| Arthur Plantagenet | |
|---|---|
| 1st Viscount Lisle | |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Grey Honor Grenville |
| Issue | |
| Frances Plantaganet Elizabeth Plantagenet Bridget Plantagenet |
|
| Father | Edward IV of England |
| Mother | Unknown |
| Born | Between 1461-1475 Calais |
| Died | 3rd March 1542 |
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England, and an important figure at the court of Henry VIII. The survival of a large collection of his letters make him in some ways one of the best-known people of his time.
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Arthur Plantagenet was born in Calais, then an English possession in France, between 1461 and 1475, and died at the Tower of London, where he is buried. The identity of his mother is uncertain; the most likely candidate appears to be the "wanton wench" Elizabeth Wayte, although the historical record is spotty on this issue, and it is not entirely clear that Wayte is distinct from another of Edward's mistresses, Dame Elizabeth Lucy.[1] Dame Lucy is another possible candidate, as is Jane Shore.[2] His godfather was William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel.
Arthur spent his childhood at the court of his father Edward IV. How he passed his youth after his father's death in 1483 is not known. In 1501 he joined the household of his half-sister, the queen consort Elizabeth of York, and moved to the household of Henry VII after her death in 1503. After the accession of his nephew Henry VIII (1509) he was formally designated an Esquire of the King's Bodyguard, and was a close companion of Henry's (despite the age difference).
In 1514 Arthur was appointed High Sheriff of Hampshire and made captain of the Vice-Admiral's ship Trinity Sovereign, rising to become Vice-Admiral of England. In 1519 he and his wife, Elizabeth Grey Baroness Lisle, took possession of the lands that had belonged to her father (her brother and niece having both died). In 1520, he attended his nephew, King Henry VIII, at the Field of Cloth of Gold. On 25 April 1523, Arthur was created Viscount Lisle. He was also to be selected Privy Councilor, Governor of Calais, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and named as deputy of Calais after the death of John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, on 16 March 1533.
In 1540 several members of the Plantagenet household in Calais were arrested on suspicion of treason, on the charge of plotting to betray the town to the French. Suspicion unavoidably fell upon Arthur as well, and he was recalled to England and eventually arrested on 19 May 1540.
The actual conspirators were executed, but there was no evidence connecting Arthur with the plot. Nevertheless he languished in the Tower of London for two years until the king decided to release him. However, upon receiving news that he was to be released Arthur suffered a heart attack and died two days later. The 18th-century historian Francis Sanford commented "Henry VIII's Mercy was as fatal as his Judgments".[3]
During his time at Calais, Arthur and his wife had to manage much of their affairs outside Calais by correspondence. Copies of 3,000 of these letters were seized as evidence after Arthur was arrested. They survive to the present day in the Public Record Office, and have become a valuable historical resource for a critical period in English history.
On 12 November 1511 Arthur married Elizabeth (c. 1482–1530), daughter of Edward Grey, Viscount Lisle. She was the widow of Edmund Dudley, treasurer to Henry VII, who had been executed in 1510 by Henry VIII.[4] The next day the king granted Arthur some of the Dudley estates which had come to the crown due to Edmund Dudley's attainder. Arthur and Elizabeth had three daughters Frances Plantagenet; Elizabeth Plantagenet; Bridget Plantagenet.[4]
Arthur's second marriage was in 1529 to Honor (1493–1566) the daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stowe in Kilkhampton, Cornwall and his wife Isabella Gilbert, and the widow of her first husband, Sir John Bassett. Arthur and Honor had no children, but he helped bring up her children, including Anne Bassett, an alleged mistress of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth Bassett, also known as Mary Bassett. Arthur died in 1542; Honor was buried at Logan, Cornwall, on 30 April 1566.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Thomas Cheney |
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1539–1542 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Seymour |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Viscount Lisle 1523–1542 |
Succeeded by Title extinct |