New Years, 1516
“Happy New Years, Ned,” Anthony Browne presented Edmund with his gift, which was a bow used by Turkish archers on horseback.
“Thank you, Browne.” Edmund eagerly accepted the exotic bow. “What a great gift. I shall use it well.”
“Happy New Years, Ned.” Edward North stepped forward and gave his gift, which was a jewel-studded dagger from the lands of Persia. Edward’s stepfather was Sir Ralph Warren, as his birthfather Roger North died seven years prior, but both were merchants with wide connections, and they were afforded the occasional luxuries that could not be found anywhere within Europe.
“Beautiful.” Edmund marveled. “Tell Sir Ralph that he is welcome to dine at court and I shall have the pleasure to host him.”
“He will like that very much, Ned.” Even though Edward North was five years younger than Edmund and both of his father figures were essentially “new men,” he liked Edward and thought of him as the younger brother that he wanted.
“Happy New Years, Ned.” John Gates came forward and brought him a ring. “My father got that as part of the spoils of war in Munster and thought that you would like it.”
John’s father, Sir Geoffrey Gates, came from a more acceptable background to court, as they hailed from Essex gentry. Sir Geoffrey was granted the honor of being a knight banneret and currently commanded a company of one hundred Essex men in the County Clare within Munster, where he was also given a grant of three hundred acres by Henry himself for bravery.
Edmund smiled as he put the ring on his fifth finger on his right hand. “Tell your father that I said thanks and that I shall wear this ring as a reminder of my friend’s father’s bravery.” John was the same age as Edward and like him, Edmund treated John like a little brother.
Last was Anthony Denny, who Edmund welcomed as part of his circle of friends. Anthony Denny was near the same age as himself and Anthony Browne. As both of them shared the same name, the both of them agreed to call each other by their last names. Denny’s father was a Baron of the Exchequer, which was not a glamorous position within the legal profession, but he did live well enough to be at court.
“Happy New Years, Ned.” Denny gave Edmund a bracelet made of gold. “My father recently solved a matter to everyone’s satisfaction and one of them gave them this as a sign of his thanks. As we cannot keep gold in the house in case someone tries to steal it, what better person than a prince?”
That was one of the reasons why Edmund decided to befriend him. Browne, John, and Edward were pleasant company enough, but Denny was very honest and not afraid to show his true feelings. In a court of sycophants, Edmund found that refreshing, and he needed more friends like him.
“Well, Denny, I shall keep it safe then.” Edmund put on the bracelet.
“What do you think, Ned, now that you are about to be married?” Browne asked.
“I do not know, honestly.”
“From what I heard, this French lady is rich and quite beautiful,” Edward added.
“I have seen the portrait, but I am not due to marry for two more years. By then, I will have reached eighteen years and she will be nineteen.”
“Why do they delay the marriage?” Denny inquired.
“She is… using this time to sort out her inheritance with French authorities and her sister Anne, who is married to the Scottish Duke of Albany.”
“Is that a fact?” John was surprised. Even though he was still a boy, he had some familiarity with international politics.
“Yes. Who would have thought that my brother-in-law was the highest peer of the lands north of here?” Edmund noted dryly.
“It might not be that bad. We have peace with the Scots and having the Duke of Albany as your blood can help keep it should there be tension,” Browne stated.
“I am not so sure about that. The Scots can be quite tricky to deal with at times.” Edmund had read the letters sent by his sister in Scotland regarding the Scottish court.
“If I remember correctly, the Duke of Albany does not have children with your betrothed’s sister.”
Edmund looked at Denny curiously. “How did you know that?”
“You are my friend, Ned, and I decided to look around regarding your new wife’s family. The Duke of Albany does not have children and it has been over ten years since their marriage, meaning that should she die and the Duke of Albany dies, all of her titles will go to your new French lady and therefore to you.”
Now that Edmund had thought about it, the lands that came with Anne’s dowry to the Duke of Albany would be a nice addition to the wealth awaiting him already. “Whatever the instance, Denny, I am not going to wish ill on the Duke no matter what I will gain and my personal feelings towards him.”
“You have not met him, but I understand,” Denny nodded.
“Will we be invited to your wedding?” Edward asked.
“Of course, Eddy.” Edmund grinned. “All of you will. I will make sure to have you seated as close to my family as possible.”
Just then, the doors of his apartments opened and in came Henry, Eleanor, and his baby nephew, along with his own friends Charles Brandon, Thomas Knivet, and William Compton. Immediately, Edward North, John Gates, Anthony Browne, and Anthony Denny bowed deeply to the king and queen while Brandon, Knivert, and Compton snickered at the boys. Eleanor shot them a look and they all stopped instantly.
“Looks like Ned here is enjoying New Years.” Henry hugged his brother tightly. “Thank you for the gift, brother.”
“Of course, Your Grace.” Edmund had given him a watch made by a German craftsman named Peter Henlein in the city of Nuremberg and he commissioned the watch to be made out of gold.
“And I very much loved my watch, Ned.” Eleanor waved hers around in front of the others.
