Moving The Court
Henry moved the court to Winchester for the birth of his unborn child, no doubt taking a huge gamble that the baby was in fact a boy. It was there that the first Tudor Prince of Wales, Arthur, was born. His christening took place at Winchester Cathedral, his godfathers were Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford who was late for the ceremony. Elizabeth Woodville, his maternal grandmother, was his godmother and carried him during the ceremony. He was made a Knight of the Bath at his christening. It is not known if Arthur was a robust child when born. In Arthur's Church History it says: ". . . yet vital and vigorous", while Francis Bacon describes him as, "Born in the eighth month, as the physicians do prejudge," yet "strong and able". Some historians suggest that his death resulted from a lifelong weakness, but others disagree. Philipa Jones has pointed out that there was never any discussion of Arthur being ill or weak during his lifetime. She argues that Arthur was betrothed to Catherine of Aragon from the age of two: if he had been weak and sickly it would have been reported to Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, Catherine's parents.
| English Royalty |
|---|
| House of Tudor |
Royal Coat of Arms |
| Henry VII |
| Arthur, Prince of Wales |
| Margaret, Queen of Scots |
| Henry VIII |
| Mary, Queen of France |
Arthur's earliest surviving portrait, painted in his early or pre-teens, shows him with red Tudor hair, small eyes, and a high-bridged nose.
Read more about this topic: Arthur, Prince Of Wales
Famous quotes containing the words moving and/or court:
“What have we achieved in mowing down mountain ranges, harnessing the energy of mighty rivers, or moving whole populations about like chess pieces, if we ourselves remain the same restless, miserable, frustrated creatures we were before? To call such activity progress is utter delusion. We may succeed in altering the face of the earth until it is unrecognizable even to the Creator, but if we are unaffected wherein lies the meaning?”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“Rome, like Washington, is small enough, quiet enough, for strong personal intimacies; Rome, like Washington, has its democratic court and its entourage of diplomatic circle; Rome, like Washington, gives you plenty of time and plenty of sunlight. In New York we have annihilated both.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)