The Tudor Society
  • November 3 – A man said to be Henry VIII’s illegitimate son dies in the Tower

    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Perrot died at the Tower of London.

    Sir John Perrot, who was a privy councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, is a fascinating Tudor character. He survived being a Protestant and protecting ‘heretics’ in Mary I’s reign, and he was saved six times from serious punishment by Queen Elizabeth I’s intercession.

    Was this favour due to him being the queen’s half-brother? Some people think so.

    You can find out more about Perrot and the arguments for and against him being Henry VIII’s son, in this video:

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  • 22 July – The death of Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII’s illegitimate son

    1536 was an eventful year for Henry VIII! Just over two months after the fall of his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s only son, his illegitimate son by Elizabeth Blount, died on 22nd July 1536 at St James’s Palace. It was a huge blow for the king.

    In today’s “on this day” talk, I give details of Fitzroy’s illness, death and burial, and also just how much of a favourite he was with his father.

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  • 3 November 1592 – Death of Sir John Perrot, a son of Henry VIII?

    On this day in history, 3rd November 1592, Sir John Perrot, Privy Councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, died at the Tower of London from illness. He was buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower. He’d been tried for treason in April 1592 and later sentenced to death, but he died of natural causes.

    Philippa Jones (The Other Tudors) writes of how it was widely believed that he was actually the illegitimate son of Henry VIII by Mary Berkeley, who served Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, but others dispute this claim, saying that there is no evidence to support this.

    I did a Claire Chats video “Was Sir John Perrot Henry VIII’s son?” in which I look at Perrot’s life and the evidence regarding his parentage.

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  • Was Thomas Stukeley Henry VIII’s son?

    In today’s Claire Chats, I look at the life of Thomas Stukeley (Stucley), the claim that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII and what evidence there is to back up that claim.

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  • Ethelreda Malte – An Illegitimate child of Henry VIII?

    In today’s Claire Chats I discuss Ethelreda Malte, the theory that she was fathered by Henry VIII and the evidence used to back up the theory.

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  • Henry Fitzroy and Elizabeth Tailboys video

    In today’s Claire Chats I continue my series on those said to be illegitimate children with a look at Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, who Henry VIII did acknowledge as his son, and his half-sister (or maybe sister) Elizabeth Tailboys.

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  • Was Sir John Perrot Henry VIII’s son?

    In today’s Claire Chats video I start a series on the people who are rumoured to have been illegitimate children of Henry VIII. I’m starting with Sir John Perrot, looking at who he was, where the rumours come from and whether there’s any evidence to back them up.

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