Brandon Francis

Family and role in the line of inheritance

Frances was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon , 1st Duke of Suffolk , and Mary Tudor . Her parents secretly married in France in March 1515 and officially testified their marriage on May 13 of the same year in England ^[2] . For her father, this was the third marriage: one of his ex-wives, Anne Brown, died in 1510 ^[3] , but the other - Margaret Neville - was alive at the time of his wedding with Mary. The marriage with Margaret was invalidated in 1507: Brandon did this to marry Anne ^[4] . However, when in 1515 he became the husband of Maria Tudor, papal dispensation for this marriage was not received for an unknown reason, and by canon law Brandon could be considered a bigamist, and his children - bastards ^[5] . To eliminate all doubts and prevent difficulties with the inheritance of rights and property, he turned to Pope Clement VII for a bull, confirming the legal status of his children from Maria Tudor and Anne Brown, and on May 12, 1528, this bull was signed by the pope in Orvieto ^[5] , sent to England and, upon arrival in the summer of that year, certified by Bishop of Norwich in the presence of several witnesses ^[6] .

Francis had a sibling older brother Henry (1516-1522), siblings younger brothers and sisters - Henry , 1st Earl of Lincoln , and Lady Eleanor , as well as two older half-sisters from the marriage of Charles Brandon with Anne Brown - Anne and Mary, and two younger half-brothers from her father’s fourth marriage to Katherine Willoughby — Henry and Charles .

On the maternal side, Francis was a niece to King Henry VIII and, accordingly, granddaughter of Henry VII . In the will of Henry VIII of 1546, Francis Gray was mentioned as the mother of the possible heirs to the English throne in the event that the king’s primary successors - Edward , Maria and Elizabeth - die childless. In addition to Francis Gray with similar reservations, the name of her younger sister, Eleanor, also appeared in the will. When Henry VIII was preparing his will at the end of December 1546, Francis and Eleanor were quite young and able to give birth to children, quite possibly sons, who could in the future ascend to the throne ^{[7] [8] [9]} .

The Early Years and First Marriage

Francis Brandon was born in Hatfield on July 16, 1517, on the day of the canonization of St. Francis , in whose honor she was probably named ^{[to 1]} . Her successors were Queen Catherine of Aragon , Princess Mary, and Abbot of St. Alban Abbey ^[12] . In the following years, Francis was very close to her aunt, Queen Catherine, the first wife of Henry VIII, and her cousin, Princess Maria ^[13] . In 1533, after the marriage of Henry and Catherine was annulled, Maria Tudor openly protested against the king’s new wife, Anna Boleyn , declaring that she would never recognize her as the legitimate Queen of England. Following the example of her mother, Francis always supported her relatives - Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary.

Her early years passed at Westorp Hall in Suffolk , where she lived with her mother, brothers and sisters, as well as other wards of her parents, among whom was Catherine Willoughby . Francis had an attractive appearance ^[14] , received a good education ^[15] and was related to the ruling dynasty, so her father, the Duke of Suffolk, counted on a profitable party for his daughter. In 1530, he tried to organize her marriage with the most enviable groom in the kingdom - Henry Howard , the eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk . But the size of the dowry Francis seemed to Norfolk meager, and he abandoned this union ^[16] .

Another candidate, Henry Gray , the heir to the Marquis of Dorset , was rich and descended from an ancient family , but in order to marry Francis, he first had to terminate his previous marriage agreement with Katherine Fitzalan. In 1533, with the permission of her uncle, Henry VIII, Francis married Gray, who by that time had inherited the title of Marquis of Dorset . The wedding took place at the Suffolk Place mansion in Southwark ^[16] . The couple led a rather active secular life and enjoyed the favorable disposition of Henry, and later his heir, Edward . In 1551, after the death of the stepbrothers of Lady Francis from sweating , the title of the Duke of Suffolk was granted to her husband ^[17] .

With the heirs, the situation was not so good. The first child, whose name was Henry, Lord Harington, died in infancy ^[18] , as did the daughter who followed, whose name remained unknown ^[19] . Then three more daughters were born: Jane (born 1537), Katerina (born 1540) and Mary (born 1545). Despite disappointment at the absence of male heirs, the Gray couple paid special attention to the education of their daughters, striving to fully develop both practical and intellectual knowledge, skills ^[20] . They were given to the education of the best mentors and, like the children of the king, received a brilliant education for those times, which included, in addition to traditional women's activities like sewing, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments, learning ancient languages, classical literature and art. Especially impressive success was achieved by the eldest daughter, Lady Jane ^[21] .

