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Henry VIII's wills: a comment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

R. A. Houlbrooke
Affiliation:
University of Reading

Abstract

Professor Ives has demonstrated the weakness of some of the grounds for thinking that Henry VIII's will was tampered with after 30 December 1546. But he has not mentioned Paget's later testimony suggesting that the ‘unfulfilled gifts clause’ was inserted in the will after 12 January 1547. Even if it was part of the will by 30 December, the gifts implemented by its authority resulted from later skilful and ruthless manipulation of the king. Henry's ‘unwritten will’ greatly strengthened Edward Seymour and his allies and gave William Paget, who was largely responsible for its final shape, the means of buying off potential objectors to Seymour's elevation to the protectorship.

Type
Debate
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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References

1 Ives, E. W., ‘Henry VIII's will – a forensic conundrum’, Historical Journal, XXXV, 4 (1992), 779804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 Miller, H., ‘Henry VIII's unwritten will: grants of lands and honours in 1547’, in Wealth and power in Tudor England, ed. Ives, E. W. et al. (London, 1978), pp. 87105.Google Scholar

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10 Van der Delft to Charles V, 12 Feb. 1547; Calendar of state papers Spanish 1547–49 [hereafter CSPS], p. 31. See comment in Scarisbrick, , Henry VIII, pp. 494–5Google Scholar. But APC, 1547–9, p. 14, recording the proceedings which van der Delft described, show that the ambassador was almost certainly mistaken. The letters patent there specified had been issued in Edward's, not Henry's, name.

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13 Starkey, , Reign of Henry VIII, p. 160Google Scholar. Paget later assured van der Delft that Henry ‘three or four days before his death insisted upon having him (Paget) with him alone, they passing entire nights in conversation together’: van der Delft to Charles V, 12 Feb. 1547: CSPS, 1547–9, p. 30.

14 Cf. Ives, , ‘Henry VIII's will’, pp. 788–9Google Scholar, commenting on CSPS, 1547–9, pp. 340–1; see also Ibid. n. 45.

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17 APC, 1547–50, p. 19.

18 Ibid. pp. 16–19.

19 Miller, , ‘Henry VIII's unwritten will’, p. 91Google Scholar, discussing draft list of grants in Public Record Office, SP 10/1/11.

20 Ives, , ‘Henry VIII's will’, p. 802Google Scholar, perhaps makes these promotions seem more deliberate and carefully planned than they really were.

21 British Library, Add. MS 48126, fos. 6–7. Compare the account in Add. MS 48023, fo. 350 (Dr G. Bernard kindly gave me a copy of his transcript of this latter document).

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28 APC, 1547–50, pp. 5–7.

29 Ives, , ‘Henry VIII's will’, p. 801.Google Scholar

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