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77-583: Born as a royal bastard , son of King Vakhtang VI of Kartli (ruled 1716–24), he was born in Tbilisi , 1696. Educated by the brothers Garsevanishvili and a Roman Catholic mission, he was fluent in Greek , Latin , French , Turkish , Russian and Armenian . His name Vakhushti derives from Old Iranian vahišta- ("paradise", superlative of veh "good", i.e., "superb, excellent"). Its equivalent in Middle Persian

154-412: A Moorish serf, took the throne upon the death of his brother-in-law Silo of Asturias , reigning for about 5 years. Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (c. 15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536) was the son of Henry VIII of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount , and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry acknowledged. He

231-700: A belt of iron spikes that cut into her flesh. Church leaders denounced Madame de Montespan, Louis' best-known mistress, who had seven children by him. In 1675, Father Lécuyer refused to give her absolution. "Is this the Madame that scandalises all France?" he asked. "Go abandon your shocking life and then come throw yourself at the feet of the ministers of Jesus Christ." The king's efforts to legitimize his illegitimate children showed his, "Olympian disdain for public opinion," according to one modern author. The edict of Marly, issued in July 1714, granted two of Louis' sons by Montespan

308-502: A decade, and was succeeded by his legitimate son, Edward VI , born shortly after FitzRoy's death. It is said that Henry FitzRoy might have been made king had Henry VIII died without a legitimate son: Well was it for them that Henry Fitzroy his natural son [...] was dead, otherwise (some suspect) had he survived King Edward the Sixth, we might presently have heard of a King Henry the Ninth, so great

385-560: A king and was used by various illegitimate royal offspring, and by others who claimed to be such. In medieval England a bastard's coat of arms was marked with a bend or baton sinister. Notable fictional examples include Mordred , the villainous illegitimate son of King Arthur . Some fictional portrayals of royal bastards are less negative, such as the character of Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare's King John . Unlike medieval royalty,

462-491: A kingship became vacant, a Witan would meet to name an aetheling as king. Papal legates visited the great hall of Offa of Mercia in 786 and decreed that an English king "must not be begotten in adultery or incest" and that "he who was not born of a legitimate marriage" could not succeed to the throne. It is likely no rule of succession had set as to bastardy before this decree. Two Anglo-Saxon kings of England had sons who faced opposition to their succession seemingly based on

539-485: A noblewoman wed to his father. Scholarly opinion is divided whether Edward was born to an extramarital liaison or simply bore lesser status because his mother had not been consecrated as queen, unlike the powerful Ælfthryth , mother of his younger half-brothers. Gervase de Blois ( written variously , often in latest books Gervais of Blois), an illegitimate son of Stephen , was Abbot of Westminster from 1138 to c. 1157. Stephen had two other illegitimate children from

616-400: A particular fondness for him and took great interest in his upbringing. Sir Thomas Tempest was comptroller of his household. In February 1527, Thomas Magnus told the young Duke that King James V of Scotland , FitzRoy's first cousin, had asked for hunting dogs. FitzRoy sent his cousin 20 hunting hounds and a huntsman. On 22 June 1529, Richmond was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland , and there

693-574: A printing-press, taught the art of printing to several Georgian clergymen, and completed the first printed edition of the Bible in Georgian in 1743. The printing-press was afterwards transferred to Moscow, where several religious works in Georgian were printed. Vakhushti married in 1717 Mariam, youngest daughter of Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze , ex-King of Imereti (1702–07) , and had several children: Royal bastard Philosophers Works A royal bastard

770-673: Is wahišt and in New Persian behešt . In 1719 and 1720, he took part in two successive campaigns against the rebel duke ( eristavi ) Shanshe of the Ksani . From August to November 1722, he was a governor of the kingdom during his father's absence at the Ganja campaign. Later he served as a commander in Kvemo Kartli . After the Ottoman occupation of Kartli , he followed King Vakhtang in his emigration to

847-494: Is Henry FitzRoy. The familiar way in which he is described as "My Lord Henry" is also interesting and suggests that, amongst the officers close to the King, at least, his existence was hardly a secret. Alternatively, he may have been raised in the north with his mother and her husband Gilbert Tailboys, 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme , and their children. By 1525, the House of Tudor had been on

