much talk
in Court circles as to whom he should marry and many ladies of high
degree were named. One was a niece of Pope Clement VII; another was a
Danish princess; still another a princess of France; also a daughter of
Eleanor, dowager Queen of Portugal, a sister of Charles V. This lady
was afterwards Queen of France.
Early in 1532 the Duke resided for a while at Hatfield. Then he went to
Paris with his friend the Earl of Surrey, son of the Duke of Norfolk.
There he remained till September, 1533. On his return to England he
married by special dispensation, on 25 November, 1533, Mary Howard,
daughter of the Duke of Norfolk by his second marriage and sister of
Surrey. Incidentally he is said to have been present at the beheading
of Queen Anne (Boleyn), May 19, 1536. He did not long survive the
last-named exhibition, for some two months later--22 July, 1536, he
died. There was at the time a suspicion that he had been poisoned by
Lord Rochford, brother of Queen Anne (Boleyn).
Henry Duke of Richmond and Somerset had no legal issue. As a matter
of fact though he was married in 1533, nearly three years before his
death, he never lived with his wife. It was said that he was not only
young for matrimony, being only seventeen; but was in very bad health.
It was intended that after his marriage he should go to Ireland; but on
account of the state of his health that journey was postponed--as it
turned out, for ever.
A light on this ill-starred marriage is thrown in the quaint words of
another chronicler of the time, Charles Wriothesley, who wrote of the
time between 1485 and 1559.
“But the said younge duke had never layne by his wife, and so she
is maide, wife, and now a widowe; I praie God send her now good
fortune.”
In this summarised history certain points are to be noticed:
(1) The Duke of Richmond was like his father (Henry VIII) and his
mother who was “fayre.”
(2) A Dispensation was obtained for his marriage to Lady Mary Howard
which took place in 1533 but with whom he never cohabited.
There is a side-light here of the hereditary aspect of the case. Both
the Duke and Duchess of Richmond were “fayre,” and in the language of
the old chroniclers “fayre” means blonde. Wintown for instance speaking
of Macbeth’s supposed descent from the Devil says:
“Gottyne he was on ferly wys
“Hys Modyr to woddis mad oft repayre
“For the delyte of halesum ayre.
“Swa, scho past a-pon a day
“Tyl a Wod, hyr for to play:
“Scho met at cas with a fayr man.”
And Grafton thus speaks under date 7 September 1533 of Elizabeth’s
birth: “The Queen was delivered of a fayre Lady.”
Now Anne Boleyn is described as small and lively, a brunette with black
hair and beautiful eyes, and yet her daughter is given as red-haired by
all the painters.
It is somewhat difficult to make out the true colours of persons. For
instance Giovanni Michiel writing to the Venetian Senate in 1557 puts
in his description of Elizabeth “She is tall and well formed, with a
good skin, although swarthy” but in the same page he says “she prides
herself on her father and glories in him; everybody is saying that
she also resembles him more than the Queen [Mary] does.” As to the
introduction of the word “swarthy” as above; it may have been one of
the tricks of Elizabeth to keep the Venetian ambassador from knowing
too much or getting any ground for guessing. If so it looks rather like
Elizabeth concealing her real identity--which would be an argument in
favour of an imposture; if she was the real princess there would be no
need for concealment.
It is only common sense to expect, if the paternal element was so
strong in Henry as to reproduce in offspring his own colour, that had
the Duke of Richmond had any issue especially by a fair wife it too
would have inherited something of the family colour. Holbein’s picture
of the “Lady of Richmond,” as the Duke’s wife was called, shows her as
a fair woman.
These are two points to be here borne in mind; that Henry VIII was
probably bald, for in none of his pictures is any hair visible. It
would hardly be polite to infer that Elizabeth wore a wig for the same
reason. But it is recorded that she always travelled with a stock of
them--no less than eighty of various colours.
But there are other indications of such concealment. Why for instance
did she object to see doctors? So long as she was free and could
control them she did not mind; but whilst she was under duress they
were a source of danger. Perhaps it is this which accounts for her
taking the Sacrament on 26 August, 1554 when she was practically a
prisoner at Woodstock in the keeping of Sir Henry Bedingfield. About
the third week in June the Princess asked Sir Henry to be allowed to
have a doctor sent to her. He in turn applied to the Council who made
answer on the 25th that the Queen’s Oxford physician was ill and Mr.
Wendy was absent and the remaining one, Mr. Owen, could not be spared.
