The King is Dead Read online

  Palace of Westminster 90, 128, 140, 153, 161

  papal court at Blackfriars (1529) 26, 28

  Parr, Kateryn 11, 40, 43, 59, 69, 70, 83, 89, 98, 116, 117, 118, 133, 137, 139, 165

  Parr, Sir William, Earl of Essex, later Marquess of Northampton 89, 110, 143, 151, 204–5

  Paston, Sir Thomas 140

  Patrec (flautist or apothecary) 92, 140

  Paul, Dr Joanne (historian) 124

  Paulet, William, Lord St John, Great Master of the King’s Household and President of the Privy Council, later Earl of Wiltshire and Marquess of Winchester 86, 90, 139, 156, 203, 204

  Peckham, Sir Edmund 137, 163, 204

  Pembroke, Marquess of 89, 144

  Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland 144

  Petre, Sir William, one of the King’s two principal secretaries 44, 47, 89, 140, 204, 205

  Pilgrimage of Grace 38

  President of the Privy Council, see Paulet, William

  ‘priesthood of all believers’ 35

  Privy Chamber 22, 56, 58–9, 87, 90, 92, 140

  Privy Council 12–13, 39, 40, 49, 53, 54, 56, 70, 77, 85–7, 89, 90, 95, 116, 124, 140, 151, 156, 157, 203–5

  R

  Raynolde, Patrick, Henry VIII’s apothecary 92, 140

  regency council 11, 13, 30, 44, 68, 73, 75, 85, 87, 95, 98, 106, 117, 120–4, 133, 137, 142, 147, 156, 160, 165, 167, 203

  Rich, Sir Richard 55–6, 89, 143, 151, 154, 157, 204, 205

  Richard II 123

  Richard III, Richard 123

  Richmond, Duke of, see Fitzroy, Henry

  Rufforth, James 140

  Russell, Lord John, Lord Privy Seal, later Earl of Bedford 86, 87, 107, 139, 140, 144, 147–8, 158, 203, 204

  S

  Sadler, Sir Ralph 140, 204, 205

  Saint-Barbe, William 90, 140

  Scarisbrick, J.J. (historian) 28

  Seymour, Edward, Earl of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset, Lord Great Chamberlain of England 11, 13, 50, 67, 71, 86, 101, 107, 127, 128, 143, 147, 151, 154, 156–8, 203, 204

  Seymour, Jane 11, 29, 33, 38, 52, 168

  Seymour, Sir Thomas 13, 43, 89, 90, 95, 98, 137, 143, 144, 147, 151, 153, 204, 205

  Shaxton, Bishop Nicholas 59

  solifidianism 35

  Solway Moss, Battle of 120

  Somerset, Duke of, see Fitzroy, Henry

  Somerset, Duke of, see Seymour, Edward

  Southampton, Duke of, see Fitzwilliam, Sir William

  Southampton, Duke of, see Wriothesley, Sir Thomas

  Southwell, Sir Richard 78, 81, 89, 167, 204

  Speke, Sir Thomas 140

  St Etienne, Battle of 49–50, 76

  St Germain, Christopher 124

  St John, Lord, see Paulet, William

  Stanhope, Anne, Countess of Hertford 56

  Starkey, Dr David (historian) 11, 13, 94–5, 207

  Starkey, Thomas 124

  Sternhold, Thomas 140, 142

  Succession Act (1536) 29

  Succession Act (1544) 30

  Suffolk, Countess of, see Willoughby, Catherine

  Suffolk, Duke of, see Brandon, Charles

  Supreme Head of the Church of England 19, 28, 64, 71, 101, 108, 165

  Surrey, Earl of, see Howard, Henry

  Sussex, Countess, see Calthorpe, Anne

  T

  Ten Articles (1536) 36, 101, 103, 111

  Thirlby, Thomas, Bishop of Westminster 89, 205

  Tower of London 29, 39, 40, 55, 56, 76, 78, 133, 153

  Treasurer of Calais, see Wotton, Sir Edward

  Treasurer of the Household, see Cheney, Sir Thomas

  Trinity College, Cambridge 143

  Tudor, Lady Eleanor 120

  Tudor, Lady Margaret, Queen of Scots, sister of Henry VII 117, 124, 158, 161, 165

