Birth of Edmund Tudor – Duke of Somerset
Henry VII and his Queen, Elizabeth of York, had four children ~ Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.
However, Elizabeth actually had eight children in total, but only those four would survive childhood.
Elizabeth of York was a very fertile queen, but many of her children died young.
Such was the case of young Edmund, Duke of Somerset.
It had been nearly three years since the birth of Princess Mary, and by May of 1498, Elizabeth was pregnant again.
Due to records of payments to physicians, the pregnancy appears to have been difficult for the 33 year old Queen.
In February of 1499, Elizabeth went into seclusion at Greenwich Palace to await the birth.
The delivery was easy, and a healthy prince was born on 21st February, Elizabeth’s sixth child.
For unknown reasons, Elizabeth was very ill after the birth, which caused great concern for her physicians and family.
The new son was welcomed and celebrated by all, and Elizabeth did eventually recover.
The silver font was brought to Greenwich from Canterbury, and the baptism was performed on February 24th.
The festivities for the christening were considered very splendid.
The baby was named Edmund after his grandfather, Edmund Tudor, father of King Henry VII.
The baby’s grandmother, Margaret Beaufort was godmother, and she gave the little prince a gift of £100.
Edmund was raised in the nursery of Eltham Palace, with his elder siblings.
In the early summer of 1500, plague was epidemic, so the children were removed to the more remote palace of Hatfield in Hertfordshire, for isolation.
Hatfield is the place where Prince Edmund’s niece, the future Queen Elizabeth I, learned of her accession to the throne of England in 1558.
During this time, King Henry and Queen Elizabeth had travelled to Calais on business.
On their return, they received the heartbeaking news that baby Prince Edmund had died at Hatfield.
He had passed away on 19th June 1500, aged 15 months.
It is possible he died of the plague, or he may have succumbed to any number of childhood illnesses, or cot death.
The Privy Purse records for the king, indicate over £242 were given for the burial of Edmund.
He was given a state funeral, fit for a little prince.
The tiny child’s body was laid in a new chest covered with white damask, decorated with a red velvet cross along with his effigy crowned with a circlet.
The coffin and effigy travelled from Hatfield to London in a chariot covered with black, and pulled by six horses also covered in black.
The Lord Mayor and London guildsmen, lined the streets as the procession passed.
The King, dressed in blue mourning robes, waited for the coffin to arrive at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth may have been there too, but as no record of her attendance is listed, we can’t be sure.
The coffin was brought into the Abbey on a hearse.
A dirge was sung and the lords kept watch overnight.
On 22nd June, Mass was observed, and the coffin was buried in the Confessor’s Chapel.
There is no record of a monument being installed to mark Edmund’s place of burial.
It was a sad end for another Tudor heir.
Painting depicting the visit of Erasmus and Thomas More to the royal Tudor nursery at Eltham in the summer of 1499.
Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset can be seen in the arms of a nanny.
Painted by Frank Cadogan Cowper, 1910.
