The painting below is now available as limited edition numbered print in the shop Henry and Jasper Tudor's Landing at Mill Bay, 7 August 1485 © Dmitry Yakhovsky Without encountering any obstacle at sea, the 28-year old penniless exile, Henry Tudor and his approximately 4000 followers had sailed from the port of Harfleur and safely arrived after a 6-day’s journey at Mill Bay, along the rocky Pembrokeshire coastline, on 7 August 1485.
Henry owed a lot to his cousin Charles VIII who had given his support to Henry’s enterprise by grants and loans. Henry also borrowed heavily from one of Charles’ main councillors, Philippe Lullier. Further loans were given by local French Merchants. As a guarantee for these loans Henry had given up his personal belongings but also had to leave behind John Bourchier and Thomas Grey, Marques of Dorset as a security for his repayments. Henry’s army, commanded by the young Phillibert de Chandee (who was likely a distant kinsman of Henry) consisted of mostly French and Breton men, who were provided by the French King Charles VIII, including the vise-admiral Guillaume de Casenove and the marshal of France Philippe de Crevecoeur. Additionally, four hundred English exiles, including his uncle Jasper Tudor, John de Vere, Earl of Oxford and some prominent Woodvilles, under the command of Richard Guildford and a thousand Scots, under the leadership of Alexander Bruce of Earlshall, were present on the flotilla of around thirty ships. Preparations had been going on for their arrival and amongst those waiting on the shore was Jasper’s half-brother and Henry’s uncle, the 26-year-old David Owen, the illegitimate son of Owen Tudor who had spent the first years of his life with Henry at Pembroke Castle. Henry’s mixed sense of relief and anxiety was obvious. He then ‘kissed the ground meekly, and reverently made the sign of the cross upon him’. Soon after their landing Henry also decided to knight eight of his foremost followers – his uncles David Owen and John, Lord Welles, Philibert de Chandée, James Blount, Edward Courtenay, John Cheyne, Edward Poynings and John Fort. Their first task was to climb up the steep sea cliff, followed by the decision to go the village of Dale and its castle and set up camp in the village. According to Henry’s biographer Bernard André, Henry, perhaps especially mindful of his French troops, reprimanded his men not to do anything to others, ‘either by word or by deed, which you not wish to have done to yourselves’. Rules of war were crucial if authority was to be maintained and order kept. Both Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford inspected the French troops in order to determine what gear and weaponry they were short of. It was probably, the constable of Pembroke, Richard Williams, who hastened 200 miles over 4 days to King Richard at Nottingham to bring him the news about their landing. Their ultimately successful Bosworth campaign had begun. Jacquetta of Luxembourg died at the age of around 56 when she died on 30 May 1472. She was the eldest daughter and second child of Peter I, Count of Saint-Pol and Margaret de Baux. Jacquetta had five brothers (Louise (who was beheaded in Paris in 1475 for treason against Louis XI), Thibaud, Jacques, Valeran and Jean) and two sisters (Catherine and Isabelle) Jacquetta married twice, first on 22 April 1433 to John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (younger brother of Henry V) The marriage was childless and the Duke died after only two years of marriage. Secondly she married to the former chamberlain of her late Husband, Richard Woodville, later Earl Rivers, at around 1437, without the King’s permission. Together they had 14 children, most importantly Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of Edward IV, Lewis Woodville, died in childhood, Anne Woodville, Anthony, 2nd Earl Rivers, John, Jacquetta, Lionel, Bishop of Salisbury, Eleanor, Margaret, Martha, Richard, 3rd Earl Rivers, Edward Woodville, Lord Scales, Mary, Countess of Pembroke, Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham and Bedford (through her marriages to Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford.  Janet McTeer as Jacquetta in The White Queen The Death of the Greatest Survivor of the Wars of the Roses - Jasper Tudor +21 December 149521/12/2016  Stained glass window of Jasper Tudor and his wife Katherine Woodville, Cardiff Castle As the year 1495 approached its end, so did the life of Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke. Jasper had made his last will on 15 December at his manor at Thornbury and died there six days later on 21 December. In his own bed he died as one of the greatest survivors of the Wars of the Roses at the age of about 64. Jasper’s body was embalmed and his entrails buried at nearby St. Mary’s Church. The church, which still stands today, must have been a frequent place of worship for the Duke while staying at Thornbury. In his will Jasper requests for his body to be buried 18 miles south of Thornbury ‘in a place convenient’ at the Abbey of Keynsham and for his tomb to be honourably made to suit ‘the estate it hath pleased God to call me to’.
