Henry, Duke of Cornwall

Henry Tudor, Duke of Cornwall ( born January 1, 1511 Palace of Richmond, † February 22, 1511 ibid ) was the eldest son of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and thus during his lifetime, Crown Prince of England.

The so-called "New Year Prince" already died at the age of only 52 days. However, his death had even decades later unusual and far-reaching consequences for the political developments in England. Since his father had no other surviving male heir to Catherine of Aragon, he finally petitioned the Pope for a marriage annulment. When this was refused, the King, the Church of England from the ecclesiastical authority of Rome and the Pope said, going on in the 1530s and had to cancel his marriage instead of the English clergy. In the long term, this cleavage of Rome directly paved the way for the spread of the Reformation in England, and the emergence of the Anglican Church.

Birth and death

Henry Tudor was born on New Year's morning in 1511, a half -hour after midnight. It was after almost two years of marriage and the premature birth of a daughter in 1510, the first surviving child of the British royal couple and received by his birth the traditional title of Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall. In London Thank processions of the clergy were held, the bells were rung, bonfires kindled and poured wine in the streets. In the Tower they were firing salutes from out of the cannon, as was the custom at the birth of an heir apparent.

Four days later, on January 5, Prince Henry was baptized in the church of the Friars Observant decorated in Richmond. To the church led a specially behangener with carpets 24 feet wide processional. His godparents were King Louis XII. of France, William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archduchess Margaret of Austria, the King and the Archduchess were not present and were represented.

For the Prince after an own royal household was in Richmond furnished, with Elizabeth Denton, which had already assumed this role for his father as head (Lady Governess ) and Elizabeth Poyntz as a nurse. In addition there were a doctor, four women who rocked his cradle, Bodyguard and countless other servants to do so. King Henry went between 11 and 31 January to thanks on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Walsingham and organized a tournament in honor of the Prince. It was the third most expensive event of his reign, after the funeral of Henry VII and the Camp du Drap d'Or. Contemporaries described it as the most extravagant and most theatrical tournament, which had been seen in England until then. It included car trains with all woods and castles, banquets and joust.

Ten days after the ceremony at Westminster died the Prince. The causes of his death are not known. He was buried on February 27, 1511 in Westminster Abbey.

Historical Significance

The main motivation for the annulment of the marriage was that the King had no surviving legitimate sons. The infant mortality rate at that time was even under high nobility, the royal couple was able to make in 1511 at the age of only 19 and 25 years but still realistic hope to other children. Despite at least five other pregnancies, the Queen, however, brought no more living son to the world, only the daughter, Mary, survived. Therefore, the king began to cherish in the 1520s doubts about the legality of his marriage. Since Catherine had previously been married to Henry's older brother Arthur, seemed to him the biblical phrase " If someone takes his brother's wife, it is an unclean act: they shall be without children " ( Leviticus 20:21 ) to apply, mainly because the king was convinced that had to be read as ' without children ' without children '.

To annul the marriage to the usual legal way by the pope, after seven years of fruitless efforts, the king finally solved in 1533 with the Act of Appeals the English Church from the authority of Rome and going on the marriage was annulled by an English Church Court. A year later, he agreed with the Act of Supremacy to the head of the Church of England, which the Anglican state church was created.

It was not until 26 years after the death of Prince Henry, two other women and the momentous break with Rome, Henry VIII was born with Prince Edward again a legitimate son.