Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset

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Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset (1519- 7 December 1557), formerly Lady Mary Howard, was an English duchess of the Tudor period.

[edit] Biography

She was the second daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and wife of Henry Fitzroy the Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Mary was a member of the ambitious Howard Family who struggled to supplant their lineage further into the nobility. At the time of her birth, her father was the second most important noble in the kingdom; her maternal grandfather was the highest noble. After her grandfather's execution in 1521, her father was the only duke. This changed in 1525, when the King elevated his six year-old illegitimate son by Bessie Blount, Henry Fitzroy to the double dukedom of Richmond and Somerset. Aged fourteen or fifteen, Mary was married to Henry Fitzroy,in November 1533. Their union was not to last as her husband died four years later of consumption. Mary was not allowed to keep many of the lands which would normally have been her entitlement, because the King insisted that as the marriage had not been consummated, it was not a true marriage. She remained at court, closely associated with the King's niece, Margaret Douglas the future Countess of Lennox and Mary Shelton, a mistress of Henry VIII's. When Catherine Howard fell from grace Mary and her entire family were arrested and briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London. Following her release, Mary never married again and her presence at court dwindled not long after the King died. Mary, knowing how merciless her family was about power, and perhaps not wanting to be involved in another scandal, possibly chose to stay out of their plans in order to live a quiet life. She died in late 1557.

[edit] Fictional Portrayals

Though Mary has not been portrayed in any film or television program thus far, she has appeared in many books of noted historical fiction most notably The Sixth Wife in which she is a rival of Catherine Parr, and is used by her brother the Earl of Surrey to try and become a "seventh wife" of the King despite her protests. As in history's account, her character mainly falls into the background toward the end of the novel after the King has died.

[edit] External links

• A portrait of Mary Howard titled "Lady of Richmond" was sketched by Hans Holbein