Jasper was the son of Owen Tudor and dowager Queen Katherine de Valois (widow of Henry V), half-brother to Henry VI and uncle to Henry VII, to whom he devoted his life. Jasper’s steadfast loyalty towards his family and his tactics to survive against all odds were the main reason the Tudors were able to ensure the English throne. Jasper’s importance to his nephew was unmistakable by the presence of the King and his queen at his uncle’s funeral. His remains, however, were lost during the Dissolution of the Monastries under his great-nephew Henry VIII. If anyone would like to see the original will, just message me and I'd be happy to send a pdf. Read below for the transcript of Jasper's will in the original spelling:
In the name of god, Amen. I Jasper Duke of Bedford and Erle of Pembroke make my testament and last Will in this forme folowing furst I bequeath my soule to almightie god to our blessed lady the moder the virgine Mary and to all Saintes my body to be buried in the monasterie of our Lady of Keynesham in a place convenient Where I will that my Tombe be honorable made after thestate that it hath pleased god to call me to And therupon to be employed an hundred markis Item I will that certeyne my Lordshippis Maners landes and tenements with their appurtenances which I have in fee simple aswele in the Counties of Notingham Derby and Warwyk as in the Marche of Wales and ellis where the some of fourty pounds yerely of the same with licence and agreament of my soverayn lord the king to be amorteysed for the fyndyng of iiij preestis to syng perpetually in the saide church and Monastery aswele for my soule and for my faders soule as for the soules of the noble memorie Kateryne some tyme Quene of England my moder And of Edmund late Erle of Richemonde my brother and of all other my predecessours Item I will that in defaute hereof some or ij benefices of the value of xl or l poundes yerely above all charges of the patronage of my saide soverayn Lord of myne or of any other where the same may bee best obteyned by speciall labor and meanes of me or myne executours be impropried to thabbot and convent of the saide Monastery perpetually for the tyme being to thentente v or vj preestis shalbe founde daily to syng in the saide Monasterye aswele for my soule as the soules aforesaide Item I will that in defaulte of both the premisses and c li to be delyvered unto the saide Abbot and Convente by myne executours in redy money to thentente that ij preestis shalbe perpetually founde in the saide Monastery to syng daily for me And the soules above rehersed according to an offer made by the saide Abbot and Convent in that behalf And the suretie herof to be dyvysed by my counsell lernede. Item I bequeath to the saide monasterie my best gowne of cloth of gold for vestment to be made to the honor of God and his blessed moder Item I will that the day of my internment at Keynesham there be distributed amonge every poor man and woman that will take it ijd a pece and lykewise at my monethis mynde Item I bequeath to the monasterie of blessid sainte Kenelme of Winchecombe toward the bilding of the same xxli and my long gowne of crymesyn velvett to make a coope there to the honor of god and the sainte Item I bequeath to the church of Thornebury toward the reparation of the same xli Item I bequeath to the saide church a gowne of blak velvett My book Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty has already been a #1 Best Seller on Amazon UK for a week! Ofcourse this a dream come true for any author and I cannot say how grateful I am with this! I would like to thank all of you for buying and reading my book. A BIG thank you also goes to my Publisher Tim Ridgway at MadeGlobal Publishing for making this possible  I would also like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the followers of The Wars of the Roses Catalogue Facebook page. Because of a busy family life this page wasn't updated for months until recently, but nevertheless kept growing. Thank you all for your continuing support! The kindle version of Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty is on offer at Amazon.co.uk and until the end of February you are able to get a hold on it for only 99p! This offer has been arranged by Amazon and is only available for those in the UK.   Katherine Woodville, detail of a victorian stained glass depiction in Cardiff Castle Today, 18 May, we commemorate the death of Katherine Woodville, who died on this day in 1497.She was the wife of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke and Sir Richard Wingfield and was around 40 when she passed away. She was a sister to Queen Elizabeth Woodville and, out of, probably, 13 children, she was very likely the youngest daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers.  