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924-469: Is a child of a reigning monarch born out of wedlock. The king might have a child with a mistress , or the legitimacy of a marriage might be questioned for reasons concerning succession. Notable royal bastards include Robert, Earl of Gloucester , son of Henry I of England , Henry FitzRoy , son of Henry VIII of England , and the Duke of Monmouth , son of Charles II . The Anglo-Norman surname Fitzroy means son of

1001-547: Is also a major source on the Georgian history of the 16th and 17th centuries. Vakhushti's works were soon translated into Russian and later into French and served as a guide to many contemporary European scholars and travelers to Caucasus up to the early 20th century. He also completed, together with his brother, Prince Bakar, the printing of the Bible in Georgian, which he had been only partly done by their father, Vakhtang VI. He established for that purpose, in his house near Moscow,

1078-462: Is some evidence that he was already in receipt of royal favour even before his ennoblement; this comes from a surviving list of "Wardrobe stuff appointed for my lord Henry". The "Lord Henry" in question is not identified but given that the subject was not considered to require a title and that the list has survived with further documents relating to the household established for Henry FitzRoy after his ennoblement, it would seem reasonable to assume that it

1155-617: The Book of Genesis and part of the Book of Exodus ). On the north side are the birth of Eve ; God giving the Garden of Eden into the charge of Adam and Eve; the Temptation, and the Expulsion from Paradise. On the west are the nursing of Cain and Abel , and Adam digging to return to Eden; Cain and Abel making their sacrifices (offerings) to God, and Cain killing Abel. On the south side are Noah's Ark in

1232-635: The Caucasus region accompanied by the images of several historic coats of arms (1745–46). His famous Description of the Kingdom of Georgia is essentially an adorned synopsis of the initial texts of the corpus of medieval Georgian annals, Kartlis Tskhovreba . Vakhushti was critical of the re-edition of the corpus assembled by a scholarly commission chaired by his father Vakhtang VI. So as to rectify perceived oversights of Vakhtang's version, Vakhushti compiled his own comprehensive history and geographical description of

1309-717: The Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham . FitzRoy's tomb has a mix of royal and religious iconography, with his personal coat of arms surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Garter and the Order's motto "Honi soit qui mal y pense", and the coats of arms of the Howard family (by his marriage to Mary Howard), and friezes showing scenes from the Biblical Old Testament (mainly from

1386-745: The Council of the North , and Warden of the Marches towards Scotland and Governor of Carlisle , the effect of which was to place the government of the north of England in his hands. He held the offices in name only, the power was actually in the hands of a council dominated by Thomas Magnus , Archdeacon of the East Riding . From then onwards, the Duke was raised like a prince, at Sheriff Hutton Castle in Yorkshire. His father had

1463-483: The Earl of Oxford with a rod of gold. Once again young Henry FitzRoy knelt before his father, and as the patent was read he was invested with the trappings of a duke. This time when he rose to his feet he was Duke of Richmond and Somerset . To be a duke was a significant honour. It was the highest rank of the peerage, and the title, originally devised by Edward III, King of England for his son Edward, Prince of Wales as

1540-786: The Flood ; the drunkenness of Noah ; the Prophet Abraham and the Angels, and Lot escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah . On the east are Abraham and his son Isaac as well as Moses and the Law tables , and the Israelites sacrificing to the Golden Calf . One of the scenes carved on the tomb is the outline of a small door which was the private entrance of noblemen from the Castle. His father outlived him by just over

1617-590: The House of Braganza that in 1640 would successfully claim the Portuguese crown on the basis of this descent, and rule into the 20th century. King Carlos I of Portugal allegedly had an illegitimate daughter who became one of the most famous and controversial royal bastards in the history of European royalty: Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza . Empress Catherine the Great (reigned 1762 to 1796) had an illegitimate child in 1762, Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinksy , who

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1694-771: The Russian Empire in 1724. Retired to Moscow , Tsarevich Vakhusht (as he came to be known in Russia) was granted a pension. He died at Moscow in 1757. He was buried at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow , a traditional burial ground of Georgian emigrant royalty and nobility. Most of his works were written or completed in Moscow. The best known are Description of the Kingdom of Georgia (completed in 1745), The Geographic Description of Georgia (completed in 1750) and two geographic atlases of

