Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset (21 February 1499 – 19 June 1500) was an English prince, and the sixth child of King

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

and his wife,

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

. He was styled from birth

Duke of Somerset Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours ...

, but never formally created a peer.

Early life

Edmund Tudor was born on 21 February 1499, at

Greenwich Palace Greenwich ( , , ) is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian ...

, Kent. He was baptised in the Church of the Observant Friars on 24 February 1499.Alison Weir, ''Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy'' (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 152 The festivities for the christening were considered very splendid. The child was named Edmund after his paternal grandfather,

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond ( – 3 November 1456), also known as Edmund of Hadham, was the father of King Henry VII of England and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. Born to Sir Owen Tudor and the dowager queen Catherine of V ...

, father of

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry ...

.Stephen, Leslie
''Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 36'' pp. 397–400
MacMillan: London, 1893 His

godparents Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, ...

were his paternal grandmother

Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort ( ; 31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late 15th century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first House of Tudor, Tudor monarch. She was also a second cousin o ...

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Katherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham, Katherine Woodville and nephew of E ...

and

Richard Foxe Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) ( 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, and became also Lor ...

. Lady Margaret Beaufort gave the child a gift of £100 and rewarded the midwife and nurses. Edmund spent some time in the royal nursery of

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 193 ...

with his elder sisters

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and his brother the Duke of York (afterwards

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

). The eldest sibling,

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, did not reside in the nursery with his siblings, as he had his own household. Edmund was present with his elder siblings Margaret, Mary and Henry when

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

and

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

visited the royal nursery at Eltham Palace in September 1499. The seven-month-old Edmund was held in the arms of his nurse during the visit.Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, p. 204.

Duke of Somerset

Edmund is said to have been created Duke of Somerset, but no enrollment of a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

of such creation is to be found. It seems likely that, although he may have been styled Duke of Somerset, he died before he was so created. His elder brother Henry was not created Duke of York until he was above 3 years of age.

Death

Edmund died on 19 June 1500, at

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...

in Hatfield, Hertforshire, aged 15 months. The cause of Edmund's death is unknown, and he could have died of a number of childhood diseases; at the time of his death, however, it is known that the plague was rampant. King Henry and Queen Elizabeth had travelled to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

and stayed for 40 days. The royal children were removed from

to the more remote

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

for isolation. On 16 June, as the plague abated, Henry and Elizabeth sailed to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. It was either during their return or upon their arrival that they received the news of Edmund's death at Hatfield.

Funeral

Edmund was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

, and records indicate that the king gave over £242 for the prince's burial. He was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on 22 June 1500. He is buried near his sisters,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

and, three years later,

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, who also both died young.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Duke of, Tudor, Edmund 1499 births 1500 deaths 15th-century English nobility 16th-century English nobility Burials at Westminster Abbey Children of Henry VII of England Dukes of Somerset English princes House of Tudor English royalty who died as children Sons of kings