The past year, I gave my niece and my brother a book which traced one of these family lines. I became very interested in how my family ancestors were connected and interacted with Tudor family of England, namely King Henry VIII and at least two of his wives.
I'll start with my 15th Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Tilney.
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| Detail of a stained glass window at Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Suffolk depicting Elizabeth Tilney |
Elizabeth Tilney was born sometime before 1445 at Ashwellthorpe Hall in Norfolk, England, the daughter of Sir Frederick Tilney and his wife, Elizabeth Cheney. Her father was the Lord of Ashwellthorpe. His death left his young daughter the heir to his estates. Her mother remarried to Sir John Say, a member of the household of King Henry VI of England.
Elizabeth married 1) Sir Humphrey Bourgchier, son and heir of John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners in 1466. They had a son and two daughters. Sir Humphrey was killed in the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471. On April 30, 1472, she married Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey and 2nd Duke of Norfolk, in a marriage arranged by the King. They had nine children together.
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| Sir Thomas Howard |
Elizabeth received her inheritance in 1475. Her second husband was a close friend and companion of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was crowned king in 1483. Elizabeth was one of Anne Neville's attendants at Richard's coronation. Thomas Howard was wounded at Bosworth and imprisoned in the Tower of London for several years, and the dukedom of Norfolk was forfeited. Elizabeth was fortunate that Thomas' attainder stipulated that she would not lose her own inheritance. In December 1485 she was living in London, near St. Katherine's near the Tower, which placed her in the vicinity of her incarcerated husband.
After Thomas was released from prison and his earldom and estates were restored to him, he entered the service of Henry VII. In November 1487, Thomas and Elizabeth attended the coronation of Henry's consort Elizabeth of York, who appointed Elizabeth a Lady of the Bedchamber. Elizabeth was further honored by being asked to stand as joint godmother to the Princess Margaret Tudor at her baptism in late 1489.
It is through Elizabeth's 2nd marriage that she was the grandmother of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of King Henry VIII's wives.
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| Anne Boleyn my half 1st cousin 16 times removed |
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| Catherine Howard my half 1st cousin 16 times removed |
They were the wives of King Henry VIII, a descendant of my ancestor John of Gaunt.
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| King Henry VIII also my half 1st cousin, 16 times removed |
Margaret Bourchier, my 14th Great-Grandmother, was the daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourgchier and Elizabeth (Tilney) Howard, born about 1468. Margaret was brought up with her half brothers and half sisters, including Elizabeth Howard (Anne Boleyn’s mother) and Lord Edmund Howard (Catherine Howard's father). Thus Margaret was a half aunt to two Queen consorts of the King of England.
Her first husband, with whom there may only have been a marriage agreement was Sir John Sandes (or Sandys). The marriage agreement was signed when Margaret was 10 or 11 years old on 11 November 1478. Pre-contracts were not unusual among the Tudor period aristocracy and gentry, and it did not have result in a consummated marriage.
Margaret married 2) Sir Thomas Bryan of Ashridge, Hertfordshire before 1490. She was a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon, 1st wife of King Henry VIII, from 1509 to 1516 while her husband was vice-chamberlain of the queen’s household. She apparently brought their daughters Margaret and Elizabeth Bryan and her son Francis Bryan with her to court.
After the birth of Mary Tudor in 1516, Margaret was put in charge of the nursery at Ditton Park, Buckinghamshire and at Hanworth. She claimed she was given the title of Baroness Bryan when she was made governess for Princess Mary. She remained with the princess for five years and when she left was given an annuity of £50 for life.
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| Princess Mary Tudor Queen Mary I of England |
In 1533 she was called back to care for Elizabeth Tudor at Hatfield.
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| Princess Elizabeth Tudor Queen Elizabeth I |
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| Prince Edward King Edward VI of England |
Elizabeth Bryan, my 13th Great-Grandmother, was born about 1500 in England., daughter of Thomas Bryan and Margaret Bourgchier. She was an English courtier and reputed mistress of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth became the wife of Henry VIII's close friend Sir Nicholas Carew, an influential statesman. Probably a marriage King Henry arranged.
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| Sir Nicholas Carew |
Sir Nicholas was eventually fell out of favor with the King and was executed for treason by beheading on March 3, 1539. Elizabeth's brother, Sir Francis Bryan, a member of the Privy Chamber and one of the king's closest friends, was responsible for sitting in the jury that convicted his sister's husband to death and reduced her to poverty. Beheading and poverty it seems was finally enough to end my family's connection to the Tudors.
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