1771-413: The peerage , when Henry II, King of England had created his son William Earl of Salisbury . However, the ceremony was not yet complete. The onlookers watched as the young Lord Nottingham re-emerged into the chamber. The Earl of Northumberland carried the robes; behind him came Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset , carrying the sword; the Earl of Arundel , carrying the cap of estate with a circlet; and

1848-463: The Act would have permitted him to do so if he wished. The Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys wrote to Emperor Charles V on 8 July 1536 that Henry VIII had made a statute allowing him to nominate a successor, but thought the Duke of Richmond would not succeed to the throne by it, as he was consumptive and now diagnosed incurable. FitzRoy's promising career came to an abrupt end in July 1536. According to

1925-607: The Beaufort connection to the Somerset duchy, the title of Duke of Richmond was important as the earldom of Richmond had been held by his grandfather King Henry VII and by his great-grandfather Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond . The earldom of Nottingham had been held by Richmond's great uncle Prince Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York , the second son of Edward IV. Seeing Henry's obvious pride and affection for his son, many of those who witnessed Richmond's elevation must have wondered if this

2002-600: The Duke of Cornwall, retained its royal aura. The former Henry FitzRoy was subsequently referred to in all formal correspondence as the "right high and noble Prince Henry, Duke of Richmond and Somerset". As if to compound this sense of royal dignity and endow the child with as much respectability as possible, Henry VIII had granted his son the unprecedented honour of a double dukedom. While he is mostly known as Richmond, some pains were taken to see that he bore both titles in equal weight. The bulk of Richmond's new lands came from Margaret Beaufort 's estate. These were lands which were

2079-550: The Earl of Devon to be the Marquess of Exeter. Sir Thomas Manners, a great nephew of Edward IV through his sister Anne of York was made the earl of Rutland. Henry Clifford was made the new Earl of Cumberland and would cement his ties to the House of Tudor by marrying his son and heir, Lord Henry Clifford, to Richmond's cousin, lady Eleanor Brandon , the King's niece. Richmond's ceremony was by far

2156-429: The Earl of Surrey. If Henry had chosen the House of Howard , he would probably have chosen the elder Thomas Howard , who at the time was the 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Another suggestion for the second godfather could be Henry VIII himself, although it was not normal practice for a parent to stand as godparent to his own child: Henry had taken the role of godfather at the christening of his own nephew, Lord Henry Brandon (who

2233-449: The Georgian people and lands. One of the chief goals of his corrective was to underscore all-Georgian political and cultural unity despite the fact that Georgia was politically divided among competing kings and princes during Vakhushti's lifetime. The popularity of Vakhushti's tome is evidenced by the many copies made of it, and his narrative significantly shaped the way in which subsequent generations have conceived of an all-Georgian past. It

2310-474: The Great ) and Richard FitzRoy . Edward IV had at least five illegitimate children, including Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (later Lord Deputy of Calais ) by his mistress Elizabeth Lucy . Perkin Warbeck closely resembled Edward IV and claimed to be his son Richard of Shrewsbury ; it has been theorised that Perkin was one of Edward's illegitimate children. Richard III justified his accession to

2387-480: The King not to close the Priory Church on the grounds that both his first wife Anne of York , FitzRoy's great-aunt, as well as FitzRoy himself were buried there. The request had no effect; at the same time however, the King ordered that the current dissolution of the monasteries be briefly suspended, so that everyone who wished had time to rebury the remains of their relations. Howard moved his son-in-law's grave to

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2464-471: The Lionheart had at least one illegitimate child: Philip of Cognac , who died young (possibly in battle). He features as Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare's King John . John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage to Isabelle of Gloucester , and two of which are known to have been noblewomen. He had eight or more others including Jeanne/ Joan, Lady of Wales (wife of Llywelyn

