From The Mind of Merc - The Tudor Curse

 Then a Mind of Merc post in which today I was thinking about the mortality of the Tudor heirs and, more specifically, whether it could be said that a curse haunted the Tudor monarchs as this issue wasn’t just exclusive to Henry VIII and his desperate quest to produce a male heir to succeed him as it struck both before and after his reign.

 An example of potential victims of this curse are:

- Arthur Tudor (eldest son of Henry VII) – born 1486, died 1501 (aged 15)
- Edmund Tudor (youngest son of Henry VII) – born 1499, died 1500 (aged 1)
- Henry Tudor (eldest son of Henry VIII) – born 1511, died 1511 (aged 2 months)
- Henry Fitzroy (illegitimate son of Henry VIII) – born 1519, died 1536 (aged 17)
- Edward VI (son of Henry VIII & Jane Seymour) – born 1537, died 1553 (aged 15)

While the majority of these are generally believed to be due to tuberculosis, or even plague, I wonder if they could possibly be linked to (or even caused by) the similar(?) malady of sweating sickness.

This unpleasant little disease is in itself interesting as it only appears in history during the Tudor era but this was more than enough time to have done plenty of damage including reportedly killing off Henry VII’s eldest son and heir, Arthur. It is said to have come across to England with Henry VII when he came to combat Richard III at Bosworth and the subsequent theory is therefore slightly ironic in that seeking to overthrow the previous monarch, Henry VII sealed the fate of his own son (thus also changing to course of English history yet again by making his younger son, Henry, his sole heir and, in time, leading to the Break With Rome).

To further this theory (and admittedly this part takes a bit of a leap) the last recorded occurrence of the disease is reputed to have been in 1551 – later than either of the Henrys but still in time to kill off the only two male heirs of Henry VIII’s best friend and companion, Charles Brandon – perhaps the virus thought him guilty by association. 

What makes it even more interesting is the virus was even said to have a penchant for Englishmen as during the 1517 outbreak foreign visitors were reported to be less likely to succumb and during the 1528 it didn’t breach the Calais border into territorial France or even the northern border into Scotland.

As well as this, although by no means confined to royalty as it also did for other connected persons such as William Carey (husband of Mary Boleyn) and the wife and children of Thomas Cromwell it was said to target or perhaps favour the rich and powerful – surely an odd characteristic for a disease.

Could it be then that Henry VII brought this malady on his people himself? Both physically by bringing it across with his army and spiritually by inviting it through some unspeakable act that earned him this vengeful response with its first notable victim being Henry VII’s eldest son and heir and the last being the two sons of his successor’s best friend (as well as the sole heir of his loyal adviser)?

We may never know but it is still an intriguing theory.

From The Mind of Merc - What If?

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about historical ‘what if’s – for example, what if Henry VIII had married Mary Boleyn (instead of Anne) and acknowledged and legitimised her son Henry – known to history as Henry Carey – particularly with respect to the royal succession.

(and yes, I am aware there’s debate over his paternity but for me a) this seems to be primarily based on Henry not formally acknowledging him and b) I doubt the Boleyns or Careys would be foolish enough to allow Mary to continue conjugal relations with her husband while she was a mistress of the King)

Well, for one thing, neither Elizabeth I or Edward VI would have existed. If Henry had stayed married to Catherine of Aragon until her death in 1536 and then married Mary Boleyn, the latter died in 1543 so it’s possible Henry VIII may only have had 2 wives (but still 2 daughters – Mary Tudor and Catherine ‘Carey’ – and a son; excluding the possibility of further children given Henry’s general ‘problems’ in this area).

Presuming all other dates and facts remain the same (although it’s highly unlikely they would have – e.g. the heir to the throne probably would not have married the daughter of a relatively obscure Welsh nobleman), on the king’s death in 1547, Henry ‘Carey’ would have become King Henry IX at the age of 21. He, in turn, would have succeeded (in 1596) by his son who would have been King George I (an English baron as opposed to a German royal). The line of succession would then presumably have gone:

Queen Elizabeth I (George’s daughter and only child) r. 1603-1635

King George II (youngest child and only son) r. 1635-1658

King George III (second son) r. 1658-1698

King Charles I (eldest son) r. 1698-1710

King James I (second son) r. 1710-1736

King Augustus I (only son) r. 1736-1755

King Frederick I (only son) r. 1755-1810

then either

King William I? (illegitimate eldest son - parents married aged 10) r. 1810-1857

King Maurice I (William’s eldest brother – also illegitimate) r. 1857-1867

King Francis I (Maurice’s eldest son) r. 1867-1896

King Charles II (Maurice’s second son) r. 1896-1916

Queen Swinburne (Maurice’s eldest daughter) r. 1916-1920

King Edgar I (Swinburne’s third son but the only one to outlive her) r. 1920-1937

Queen Serena I (Edgar’s daughter and only child) r. 1937-present

or (following the line of legitimacy):

King Thomas I (Frederick’s fifth but first legitimate son) r. 1810-1882

Queen Louisa I (daughter and only child of Thomas’s youngest brother) r. 1882-1899

Queen Eva I (Louisa’s daughter and only child) r. 1899-1964

Queen Mary I (Eva’s eldest daughter) r. 1964-1992

King Anthony I (Eva’s nephew) r. 1992-present

Alternatively, if the crown had followed the same route as ‘George I’s baronial title of Hunsdon (although the English crown – unlike English noble titles – does not follow Salic law and could be inherited by a woman) then the present incumbent would be King Vicary I r. 1986-present.

Interesting the way things turn out, isn't it?