Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden (25 April 1509[1] – October 1556), English poet, was the eldest son of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux and Anne Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green and Lady Joan Fogge.[2][3]
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In 1527 he accompanied Cardinal Wolsey on his embassy to France; he attended Henry VIII to Calais and Boulogne in 1532; in 1531 he took his seat in the House of Lords, and was made Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. He was Captain of Jersey until 1536.
Thomas' mother, Anne, was the older sister of Maud Green, Lady Parr, thus making her an aunt to Queen consort Katherine Parr. Thomas' father had been previously married to Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh, as her second husband. By her first marriage to Sir William Parr, Lady Elizabeth was the mother of Anne Parr, the mother of Thomas' wife, Elizabeth Cheney. Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh was also the mother to Sir Thomas Parr, thus making her the paternal grandmother of Queen Katherine.[3]
Sir Thomas married Elizabeth Cheney, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Cheney of Irtlingburgh and Anne Parr, daughter of Sir William Parr and Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh.[3] They had three children.
Thomas Vaux died in October 1556.
Sketches of Vaux and his wife by Holbein are at Windsor, and a finished portrait of Lady Vaux is at Hampton Court.
Two of his poems were included in the Songes and Sonettes of Surrey (Tottel's Miscellany, published in 1557 (see 1557 in poetry). They are "The assault of Cupid upon the fort where the lover's hart lay wounded, and how he was taken," and the "Dittye ... representinge the Image of Deathe," which the grave-digger in Shakespeare's Hamlet misquotes.
Thirteen pieces in the Paradise of Dainty Devices, published in 1576 (see 1576 in poetry)), are signed by him. These are reprinted in Alexander Grosart's Miscellanies of the Fuller Worthies Library (vol. iv, 1872).
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nicholas Vaux |
Baron Vaux of Harrowden | Succeeded by William Vaux |