2541-425: The Order of Avis, and following the childless death of his legitimate half-brother, King Ferdinand I of Portugal and the ensuing 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum , he succeeded as King John I, founding the House of Avis that would rule Portugal for the next two centuries. John I had an illegitimate son, Afonso , who was named Duke of Braganza by his half-brother, the regent Peter, Duke of Coimbra . He thus founded

2618-605: The Romans were more concerned with continuity of family name than with bloodline. If a man recognized a child as his, this was accepted by law, and the issue of who the biological father was did not arise. Children not recognized could be exposed or brought up as a slave. For example, Emperor Claudius initially accepted a girl as his daughter, but later rejected her and had her exposed. Emperors often adopted their successors. There are no recorded examples of aristocrats in classical times accusing other aristocrats of being illegitimate, as

2695-453: The Watergate and his party made their way through the palace to the king's lodgings on the south side of the second floor. The rooms were richly decorated, with various members of the court and the nobility coming to see FitzRoy's elevation. Among them were numerous bishops, as well as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and the King's brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk . During

2772-410: The background, although the boy had been brought up in remarkable style and comfort, almost as if he were a prince of the blood and not an acknowledged royal bastard . Such discretion over his son may not have been to the King's taste, and he may have felt his manhood and virility should be publicly demonstrated. He fully made up for his son's quiet birth and equally quiet christening when on 18 June 1525

2849-410: The body be wrapped in lead and then taken in a closed cart for secret interment. However, his servants put the body in a straw-filled wagon. The only mourners were two attendants who followed at a distance. FitzRoy was first instance buried at Thetford Priory , the burial place and mausoleum of members of the Howard family. In February 1540, when Thetford Priory was about to be closed, Howard petitioned

2926-682: The child " Beauclerk " and bestowed the title "Earl of Burford". By Lucy Walter (c.1630–1658): By Elizabeth Boyle, Viscountess Shannon (1622–1680): By Catherine Pegge By Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland (1641–1709) By Nell Gwyn (1650–1687): By Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649–1734) By Moll Davis , courtesan and actress of repute: James II and VII had 13 illegitimate children. George I had 3 illegitimate children by his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal , including Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham . William IV had 11 illegitimate children. They used

3003-529: The chronicler Charles Wriothesley , he became sickly some time before he died, although his biographer Beverley A. Murphy cites his documented public appearances and activities in April and May of that year, without exciting comment on his health. He was reported ill with "consumption" (usually identified as tuberculosis , but possibly another serious lung complaint) in early July, and died at St. James's Palace on 23 July 1536. FitzRoy's father-in-law gave orders that

3080-402: The correspondence of the child's first known tutor makes it clear that FitzRoy also received some rudimentary education prior to his elevation to the peerage in 1525. John Palsgrave grumbled loudly that Henry had been taught to recite his prayers in a "barbarous" Latin accent and dismissed the man who had instructed him as "no clerk". Although he was more well known from 1525 and onwards, there

3157-487: The court. The boy's upbringing until the moment when he entered Bridewell Palace in June 1525 (six years following his birth) remains shrouded in confusion. Although the boy was illegitimate , this did not mean that young Henry lived remotely from and had no contact with his father. On the contrary, it has been suggested by his biographer, Beverly Murphy, that a letter from a royal nurse implies that FitzRoy had also been part of

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3234-441: The first ceremony, when he was created Earl of Nottingham , FitzRoy was attended by Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland , who carried the sword of state, along with John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford , and William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel . Six-year-old Henry knelt before his father as Sir Thomas More read out the patents of nobility. It was the first time since the 12th century that an illegitimate son had been raised to

3311-660: The illegitimate daughter of Albert II of Belgium was legally acknowledged after DNA testing to be titled Princess Delphine of Belgium by the Belgian Court of Appeal. Ms Delphine Boël intends to change her surname to her father's Saxe-Coburg. Older illegitimate children founded important family branches, as reported in the Trophées de Brabant: tome 1 ( ): In the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy then Kingdom, descendants of kings were called aethelings , whether legitimate or not. When

3388-449: The instigation it is said of her three Spanish ladies her chief counsellors, so that the King has dismissed them from court, a strong measure but the Queen was obliged to submit and have patience". Also at Richmond's elevation was Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter , his father's cousin through Catherine of York , the younger sister of Elizabeth of York . He was raised from being merely

