was king henry VIII's son named edward or fitzroy?

Question

in one book i read it said that henry's only son was fitzroy and he was mothered by a mistress
and was illigitamate.and in another book it said
that his only son was named edward VI and his mother was queen jane who died shortly after
his birth just years before henry died.and jane was the reason queen anne was beheaded.and that made princess elizabeth illigitamate.
if anyone knows a good book about the tuders
of england it would really help.plz and thx

Answer 1

To get you started, here is a little bit about Henry Fitzroy, apparently the only illegitimate son that Henry VIII acknowledged fathering.

Edward was the only legitimate son of Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn met her end more because she was unable to bear a male son for Henry, who desperately wanted a son as heir to the throne, and less because Henry had his eye on a replacement for her.

I don't have a good Tudor reference to offer, although I am sure there are many.

Answer 2

Henry's son Fitzroy was his illegitimate son (by one of his mistresses Bessy Blount) and therefore could not succeed to the throne. His son with Queen Jane was named Edward. Henry's marriage to Anne Boelyn (who came before Jane and who was Elizabeth's mother) was well on the rocks by the time he was involved with Jane.It is said that Anne walked in on Henry, and Jane was sitting on his lap and that caused her to miscarry the son she was pregnant with (after Elizabeth). When that happened, her fate was sealed. Henry figured that Anne was cursed like Katherine (his first wife) had been, that she was a witch (she had an extra small finger on one of her hands) and that she would never produce an heir for him. So he trumped up some charges of adultery against her (with her lute player Mark Smeaton and of all things, with her own brother). The hour that Anne was beheaded, Henry rode off to spend the rest of the day at the Somerset estate with Jane. They were married soon after. Jane produced Edward and died of childbirth fever a few days later.

Unfortunately, Henry Fitzroy died as a young man, so there was no hope of finding a way to legitimatize him and make him Henry's heir. The pressure was really on after that for Henry to produce a male heir. Remember, England had never been ruled by a woman in her own right and the idea of that was unthinkable.


Edward suceeded to the throne after Henry died, but he only ruled a few years and died when he was 17. Mary (Queen Katherine's child and Henry's only child to survive from that marriage) succeeded Edward, with an interval of a few days when the doomed Lady Jane Grey was put on the throne by her power hungry relatives. Jane Grey was executed along with her young husband.

Mary ruled a few very bloody years during which she tried to put England back to Catholicism. When she died, Elizabeth (Queen Anne's daughter from Henry's second marriage) came to the throne and ushered in the age of Gloriana, one of the most brilliant that England has ever had.

Read David Starkey's excellent book on the six wives of Henry the Eighth (website below) and lots and lots of books out there about the House of Tudor (all probably on Amazon).

Answer 3

Henry Fitzroy was King Henry VIII's son by his mistress Bessie Blount in 1519. He was made the Duke of Richmond, married the Duke of Norfolk's daugher, then died in 1536.

Edward VII was Henry VIII's son by his third wife Jane Seymour in 1537.

Answer 4

Here we go, a potted history of Henry VIII.

Henry was married to the following;

Catherine of Aragon (divorced)their child was Mary.
Anne Boleyn (beheaded) their child was Elizabeth.
Jane Seymour (died shortly after giving birth) their child was Edward.
Anne of Cleves (divorced)
Catherine Howard (beheaded)
Catherine Parr (outlived the King)

Catherine of Aragon was a spanish princess who had been married to Henry's brother. When he died, Henry married her. They had many children but some died in infancy and others were still born. Only Mary lived. Henry divorced Catherine when she failed to produce a live male heir. As the pope disagreed with divorce or an annullment, Henry was forced to break from Rome and started the Church of England with him as supreme head.

Henry then married Anne Boleyn. He and Anne had a daughter, Elizabeth. Henry had previously had Anne's sister, Mary as a mistress. He also had a mistress called Bessie Blount who had a son by him. This boy was illegitimate and thus the name Fitzroy was included in his title. Fitzroy was traditionally a name given to royal bastards. Anne, like Catherine was unable to give Henry the male heir he craved so she was dispatched by the headsman. She was arrested and convicted of trumped up adultary and witchcraft charges and beheaded at the Tower of London by a French swordsman. (The axe was not used on important people.

Henry wasted no time in marrying her cousin, Jane Seymour. She and the king produced a male heir named Edward. Jane died just after the Christening from an infection after giving birth.
Henry is burried in Winsor with this particular wife as was his wish.

Later, Henry was coerced into marrying Anne of Cleves who was nicknamed 'the Flanders Mare'. She was an ugly woman and the King was repulsed by her saggy body. He liked his women to be slim with 'pretty little duckies' (breasts). He divorced her and she became known as the King's sister!!!

Henry was now a very fat old man with a painful ulcerous leg. He married Catherine Howard who was a silly young girl who had an affair under the King's nose. He had her beheaded.

Henry's last wife was Catherine Parr. She outlived the King and later married Thomas Seymour.

After Henry's death Edward became king. He died in his teens and was succeeded by Mary I (Henry and Catherine of Aragon's daughter). After Mary's death her sister Elizabeth(daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn) became Queen.

There was a little incident which included Lady Jane Grey between Edward and Mary's reigns but I won't go into that now.

Hope this helps. I've simplified things an awful lot.

Dr David Starkey is a great Tudor historian and I recommend his books.

Answer 5

Edward

Answer 6

"Catherine of Aragon gave birth to their first child, a son named Henry after his father, in January 1511. The child died two months later, and was destined to be the first of many unhappy births the couple would suffer. Henry consoled himself by going to war against France, hoping to emulate his ancestors Edward III and Henry V."

Answer 7

Henry the 8th's legitimate son was named Edward. He may have had an illegitimate son with one of his mistresses, but that is hard to prove.

Answer 8

Click on Yahoo.com and plug in either Kings of England or King Henry V111 and you will find enough links.
Boaz