  Tunstal, Cuthbert, Bishop of Durham 86, 98, 123, 161, 203, 205

  V

  Van der Delft, François 12, 22, 52, 76–7, 83, 147, 153

  Vice-Chamberlain, see Wingfield, Anthony

  Vincent, David 90, 140

  W

  Wars of the Roses 113

  Warwick, Earl of, see Dudley, John Viscount Lisle

  Wendy, Thomas (royal doctor) 62, 92, 140

  Westminster, Palace of, see Palace of Westminster

  will and testament, Henry VIII’s

  bequests 137–41

  comparison to previous monarchs 30

  claims of falsification 93–5

  different versions 83–5

  Edward VI’s minority 120–4, 157–61

  Henry’s faith 106–111

  Henry’s signature 92–3, 97

  legal importance of 25

  regency council 70–6, 85–90

  revisions 68, 81

  signatories 90

  ‘unfulfilled gifts’ 142–7

  Willoughby, Catherine, dowager Duchess of Suffolk 56

  Wiltshire, Earl of, see Paulet, William

  Winchester, Bishop of, see Gardiner, Stephen

  Wingfield, Sir Anthony, Vice-Chamberlain 204, 205

  Woodville, Elizabeth 117

  Wotton, Dr Nicholas, Dean of Canterbury and York 86, 87, 133, 134, 139, 203, 205

  Wotton, Sir Edward, Treasurer of Calais 87, 134, 139, 203

  Wriothesley, Sir Thomas, Lord Chancellor of England, later Earl of Southampton 13, 40, 53, 55, 56, 58–9, 63, 64, 70, 73, 76, 77, 85, 86, 110, 133, 139, 143, 144, 147, 151, 153, 154, 166, 167, 203

  Wyatt, Sir Thomas 58

  Y

  York, Archbishop of 71

  About The King is Dead

  On 28 January 1547, the sickly and obese King Henry VIII died at Whitehall. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped and sealed. The will confirmed the royal line of succession as Edward, Mary and Elizabeth; and, following them, the Grey and Suffolk families. It also listed bequests to the king’s most trusted councillors and servants.

  Henry’s will is one of the most intriguing – and contested – documents in British history. Historians have disagreed over its intended meaning, its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation. In The King is Dead, Suzannah Lipscomb not only explores the background to the drafting of the will and the last days of the dying king, but also offers her own illuminating interpretation of a key constitutional document of the Tudor period.

  Generously illustrated with portraits of Henry’s courtiers, including the executors named by the king in his will, this is a Tudor gift book to cherish, as authoritative as it is beautiful.

  Reviews

  ‘A gripping, forceful and forensically detailed investigation into the most controversial document of Henry VIII’s reign.’

  Jessie Childs, author of God’s Traitors

  ‘A bold and original attempt to unravel one of the great mysteries of English history: how, when and why Henry VIII changes from a handsome Prince Charming into a fat and loathsome Bluebeard.’

  David Starkey on 1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII

  ‘A genuinely useful and discriminating guide... it helps us see the world as the Tudors must have seen it.’

  Hilary Mantel on A Visitor’s Guide to Tudor England

  About Suzannah Lipscomb

  SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB is an historian and broadcaster. She is Head of the Faculty of History and Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the New College of the Humanities. She is the author of 1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII, and A Visitor’s Companion to Tudor England.

  Follow her on Twitter: @sixteenthCgirl

  Visit her website: suzannahlipscomb.com/

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  The story starts here.

  First published in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd

  Copyright @ Suzannah Lipscomb 2015

  The moral right of Suzannah Lipscomb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN (HB) 9781784081928

  ISBN (E) 9781784081911

  On the title page: Henry VIII, painted c.1537 by Hans Holbein the Younger.

  Author photograph: Nicholas Dawkes

  Jacket design: Leo Nickolls

  See p. 234 for picture credits

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