3465-414: The king once said. Louis, nonetheless, found appropriate spouses for his illegitimate children. As illegitimate children were considered impure, their mothers might attempt to purify them through pious behavior. Louise de La Vallière had six children by Louis XIV, including Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666–1739) and Louis de Bourbon (1667–1683). She repented by joining a Carmelite convent. There she wore

3542-414: The mercenary Thomas Stukley , the poet Richard Edwardes and two of Mary Boleyn 's children. His daughter Elizabeth was in then Catholic canon law illegitimate, as Henry had married her mother, Anne Boleyn having divorced Queen Catherine ; it was lawful under his new Anglican legal system. Charles II fathered at least 20 illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged 14. The most famous of these

3619-705: The most spectacular but it was also a public relations display, since the last member of the Yorkist faction, Richard de la Pole , lost his life in February of that same year fighting for the French at the Battle of Pavia . The young Henry Brandon became the new Earl of Lincoln, a title which had once belonged to the de la Pole family. Arrangements for Henry's care were initially entrusted to Thomas Wolsey and plans for his elevation were already in progress by April 1525. On 7 June that year, he

3696-688: The right to succeed to the French throne. This hugely unpopular decision led to a political crisis called the "bastard distortion" in 1714–1715. It was reversed by the Parliament of Paris in July 1717, after Louis had died. Like his great-grandfather, Louis XV had many mistresses and illegitimate children, but contrary to him, he never legitimized any of them. Prince Albert II of Monaco has two illegitimate children, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste . King Peter I of Portugal had an illegitimate son, John , who became Grand Master of

3773-527: The rightful inheritance of King Henry VII when he was Earl of Richmond and the lands which had belonged to John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, the father of Margaret Beaufort. The use of the Duchy of Somerset must have struck a chord among the courtiers, as it was well known that the Beauforts' eldest child was John Somerset, a royal bastard who had been legitimised following his parents' adultery and then marriage. A part of

3850-404: The royal nursery, and he was often at court after 1530. In the 16th century, royal and noble households were in a state of constant movement and transition, so it is unlikely that FitzRoy grew up in any one house. He was probably transferred from household to household around London like his royal siblings: Mary , Elizabeth , and Edward . In 1519, the only surviving legitimate child of the King

3927-410: The same mother – Ralph and Americ of Blois. Henry I had about two dozen recognized illegitimate children, including Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester , Sybilla of Normandy (wife of King Alexander I of Scotland ), Maud FitzRoy (wife of Conan III, Duke of Brittany ), Constance or Maud FitzRoy, Mabel FitzRoy , Alice FitzRoy , Gilbert FitzRoy , and Emma . "It might be permissible to wonder how it

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4004-462: The six-year-old boy was brought to Bridewell Palace on the western edge of the city of London where honours were showered upon him. That morning of the 18th, the six-year-old Lord Henry FitzRoy travelled by barge from Wolsey's mansion of Durham Place , near Charing Cross , down the River Thames . He came in the company of a host of knights, squires, and other gentlemen. At 9am his barge pulled up at

4081-520: The status of his mother. Edward the Martyr , eldest son of Edgar the Peaceful , likewise faced opposition due to the nature of his birth. A contemporary charter calls the king's later spouse his 'lawful wife' and seems to afford her son, Edmund, a higher status than his elder half-brother, Edward. Later chroniclers are contradictory, one making Edward an illegitimate child born to a nun, another calling his mother

4158-455: The status of their mother. Leading figures in the kingdom refused to accept the succession of Æthelstan , eldest son of Edward the Elder . Some medieval chroniclers writing centuries later describe his mother, Ecgwynn , as a concubine or of low social status, while others portray her as a noble wife, and some modern historians have attributed the challenge to his succession as related to questions of

4235-532: The surname "FitzClarence", because he was Duke of Clarence . Edward VII was claimed to be the natural father of the model Olga de Meyer . German comedian Hape Kerkeling claims to be his great-grandson from a liaison between Edward and his great-grandmother in Marienbad . Anthony, bastard of Burgundy was the illegitimate son of Philip the Good of Burgundy. He was known as le grand bâtard (the great bastard). He