Edmund eyed baby Edward. “How is my nephew, my queen?”
“Very strong and spirited, like his father. Would you like to hold him?” After seeing Edmund nod eagerly, she carefully handed the Duke of Cornwall into his arms.
Edmund could see that he had inherited the red hair and fierce eyes that so defined the Tudors. Red cheeked, the baby was moving around with his arms and legs, and Edmund did not notice his friends gathering around and looking upon the future king of England with awe. After taking in his nephew, he handed the baby back to Eleanor.
“So, how is our Prince Edmund dealing with the news that he is about to be married?” Charles Brandon asked.
Edmund tolerated him because Henry liked him, but he found him insufferable at certain points. “Certainly as well as I can hope, Sir Charles. Are you ready to marry Lady Lisle soon?”
Charles Brandon was betrothed to Elizabeth Grey, Viscountess Lisle, who was a well-connected noblewoman with ties to families such as the Talbots. He could see the sense in the match, for Henry wanted to enrich his friend.
“Ah, he is not just going to Lord Lisle soon. I have made him the Duke of Suffolk as a New Years’ gift,” Henry revealed.
“Suffolk?” Edmund was surprised. The last person to hold that title was a de la Pole and while Charles Brandon’s father had held their father’s banner at Bosworth, a dukedom was very unexpected for someone who came from low-ranking gentry.
“Is there a problem, Ned?” Henry asked.
“No, no, my king,” Edmund denied. “Giving titles to whom you choose is within your rights, but a dukedom is very unexpected.”
“He is my friend, Ned. I will make him comfortable and exalted just like good Sir Thomas and Sir William here. I would expect nothing less for you to honor your own friends.” Edmund had to admit that. “We are about to play tennis, all of us. Do you want to join?”
“Absolutely.” Edmund loved royal tennis and was eager to play whenever he came to Hampton Court. “Your Grace, can my friends play also?”
“Only Anthony Browne and Anthony Denny. The other two are too young to play right now, but they can watch,” Henry consented.
Not that it mattered much to Edmund, for he was going to have Edward and John collect wagers from the courtiers while both Browne and Denny prepared themselves for a tennis match with the king.
As Hampton Court watched the Tudor brothers play against each other with their partners, the Scottish ambassador to the English court observed how richly the English courtiers indulged themselves. While he did partake in the pleasures offered in London, he took more pleasure in activities that engaged his mind like writing letters and translating books from Latin to Scots.
“What is the news from Edinburgh, my lord Douglas?” He was surprised that the French ambassador approached him, even though their countries enjoyed traditionally close links.
“I am not a lord, monsieur,” Sir William Douglas of Glenbervie answered in French. “Even though my father was the 5th Earl of Angus. But to answer your question, King James IV has high hopes for the match between his brother-in-law and Lady Madeleine.”
“Indeed. What better way to ensure that peace is maintained between our three great nations than marriage?” the French ambassador also spoke in his native tongue.
Sir William Douglas was the second son of the head of the “Red Douglas” family, who replaced the “Black Douglases” after their rebellion against James II of Scotland, the current king’s grandfather. He accepted the post in London because he needed to get away from the Scottish court for a time, but he found that the Tudors were something to be very much concerned about.
“I am not sure about peace, not after I read the reports of what is happening in Ireland,” Sir William said.
“Men acting like beasts against one another. Nothing new,” the French ambassador remarked.
“But you did not come from this culture, monsieur. We Scots have close ties with our Irish brethren, and we are very much disturbed at what the English are doing.”
“But it is not really your concern, is it? After all, the King of England is also the Lord of Ireland by papal decree,” the French ambassador reminded him.
Sir William was not blind as to why the Tudor brothers were conducting a general subjugation of the entirety of Ireland. “I am just worried that once they taste success in Ireland, who knows if that will be enough to sate their lust for battle? For conquest?”
The French ambassador crooked his head at him. “Conquest?”
“Come now, monsieur. King Henry still calls him King of France and he has stated in public that he looks up to those like Edward III and Henry V, the very one who crushed your people at Agincourt.”
“I know my history, Sir William. What is your point?”
“My point is that once the Tudor brothers succeed in Ireland, do you think that they will stop there? Do you think that they will not pursue grander ambitions such as a war with our countries?”
The French ambassador swallowed. “That is certainly a possibility, but not one my king will concern himself with for now. As of this point, all he sees are English arms aimed at Irishmen and not at Frenchmen. As long as they do not point in our direction, we will not concern ourselves with who they choose to fight.”
Sir William fought back a scoff. He might have had his doubts on Scotland’s peace with England, but he increasingly found the French more unreliable with each decade that they swore to protect Scotland from England’s grasps. It made him wonder. Is our alliance with France even worth it now?
Tudor New Years is around March and for those who are not aware of Tudor pastimes, Henry VIII was an avid tennis player (not the type we are familiar with). Charles Brandon's betrothal with the Viscountess Lisle will go through, but Mary Tudor is out of his reach. And Sir William Douglas' father was the 5th Earl of Angus.
