Hi my name's Jon and welcome to another edition of History Roadshow.
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a great rebellion that started in October 1536.
A well-organised group was armed and ready to fight in reaction to the King's religious policies.
It was now a north-south divide like no one had seen before and the most severe
threat to Henry's overall authority he had ever witnessed.
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Work began fast; Greenwich was turned into a workshop
where armourers would now be creating and fixing armour that had been stowed away.
But as time went by, Henry realised that his force was not large enough
to take the rebels down, Henry needed time, and instead of initial warfare,
Henry went with a more conciliatory note of caution.
He sent both Norfolk and Suffolk north with a small army.
All this confusion would once again mean the postponement of his Queen, Jane Seymour's coronation.
Henry was clever and wily like an old fox.
Most of the lords rallied for the crown at court, insisting that the rebels up north
were mainly demonstrators rather than fighters.
Henry told Norfolk to dangle a carrot in front of them, saying the Queen's coronation
would take place in York and that all of them were due a royal pardon.
It was, of course, nonsense and one in which Henry had no intention of carrying out.
Henry would await word while residing at Windsor.
Until this point, the King's
advisers had urged him to take things gently, not oppressing the rebels any more than necessary.
At Christmas, Henry offered a hand of friendship to one man, Robert Aske, he was one of the leaders
of this rebellion, reluctantly Robert accepted an invite to London to spend Christmas with the monarch.
You could say Henry was lulling him into a false sense of security.
Christmas time that year was the usual celebration,
the worries of rebels now placed on the back burner, at least for the foreseeable future.
The only bad news for the royal couple and the court was that Jane's father, Sir
John Seymour, had passed on 21 December at Wulfhall.
But to cheer everyone up on New Year's Day, both of the King's daughters had arrived at court.
Aske returned north, trying to convince his factions
that Henry was on their side and agreed with much of their beliefs.
However, distrust and anger continued,
and yet another disorderly demonstration broke out in Yorkshire.
Henry was now ready, the talking was over, and only one word Henry could think about
now was vengeance.
Henry imposed martial law across the rebel lands, and it was left to Norfolk and Suffolk
to head north once again.
It was now time when actions would speak louder than words.
Henry was raging, and the news he received only fuelled this more when he heard that Reginald Pole,
his cousin, had accepted a cardinal hat from the Pope.
Not just this, but Reginald had also published
a scathing attack on the King, condemning Henry as a heretic and adulterer.
The Pope had also heard enough of Henry and had appointed Reginald to coordinate
a European offensive
against the English King while he was still occupied with the ongoing rebellion.
This was Treason and uppermost in the King's mind; Cromwell had warned Henry
that Lady Salisbury and the Exeters alongside other conservative members were now against him.
A danger that, on the surface, looked credible.
By the end of January, Henry saw the light.
Well, it appeared that God was at last on his side!
When his wife Jane revealed, she was pregnant.
Her coronation was cancelled, but indefinitely this time, Henry wanted Jane
placed into care, away from any unwanted stress that could burden her pregnancy.
The Pilgrimage of Grace was over by spring, but not without bloodshed.
It ended with 200 rebels, including Robert Aske, executed.
For Henry, his power had never been more telling,
he grew in strength, and the people once again respected his decisions.
Henry rejoiced; things were looking up and showing his gratitude.
Henry restored belief in Norfolk and Suffolk and created 48 new knights.
The final part of his plan was to get Cranmer to publish a book entitled 'The Institution of
a Christian Man', also known as the Bishops Book, which marked a return to more orthodox beliefs.
Springtime was a new beginning, not just in nature but at the court.
Henry told Norfolk
he wanted to head up north and see for himself his subjects who had dared to rebel against him.
But he confided in Norfolk, saying, " to be frank with you, my physicians have told me
not to travel far in the heat due to my leg being so sore." Henry
was having a further recurrence of the septic wound on his leg, but the pain had now spread to both legs
and would undoubtedly confine his mobility along with increased weight gain.