Queen Elizabeth Woodville, wife to Edward IV and sister to Katherine Katherine married three times, first when still a child, somewhere in 1465, to Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, with whom she had 5 children. The oldest, Edward, was born in 1478, who would succeed his father as Duke of Buckingham, followed by Elizabeth, Henry, Humphrey (who died young) and Anne. Eventhough fruitfull, according to Dominic Mancini, an observer of English affairs during this time, it was claimed to be an unhappy marriage. Mancini declared that Henry Stafford “had his own reasons for detesting the queen’s kin; for, when he was younger, he had been forced to wed the queen’s sister, whom he scorned to wed on account of her humble origin.” It's impossible to say whether or not this is true. What is also known is that Katherine followed her husband in the final stage of his life while fleeing for Richard III after his betrayal.  Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Katherine's oldest son who succeeded his father Katherine's life changed drastically in 1483 when, Buckingham being, along with Richard Duke of Gloucester, responsible for the death of Katherine's brother and nephew, Anthony Woodville and Richard Grey, changed side again when Gloucester had seized the crown as King Richard III and rebelled against the monarch he first had given all of his support. As a result Buckingham was executed on 2 November. Just-widowed Katherine found herself in a difficult situation, with four very young children.  Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, brother to Katherine, who was beheaded on 25 June 1483 by the orders of Richard Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) and Rivers' own brother-in-law Two years later, when Henry Tudor became King, Katherine's life once again changed when she was soon, on 7 November 1485, married to the King's uncle, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke. Jasper was aroung 20 years her senior but together they would spend a considerable amount of their ten years ahead of them together at their Manor at Thornbury and Sudeley Castle. Jasper and Katherine's marriage was a one of strategic benefits and whether they were happy together is unknown.It was rumoured that the couple had a still born son in 1490.  The entire stained glass image of Katherine and her 2nd husband Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke at Cardiff Castle On 15 December Katherine's husband, Jasper Tudor made his last will at their manor at Thornbury, mentioning his wife only briefly, nearly at the end of his will: ''I will that my lady my wife and all other persons have such dues as shall be thought to them appertaining by right law and conscience." Jasper died 6 days later, on 21 December 1495, being in his mid-60's.
This time Katherine decided to take faith in her own hands and quickly remaired again. Jasper's will and the fact that Katherine, who was now in her late 30's, very hastily remarried a man named Richard Wingfield, a young man twelve years her junior, without a royal license, which also indicates a not very passioned relationship to her former husband. She possibly even had an affair with young Wingfield before Jasper's death. King Henry VII fined the couple two thousand pounds for their presumption. Katherine would have probably known Richard Wingfield for some time; Wingfield’s mother was connected to Anthony Woodville’s second wife Mary and two of Richard’s brothers, and perhaps Richard himself, had served in Katherine’s household. Katherine's 3rd marriage wasn't, unlike her previous two marriages, of any strategic benefit for her and likely this final matrimony was one made for love.Unfortunately for Katherine she was unable to enjoy her marriage for very long. Barely one year after, she died of unknown cause. Her burialp lace also unknown. She did not have any surviving children from either Jasper Tudor or Richard Wingfield. Wingfield did remarry and had many children with his second wife Bridget Wiltshire. In his will in 1525 Wingfield requested masses to be said for Katherine’s soul. (This is a reised version of an earlier blogpost, taken from my earlier blo 'Debra's 15th and 16th Century Blog') If you are interested in reading a bit more about Katherine Woodville or Jasper Tudor, my book 'Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty' is now available worldwide in paperback or kindle. Click here to order it now!  MadeGlobal Publishing has just republished a revised version of my book Jasper Tudor: Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty and is it's now available as both a paperback and kindle edition. Revisions include editing, updates and larger, clearer images. The kindle edition has colour images for those with colour kindles. Click here to order the paperback version from Amazon uK
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