The latter however recommended two Oxford doctors, Barnes and Walbec,
in case she should care to see either of them. On July 4th Sir Henry
reported to the Council that Elizabeth in politely declining said: “I
am not minded to make any stranger privy to the state of my body, but
commit it to God.” Then, when through her submission to the Queen’s
religious convictions she had obtained her liberty, she took no more
concern in the matter.
_The Duchess of Richmond_
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, married twice. His second wife was the
lady Elizabeth Stafford, eldest daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, and
he had issue by both marriages. In 1533 the only surviving daughter of
the second marriage was Mary, who was thus the Lady Mary Howard, sister
of the Earl of Surrey. It was this lady with whom the uncompleted
marriage of the Duke of Richmond took place. Doubtless they were early
friends. In her youth she used to spend the summer at Tendring Hall,
Suffolk, and the winter at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, where was one of
Henry’s palaces; in addition Henry was one of the closest companions of
her brother, the Earl of Surrey. Lady Richmond’s part in the historical
episode before us is hardly direct. It only comes in through two
circumstances not unattended with mystery. It is not necessary that
the two were correlated; but no student can get away from the idea
that there was some connection between them, especially when there is
another inference bearing on the subject with reference to the second
marriage of the Duchess. This took place after an interval of some
years to Gilbert, son of Sir George Talboys of Goloths, Lincolnshire.
The name of the second husband is variously spelled in the chronicles
as Tailboise or Talebuse. She died in the year before Elizabeth came
to the throne. The two things to examine closely with regard to
this marriage to the Duke of Richmond were the Dispensation for the
marriage (together with the date of it), and its non-fulfilment. The
Dispensation was dated 28 November, 1533, but the marriage took place
three days earlier. Whether this discrepancy had anything to do with
her later marriage to Talboys we can only guess--unless of course more
exhaustive search can produce some document, unknown as yet, which may
throw light on the subject. It is a matter of no light mystery why a
Dispensation was obtained at such a time and by whom it was effected.
At this time Henry VIII was engaged in the bitterest struggle of his
life, that regarding the supremacy of the Pope, so that it was a direct
violation of his policy to have asked for, or even to recognise such a
Dispensation in the case of his own son whom he intended to succeed him
as King. Before a year had passed he had actually thrown over the Papal
authority altogether, and had taken into his own hands the headship
of the National Church. What then was behind such a maladroit action?
If it had been done as a piece of statecraft--the ostensible showing
that there was as yet no direct rupture between the British Nation and
the Papacy--it would have lost its efficacy if it might be cited as
a Court favour rather than a national right. Moreover, as it was to
sanction by then existing canonical law a marriage of Henry’s son with
a daughter of the head of the most powerful Catholic House in England,
it could not be expected that Rome would not use this in its strife for
the continuation of its supremacy. If Henry was directly concerned in
the matter, it was bad policy and unlike him to conciliate Catholicism
by a yielding on the part of one who would be in the future the Head
of the Reformed Church. Altogether it leaves one under the impression
that there must have been a more personal cause than any yet spoken of.
Something to be covered up, or from which suspicion should be averted.
There was already quite enough material for a controversy in case Henry
Fitzroy should come to the throne and it might be well to minimise
any further risk. But in such case what was there to be covered up or
from which suspicion should be averted? Already Richmond held under
his father all the threads of government in his own hand. If he ever
should need to tighten them it would be done by himself as ruler. There
must still be some reason which must be kept secret and of which Henry
himself did not and must not know. Beyond this again was the question
of the personal ambition of “Bluff King Hal.” It was not sufficient
for him that a barren heir should succeed him--even if that heir was
his own son. He wanted to found a dynasty, and if he suspected for
an instant that after all his plotting and striving--all his titanic
efforts to overcome such obstacles as nations and religions--his hopes
might fail through lack of issue on his son’s part he would cease to
waste his time and efforts on his behalf. It is almost impossible to
imagine that the Duke of Richmond had not had _some_ love affairs--if
indeed he was only seventeen (of which there is a doubt)--it must be
borne in mind that both the Lancastrians and the Yorkists who united
in the Tudor stock matured early. On both his father’s and mother’s
side Henry Fitzroy was of a pleasure-loving, voluptuous nature, and
as the masculine element predominated in his make-up there is not any
great stretch of imagination required to be satisfied that there was
some young likeness of him toddling or running about. But in a case
like his masculine mis-doing does not count; it is only where a woman’s
credit is at stake that secrecy is a vital necessity. We must therefore
look to the female side to find a cause for any mystery which there
may be. So far as a boy of the right age is concerned with a decided
likeness to Henry VIII it would not have required much searching about
to lay hands on a suitable one.
[Illustration:
The Lady of Richmond.