He would suffer extreme pain, which was thought to only contribute to his short temper.
Yet Henry knew he could not be seen as a weak man.
Although incapacitated after such an active life, he was fully aware that losing his grasp of power
would ultimately end any hope of stabilising the Tudor reign.
His lack of movement now postponed many tours he would have naturally taken on as King.
He would be in his quarters
trying to hold together his plans with the reliance on others to do all the work.
Only one man could keep the King happy when the pain set in, and this was
his fool, Will Somers.
Spirits were always high when Will was around, and it's pretty remarkable
the friendship these two extraordinary men had with eachother.
they were like chalk and cheese but still maintained there bond.
But Henry's significant time away from court would start mutterings.
Lord Montague said, "He will die one day, suddenly.
His leg will kill him, and then we shall have some jolly stirrings!"
But Henry recovered enough to take Jane on one last progress visiting Canterbury en route.
They stopped and made offerings at Sir
Thomas Beckets shrine, a shrine that would be destroyed just one year later.
Henry wanted to renew his hopes of a male heir.
to help him believe, He had commissioned Holbein to paint a mural of the Tudor
dynasty to be created within the privy chamber at Whitehall Palace.
The image was said to be amazing, life-size figures of Henry VII
and Elizabeth of York standing on marble steps behind additional portraits of Henry VIII
and Jane Seymour.
Holbein set it around an antique setting with classical features such as pillars and friezes.
It was said the architecture in the image married with the decor then present within the chamber.
This painting was lost to fire in 1698; however, there are copies that Charles
II commissioned in 1667.
It has been suggested that when the mural
was first completed, visitors would stand in awe at the power of the image.
Henry stood feet apart, hands-on-hips gazing at everyone with steely authority.
It was the first English state portrait
and a tradition that would continue through to the modern day.
The Queen's pregnancy continued as usual, and Jane showed no abnormalities.
Jane would still be out and about, appearing at Hampton Court and St Pauls.
But by June, another outbreak of the plague would suffocate London.
The royals moved to Windsor; Henry was desperate to keep anyone from London approaching the castle.
And with hundreds of people dying every week, the situation was dire.
Henry went on a few hunting trips,
residing in houses that were in a short distance of Windsor, but his companions found him
him in good spirits, saying "he was behaving more like a good fellow than a king."
We wouldn't be able to talk about this time without involving Surrey who was being Surrey.
His escapades were diverting attention onto the only man he considered worth
talking about, himself!
In 1536 while visiting the lady Mary at Hunsdon,
Surrey had become infatuated with a young maid of honour.
Her name was Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald.
However, she was only ten years old!
And a penniless daughter of the late earl of Kildare.
Gossip would start, more so when Surrey had written a sonnet about the girl
entitled 'Fair Geraldine.' But there was even more laughter at court
when it found out
that while Surrey had been visiting Windsor, he had punched Lord Beauchamp in the face.
Apparently, Beauchamp had provoked the attack by suggesting Surrey was sympathetic to the rebels
and Robert Aske.
Thanks to Cromwell, the King relented as he usually did to Surrey's misdemeanours
by keeping him in confinement for just two weeks.
Henry, at the time, was more deeply concerned over the birth of his child,
and he wouldn't have to wait long.
He had moved to Esher to await news.
On 12 October 1537, Jane gave birth to a prince.
Upon Henry's return, he wept with joy, holding his son for the first time.
The country erupted in celebration.
A two thousand gun salute exploded from the tower.
Church bells rang throughout the land, and bonfires were lit.
Street parties, civic banquets and processions were the order of the day.
It was, without doubt, the most exciting and joyful news that had come to England
for many years.
The kingdom had an heir, the Tudor line of succession was secure.
And more assuringly, the possibility of civil war
which had threatened to destroy the kingdom had now retreated into the distant past.