On the 22nd of August 1545, the death of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, marked the end of a forty-year friendship that had defined the early reign of Henry VIII. The King, who had already lost his two sisters, found himself stripped of the only living link to his childhood. At a Privy Council meeting, Henry VIII wept openly, declaring that throughout their long association, Brandon had never attempted to hurt an adversary nor spoken a word to injure anyone. This rare moment of vulnerability from a monarch known for his ruthlessness underscored the unique bond between the two men. Brandon was not merely a courtier; he was the shadow that allowed Henry to step into the light, a man who had been Henry's standard-bearer's son and grew to become his closest confidant. Born in 1484, Brandon was the second but only surviving son of Sir William Brandon, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Raised at the court of Henry VII, Brandon became a role model for the young prince, especially after the death of Prince Arthur. He was described by the antiquarian Dugdale as a person comely of stature, high of courage, and with a disposition perfectly conforming to King Henry VIII. This early connection set the stage for a career that would see him rise from a jouster to the highest ranks of the English nobility, all while navigating the treacherous waters of Tudor politics.
A Secret Union
The marriage of Charles Brandon to Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII, was an act of treason that nearly cost him his life. In 1515, after the death of Mary's first husband, King Louis XII of France, Brandon was sent to France to negotiate with the new king, Francis I. Love had existed between Mary and Brandon before her marriage to Louis, and upon her return to England, they defied the King's explicit command not to propose to her. They wed in secret at the Hotel de Clugny on the 3rd of March 1515, in the presence of just ten people, including Francis I. The truth was that Henry VIII was anxious to obtain from Francis the gold plate and jewels that had been given or promised to Mary by Louis XII, as well as reimbursement of the expenses of her marriage. Henry practically made his acceptance of Brandon's suit dependent on Brandon obtaining these assets. When the marriage was discovered, the King was outraged, and the privy council urged that Brandon should be imprisoned or executed. He was only saved from the King's anger by the intervention of Thomas Wolsey, who smoothed things over, and from the affection that the King had for both his sister and for him. The couple got off relatively lightly, charged only with a heavy fine of £24,000 to be paid to the King in yearly instalments of £1000, as well as the whole of Mary's dowry from Louis XII of £200,000, together with her plate and jewels. Nonetheless, Henry later reduced the fine, and the couple were then openly married at Greenwich Hall on the 13th of May 1515 in the presence of the King and his courtiers.