Sir Anthony Browne (29 June 1443 – c. 17 November 1506) was the son of

Sir Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 19 October 1605 – 19 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a ...

and Eleanor FitzAlan. He served as standard-bearer to Henry VII, and Lieutenant of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

Career

Anthony Browne, born at

Betchworth Castle Betchworth Castle is a mostly crumbled ruin of a fortified medieval stone house with some tall, two-storey corners strengthened in the 18th century, in the north of the semi-rural parish of Brockham. It is built on a sandstone spur overlooking ...

, was a younger son of

and Eleanor FitzAlan, daughter of

Thomas Fitzalan Sir Thomas FitzAlan (died 1430) of Betchworth Castle in Surrey was a medieval English knight. He was the 2nd son of John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel and Elizabeth le Despenser of Betchworth. Thomas was the younger brother of John Fitzalan, 3rd B ...

, third son of John de Arundel, 2nd Baron Arundel (d. 14 August 1390), and

Elizabeth le Despenser Elizabeth Despenser (died 10 April/11 April 1408) was an English noblewoman of the late 14th century. She should not be confused with Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley, who was her great-aunt and who was the daughter of her great-gran ...

(d. 10/11 April 1408). He was a younger brother of Sir George Browne. During the reign of Henry VII, he was

Standard Bearer of England The Standard Bearer of England was once an important office within the English army, especially during the times when Kings were still present on the battlefield. As standard-bearer Henry de Essex was greatly chastised when he threw down the Engl ...

,Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage,'' 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 17. Governor of

Queenborough Castle Queenborough Castle, also known as Sheppey Castle, is a 14th-century castle, the remnants of which are in the town of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent in England. The castle and the associated planned town were built on the orders of King ...

, and

Constable of Calais The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castl ...

. He died at

in 1506, aged 63.

Wife's political activity

His second wife, Lucy Neville, was an unswerving supporter of the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...

. In the reign of Henry VII, Lucy was noted as one who "loves not the King", and was said to be actively promoting the rival claim to the throne of her cousin

Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, 6th Earl of Suffolk, KG (c. 147130 April 1513), Duke of Suffolk, was a son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth of York. Although the male York line ended with the death of Edw ...

. This, combined with her husband's possession of a crucial fortress, was a constant worry to supporters of Henry VII: John Flamank's report of a secret conversation between several officials in Calais in 1504, on the likely sequel, if the King should die, referred to the risk that she would seize Calais and hold it in Suffolk's name. The heavy fine imposed on her in 1507, although the pretext was her late husband's neglect of duty, was very likely a warning by the Crown not to meddle in politics. She appears to have heeded the warning and lived peacefully until her death in 1534.

Marriages and issue

Sir Anthony Browne married firstly Eleanor Ughtred, daughter of Sir Robert Ughtred (c. 1428 - c. 1487) of

Kexby, North Yorkshire Kexby is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Derwent and on the A1079 road about east of York not far from the East Riding of Yorkshire border. The village ...

, and Katherine Eure, daughter of Sir William Eure, by whom he had an only daughter, Anne Browne, who married

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, (22 August 1545) was an English military leader and courtier. Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was brother-in-law to King Henry VIII. Biography Charles Brandon was the second ...

. He married secondly Lucy Neville, widow of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam of Aldwark, North Yorkshire,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and daughter of

John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (c. 1431 – 14 April 1471) was a major magnate of fifteenth-century England. He was a younger son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and the younger brother of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwic ...

, and Isabel Ingaldesthorpe, by whom he had two sons and two daughters: * Sir Anthony Browne (1500–1548); a courtier to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. *Henry Browne. *

Elizabeth Browne, Countess of Worcester Elizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester ( Browne; died 1565) was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn and the main informant against her. She may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII. Early life Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir Anthony Bro ...

, who married, as his second wife,

Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester (26 November 1549) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester and Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert. On his father's death on 15 April 1526, he succeeded as the ...

. She was the principal witness against

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, and there were rumours that she had been a mistress of Henry VIII. *Lucy Browne, who married firstly John Cutts, and secondly Thomas Clifford.

Notes

References

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External links

Sir Anthony Browne, Knight
Family tree {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Anthony 1443 births 1506 deaths Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 16th-century English people

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...

English knights 15th-century English people