At the court of Henry VIII and Edward VI

As one of Henry VIII ’s “favorite nieces” ^[22] , Francis spent most of her time at the royal court, where she was a maid of honor under Henry’s last wife, Katharine Parr , with whom she was especially friendly ^[23] . From time to time, she brought with her the eldest daughter of Jane , so that she could gradually develop in society ^[24] . Thanks to the friendship of Frances with the queen, as well as the tradition of that time to continue the education of the most senior relatives in the family, Lady Jane was under the care of Katarina Parr, and now she had the opportunity to show her intellectual talents and also make close friends with Prince Edward ^[21] .

After the death of Henry VIII in January 1547, the nine-year-old Edward was proclaimed king, and now the daughters of Francis Gray have become even closer in line to the throne of England , letting forward only the daughters of Henry VIII ^[8] . Initially, the position of the Gray sisters at court favorably differed from the status of Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, who were still considered illegitimate ^[2] . Given this fact, Jane, Katerina and Maria were considered even more preferred heirs to the throne than the daughters of the king.

According to the will of Henry VIII, sixteen nobles were appointed regents of the kingdom until the age of Edward, but already at the first meeting of the Privy Council, his uncle, Eduard Seymour , who was granted the title of Duke of Somerset ^{[ 27]} . The current situation outraged his younger brother, Thomas Seymour , who himself hoped to get the post of guardian of the king, which would allow him to share power with the protector on an equal footing and strengthen his influence on Edward ^[28] .

Intending to attract Henry Gray to the allies in the struggle against Somerset ^[28] , Seymour suggested that the Gray spouses give him their older daughter to be raised. Visiting Edward, he noticed that he was very warm about Jane, and Seymour began to think about the project of their possible marriage ^[29] . He managed to convince Henry Gray to entrust him with custody of Jane with the further prospect of successfully marrying her to the king. Given the scandalous reputation of Seymour ^[3] , Francis was skeptical of this venture and even made several attempts to persuade her husband to leave Jane at home, but in the end she had to give up ^[31] .

But the unbalanced character, the frequent outbursts of uncontrolled anger and Seymour’s eccentricity deprived him of the trust of many influential people, and a strange trick with the murder of Edward’s dog made him suspect of an attempt on the king’s life ^{[to 4]} . Seymour was captured, stripped of all titles and titles and executed on March 20, 1549.

Spouses Gray managed to convince the Privy Council of their innocence in the intrigues of Thomas Seymour. An attempt to marry Edward VI to Jane failed, but Lady Francis was considering marrying the Protector Lord's family by marrying Jane as his son, Edward Seymour , 1st Earl of Hertford . But Somerset soon lost his power, and John Dudley , 1st Duke of Northumberland , took his place as Lord Protector. The Gray family hastened to testify to him their support and reverence, and some time later an engagement was organized for Lady Jane and Guildford , the youngest son of John Dudley ^[33] .

The wedding of Jane Gray and Guildford Dudley took place on May 21, 1553. John Dudley had ambitious plans for a young couple. The dying king was a staunch Protestant , while his half-sister Mary was an ardent Catholic . Her possible accession to the throne could put an end to the development and strengthening of the new religion in England . To prevent such a turn of events, a new Act of succession to the throne was proposed, removing the daughters of Henry VIII from the throne on the grounds that both of them had previously been declared illegitimate ^[34] .

Edward VI passed away on July 6, 1553, and already on July 10, Jane was proclaimed Queen of England . But Dudley's ambitious intentions to rule the country on behalf of Jane was not destined to materialize. On July 19, as a result of the coup, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Princess Maria , was elevated to the throne.

Dudley, Lady Jane and her husband Guildford , as well as Henry Gray, were arrested. John Dudley was charged with treason and executed on August 22. Henry Gray was soon released. Maria intended to forgive her cousin's husband, and after her coronation, she also planned to release Jane.

Shortly after entering the throne, the queen announced her desire to marry Philip II , the Spanish king. This news was one of the reasons that prompted Sir Thomas Wyatt Jr. to start an uprising against Mary on January 25, 1554. Henry Gray, hoping to return the crown of his daughter, joined the ranks of the rebels. The uprising was crushed in early February, the conspirators captured. Maria could not allow the idea that someone could dispute her rightful place on the throne of England, she was also afraid of a return to the Protestant religion, the representative of which was the “Nine-Day Queen”. The fate of Jane Gray was a foregone conclusion ^[35] .