4312-581: The throne by claiming that the children of Edward IV were the product of an invalid marriage. Richard III had at least two illegitimate children: John of Gloucester ( Captain of Calais for a time) and Katherine, second wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke . Sir Roland de Velville was, in one account, the illegitimate son of Henry VII and "a Breton lady." Henry VIII had one acknowledged illegitimate child, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset . As he had many mistresses , historians put forward six other likely instances including

4389-441: The throne for 40 years. However, cracks were beginning to appear. By the sixteenth year of his reign, 34-year-old Henry still lacked a male heir with his 40-year-old wife Catherine of Aragon. Their only surviving child and heiress was Princess Mary, who at the time was a girl of nine. Henry, though, had another child, an illegitimate one, a sturdy six-year-old son. Although Henry may have had other illegitimate children , Henry FitzRoy

4466-621: The time was Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and since Henry FitzRoy's birth, he had taken an interest in his monarch's only son. In a letter dated June 1525, the Cardinal refers to the King's son: "Your entirely beloved sonne, the Lord Henry FitzRoy". In 1525, FitzRoy was given his own residence in London, which he was granted by his father: Durham House on the Strand . Since his birth FitzRoy had remained in

4543-510: Was James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , his son by Lucy Walter . After Charles' death, Monmouth led a rebellion against his uncle James II . Charles had no legitimate children who survived childhood. When Nell Gwynn brought her first child to Charles, she told it, "Come hither you little Bastard and speak to your father!". Charles responded, "Nay, Nellie, do not call the child such a name", to which Gwynn replied "Your Majesty has given me no other name by which I may call him." Charles then named

4620-552: Was a plan to crown him king of that country, though the King's counsellors feared that making a separate Kingdom of Ireland whose ruler was not that of England would create another threat similar to the Kingdom of Scotland. After Richmond's death, the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 established a personal union between the English and Irish crowns, providing that whoever was King of England was to be King of Ireland as well. King Henry VIII of England

4697-505: Was a proud day for Henry, and for his former mistress Elizabeth; however, the ceremony did nothing to spare the Queen's feelings. She knew she had failed to give England a prince and was anxious about her own daughter's prospects. In a private letter, the Venetian ambassador wrote: "It seems that the Queen resents the earldom and dukedom conferred on the King’s natural son and remains dissatisfied. At

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4774-476: Was also the son of Henry's closest friend) in March 1516, and his daughter Princess Mary stood godmother to her half-brother Prince Edward in 1537. The infant boy was given the surname FitzRoy to make sure that all knew he was son of the King. Henry VIII openly acknowledged the boy, perhaps because he felt that his lack of a male heir was a slur upon his manhood. At one point he proudly exhibited his newborn son to

4851-487: Was born a few months before she took the throne. Catherine officially acknowledged him in a letter sent in 1781. Later, his half-brother Emperor Paul made him a count of the Russian Empire and promoted him to general-major. He married Baroness Anna Dorothea von Ungern-Sternberg and had issue that continues to this day. In 783, Mauregatus of Asturias , the illegitimate son of King Alfonso I of Asturias allegedly born to

4928-417: Was common in later periods. Caesarion was possibly the illegitimate son of Julius Caesar by Cleopatra , which would also make him Caesar's only known child besides Julia . A book published in February 2011 claimed that Albert II of Belgium has an illegitimate half-sister named Ingeborg Verdun, the daughter of King Leopold III and Austrian-Belgian ice skater Liselotte Landbeck . In October 2020,

5005-608: Was conceived when Queen Catherine was approaching her last confinement with another of Henry's children, a stillborn daughter born in November 1518. To avoid scandal, Blount was taken from Henry's court to the Augustinian priory of St Lawrence at Blackmore near Ingatestone , in Essex . FitzRoy's birthdate is often given as 15 June 1519, but the exact date is not known. His birth may have been earlier than predicted. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

5082-446: Was elected knight of the Garter and was installed on the 25th. On 18 June, he was made Earl of Nottingham and on the same day he received the honour of a double dukedom; those being Richmond and Somerset. As such, he was endowed with lands whose revenues amounted to £4845 in the first year. In that same year, Richmond, as he came to be known, was granted several other appointments, including Lord High Admiral of England , Lord President of

