Epilogue Five - Arthur of Wales
“Margaret of Wales was a mother of four when her mother, Queen Kathryn died. Prince Arthur and Prince Alexander were twelve years of age, Princess Kathryn was six years of age, and Prince Henry was but four months.
The Royal Family had been residing in Ludlow Castle at the time of Queen Kathryn’s death and the crowning of Queen Margaret would greatly upset their lives. Princes Alexander and Henry and Princess Kathryn went from spending most mornings with their mother to seeing her once a week or so. For Prince Arthur there was an even greater distance.
For while Prince Alexander, Princess Kathryn, and Prince Henry would live at Iredale Palace, Prince Arthur, newly Prince of Wales, would be sent back down to Ludlow Castle.”
“By all accounts Arthur of Wales was initially lonely and bereft, as he wandered the castle he grew up in. The halls that once bustled with his family and their close retains now echoed. There was just him and his tutors.”
“…Mother always said mothers had no favorites, but truthfully none were as close as us two. We shared the oncoming specter of the thrown of England and the weight of a crown. It did not occur to us that it would not be a weight shouldered together. For it fell to her and I was left behind.
For many months after Mother’s crowning I found myself alone fearing the oncoming destiny. But it was thy sweet smile that broke the clouds and saw the sun shine through. Though I was but a boy and had naught a thought of the way of men and women I loved you from that very moment.
Perchance there will come a day where the weight of the mightiest land shall fall upon me, but while thy bewitching face is within my view I find I can disregard it awhile. Thou hast always been my most beautiful sunshine. While in your company I feel no weight or destiny, I am but a man.
Yours,
Arthur”
“Far from his parents—visits occurred only rarely—Arthur of Wales grew into a charming hedonistic young man. He quickly accumulated a collection of younger lords, gentlemen, and ladies that accompanied him on hunts, played him at tennis, starred in his masques, and participated in his jousts. [1]
Chief amongst this crowd—not from any rank of their own—was Sir Owain ap John Owen and his sister Mistress Alys ferch John Owen. For roughly eleven years, Alys ferch John Owen was the mistress of Arthur of Wales.
Alys ferch John Owen is purported to have been slight, with dark hair and eyes. Her beauty is somewhat debated. Letters from Arthur of Wales practically rave over her loveliness and splendor while the Swedish Ambassador would report, “she holds some wild charm but on the whole is plain as a milkmaid.” [2]
After the birth of their first child, Lady Anne FitzWales, Prince Arthur would be called to London by his parents to be restrained. But while in London he would meet and bed the Lady Maeve Stewart [3] and get her with child. They sent him back to Wales after that.”
[1] Jousting had slowly fallen out of fashion, but Prince Arthur enjoyed the sport and found no end of those willing to indulge him.
[2] Neither of these parties are particularly unbiased but it is from them that we get the most information.
[3] See page 324
“While the Lady Maeve was the King of Scotland’s sister, she would never accept the title of Princess of Scotland, would live mostly in Ireland, and had quite the reputation. Purportedly, King James VII would say, “I can rule Scotland, or I can control Maeve, but I cannot do both.”
Her daughter with Arthur of Wales, Kathryn MacArthur, was her second illegitimate child [1] and after Kathryn MacArthur’s birth, Lady Maeve and her two children were sent to the Scottish colonies in America which the Lady Maeve would govern for the next fifteen years. Out of sight out of mind.
The Lady Maeve is a fascinating character and really deserves more attention, but most of the craziness she got up to was in America and this is a European history book.”
[1] The first being Sir Murrough MacJohn. He was claimed by Prince John of Portugal, but no one knows how Prince John and Lady Maeve met. Most stories involve piracy in some manner, but it is all unsubstantiated.
The Royal Family had been residing in Ludlow Castle at the time of Queen Kathryn’s death and the crowning of Queen Margaret would greatly upset their lives. Princes Alexander and Henry and Princess Kathryn went from spending most mornings with their mother to seeing her once a week or so. For Prince Arthur there was an even greater distance.
For while Prince Alexander, Princess Kathryn, and Prince Henry would live at Iredale Palace, Prince Arthur, newly Prince of Wales, would be sent back down to Ludlow Castle.”
Rosa Kent, “Mother Margaret”
“By all accounts Arthur of Wales was initially lonely and bereft, as he wandered the castle he grew up in. The halls that once bustled with his family and their close retains now echoed. There was just him and his tutors.”
Jacob Price, “Arthur of Wales, Burning Bright and Burning Out”
“…Mother always said mothers had no favorites, but truthfully none were as close as us two. We shared the oncoming specter of the thrown of England and the weight of a crown. It did not occur to us that it would not be a weight shouldered together. For it fell to her and I was left behind.
For many months after Mother’s crowning I found myself alone fearing the oncoming destiny. But it was thy sweet smile that broke the clouds and saw the sun shine through. Though I was but a boy and had naught a thought of the way of men and women I loved you from that very moment.
Perchance there will come a day where the weight of the mightiest land shall fall upon me, but while thy bewitching face is within my view I find I can disregard it awhile. Thou hast always been my most beautiful sunshine. While in your company I feel no weight or destiny, I am but a man.
Yours,
Arthur”
Fragments of Letter 5 from Arthur of Wales to his mistress Alys ferch John Owen
“Far from his parents—visits occurred only rarely—Arthur of Wales grew into a charming hedonistic young man. He quickly accumulated a collection of younger lords, gentlemen, and ladies that accompanied him on hunts, played him at tennis, starred in his masques, and participated in his jousts. [1]
Chief amongst this crowd—not from any rank of their own—was Sir Owain ap John Owen and his sister Mistress Alys ferch John Owen. For roughly eleven years, Alys ferch John Owen was the mistress of Arthur of Wales.
Alys ferch John Owen is purported to have been slight, with dark hair and eyes. Her beauty is somewhat debated. Letters from Arthur of Wales practically rave over her loveliness and splendor while the Swedish Ambassador would report, “she holds some wild charm but on the whole is plain as a milkmaid.” [2]
After the birth of their first child, Lady Anne FitzWales, Prince Arthur would be called to London by his parents to be restrained. But while in London he would meet and bed the Lady Maeve Stewart [3] and get her with child. They sent him back to Wales after that.”
Matheo Henrikson, “The 1500’s Was A Crazy Century, and It Was Mostly the Tudors’ Fault”
[1] Jousting had slowly fallen out of fashion, but Prince Arthur enjoyed the sport and found no end of those willing to indulge him.
[2] Neither of these parties are particularly unbiased but it is from them that we get the most information.
[3] See page 324
“While the Lady Maeve was the King of Scotland’s sister, she would never accept the title of Princess of Scotland, would live mostly in Ireland, and had quite the reputation. Purportedly, King James VII would say, “I can rule Scotland, or I can control Maeve, but I cannot do both.”
Her daughter with Arthur of Wales, Kathryn MacArthur, was her second illegitimate child [1] and after Kathryn MacArthur’s birth, Lady Maeve and her two children were sent to the Scottish colonies in America which the Lady Maeve would govern for the next fifteen years. Out of sight out of mind.
The Lady Maeve is a fascinating character and really deserves more attention, but most of the craziness she got up to was in America and this is a European history book.”
Matheo Henrikson, “The 1500’s Was A Crazy Century, and It Was Mostly the Tudors’ Fault”, p. 324
[1] The first being Sir Murrough MacJohn. He was claimed by Prince John of Portugal, but no one knows how Prince John and Lady Maeve met. Most stories involve piracy in some manner, but it is all unsubstantiated.