On February 12, 1554, Lady Jane and Guildford Dudley were beheaded . A few days later, Henry Gray was executed on February 23 .

Queen Mary I Tudor , mindful of her former good relations, as well as the support provided by the Gray family to her mother, Catherine of Aragon , granted pardon to her disgraced relatives, and soon Lady Francis and her two youngest daughters - Katerina and Maria - again became welcome persons at the yard. They also attended Mary's wedding with King Philip of Spain . Lady Gray's daughters were appointed maids of honor , and the queen always showed them special favor.

Soon, among the members of the Privy Council, the idea arose to organize the marriage of Lady Francis with Edward Courtney, Earl of Devon , but this idea was not echoed by either side. Courtney eventually left England in May 1555, and Francis married her admission master Adrian Stokes . After the wedding, she rarely went to court, living in one of her estates with her husband and youngest daughter Maria ^[36] . In 1558, after the death of Mary and the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth , Francis and her daughters lost their high positions at court. Elizabeth allowed them to stay, but not as very close, but just simple maids of honor. The new Queen’s cool attitude to the Gray family was explained by the fact that they never recognized her mother, Anna Boleyn , as the legal wife of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth herself was considered a bastard, and in addition, Katerina and Maria remained among the legal heirs of the English throne and could be used with the goal of overthrowing Elizabeth.

Lady Francis Gray passed away on November 20 or 21 ^[37] 1559 at the age of 42 in the presence of both daughters and several close associates in her home in Richmond . She was buried on December 5 at Westminster Abbey according to the rank of member of the royal family. All burial expenses were incurred by Queen Elizabeth ^[38] . The funeral procession, led by Katerina Gray, went from Richmond to Westminster. The funeral service in English and Protestant rites was conducted by John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury ^[39] . Four years later, Adrian Stokes erected an alabaster tombstone on her grave, which has survived to this day. Effigia , representing Lady Francis, is dressed in an ermine ducal mantle, on her head is a crown, and in her hands is a prayer book ^[40] .

• “The ”, year of manufacture - 1936 , UK . The film tells the story of the fate of the eldest daughter of Francis Brandon - Lady Jane Gray . In the role of Francis - Martita Hunt ^[41] .
• " Lady Jane ", year of release - 1986 , UK. The plot is based on a romantic relationship between Lady Jane Gray and her husband, Guildford Dudley . The role of Jane was played by actress Helena Bonham-Carter . The role of Lady Francis was played by .
• Frances Brandon is a character in the historical novels by Alison Weir “The Throne and Scaffold of Lady Jane” (originally Innocent Traitor ) and Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower . In the first of them, the narration is partially conducted on her behalf, in the second she is mentioned occasionally.

• Lindsay, Karen. Divorced. Headless. Survivors. Wives of King Henry VIII / Per. from English T. Azarkovich. - M .: KRON-PRESS, 1996 .-- 336 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-232-00389-5 .
• Erickson, Carolly. Elizabeth I / Per. from English N.A. Anastasieva. - M .: AST, 2005 .-- 512 p. - (Historical Library). - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-016990-6 .
• Erickson, Carolly. Maria Bloody / Per. from English L.G. Mordukhovich. - M .: AST, 2008 .-- 637 p. - (Historical Library). - 2,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-004357-6 .
• Ives, Eric. Lady Jane Gray: A Tudor Mystery. - Wiley-Blackwell, 2009 .-- P. 392. - ISBN 978-1-4051-9413-6 .
• Lisle, Leanda de. The Sisters who would be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray. A Tudor Tragedy. - London: HarperCollins UK, 2009 .-- P. 352. - ISBN 978-0-00-721906-3 .
• Perry, Maria. Sisters of Henry VIII: The Tumultuous Lives of Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France. - London: Andre Deutsch, 2002. - P. 336. - ISBN 978-0-233-00208-8 .
• Strickland, Agnes. Lives of the Tudor princesses including Lady Jane Gray and her sisters. - London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1868. - P. 428.

• Frances Brandon: TudorPlace.com Archived on April 2, 2012.
• Frances Brandon: ThePeerage.com . Archived on April 1, 2012.