5159-515: Was legitimized by King Charles VIII in 1485. Henri IV had many mistresses and illegitimate children. The children of Gabrielle d'Estrées are notable because the King may have signed a wedding agreement with their mother before her unexpected death in 1599. Louis XIV had many mistresses and illegitimate children. Madame de Maintenon was their governess. "The bastards", as they were called, were compared to mules, unnatural hybrids who should not reproduce. "No issue should come of such species,"

5236-533: Was not recorded even though Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was his godfather and known to have been present at the event. This puts the date of the christening possibly before 29 June when he reappeared at court. The identity of the other godfather is unknown. Although Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk took a great interest in Henry FitzRoy when he was older, in 1519 he was still the heir to the Dukedom of Norfolk , and styled

5313-414: Was on excellent terms with his brother-in-law, the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey . The marriage was never consummated. At the time of Richmond's death, an Act was going through Parliament which disinherited Henry's daughter Elizabeth as his heir and permitted the King to designate his successor, whether legitimate or not. There is no evidence that Henry intended to proclaim Richmond his heir, but

5390-466: Was out of London from 9 to 18 June when he reappeared back at court in Windsor . The following day he was expected at Hampton Court , but he did not reappear at a council meeting at Westminster until 29 June. The policy of discretion worked, as the baby boy's arrival caused no great stir, and diplomatic dispatches record nothing of Henry VIII's illegitimate son. The christening of the newborn Henry FitzRoy

5467-464: Was proclaimed its first holder. In October 1532, Henry VIII travelled to Calais for a meeting with Francis I of France and took Richmond with him. As part of the negotiations, Richmond joined the French court and lived with the Dauphin Francis and his younger brother, the future King Henry II of France , until August 1533, when he was recalled to England. When Henry VIII began the process of having his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled, it

5544-544: Was suggested that Richmond marry his own half-sister Mary in order to strengthen Richmond's claim to the throne. Anxious to prevent the annulment and Henry's possible break with the Roman Catholic Church , the Pope was even prepared to grant a special dispensation for their marriage. At age 14, on 28 November 1533 the Duke instead married Lady Mary Howard , the only daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk . He

5621-451: Was that Henry I managed to keep track of all his illegitimate children, but there is no doubt that he did so," wrote historian Given-Wilson. Henry II had several illegitimate children, most notably Geoffrey, Archbishop of York and William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (who inherited his earldom from his wife's father, William of Salisbury ). William's mother was Ida de Tosny , while Geoffrey's may have been called Ykenai. Richard

5698-433: Was the only one the King acknowledged. Henry VIII was also the only surviving son of Henry VII . Henry had no surviving younger brother nor any close male relations from his father's family who could be called up to share the burden of government in the King's name. As Henry and Catherine's marriage remained without a son, the king's only living son became more attractive for onlookers to observe. The King's chief minister at

5775-493: Was the three-year-old Princess Mary. In that year her household was reorganised, suggesting that Henry made some provisions for his only son. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury replaced Lady Margaret Bryan as Mistress of Mary's household. At the same time at least two of Mary's carers appear to have left her service. It is not impossible that Princess Mary's household could have been reorganised some time before her former servants found posts with Henry FitzRoy. In addition,

5852-471: Was the younger half-brother of Mary I , as well as the older half-brother of Elizabeth I and Edward VI . Through his mother, he was the elder half-brother of Elizabeth , George , and Robert Tailboys . His surname means "son of the king" in Norman French. Henry FitzRoy was born in June 1519. His mother was Elizabeth Blount, Catherine of Aragon 's lady-in-waiting, and his father was Henry VIII. FitzRoy

5929-458: Was what the King had in mind. To support his new status, Henry granted his young son an annuity of £4,845. Following the ceremony, there were "great feasts and disguising". Henry wished to celebrate his six-year-old son with customary extravagance. It is unknown if Elizabeth Blount was present, but it is certain that the new duke's stepfather Gilbert Tailboys, 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme was present and must have given her an eyewitness account. It

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