6th November 2018
Some of you will be familiar with the phrase 'An Heir and a Spare’. It is still used today, rumoured to be Prince Charles' reaction to the birth of Prince Harry, and supposedly the advice given to Kate Middleton after marriage to Prince William. There are practical reasons for royals to have more than one child but for medieval monarchs, the high rates of infant mortality meant it was essential.
Most people know that Henry VIII was never meant to be king. Only the unexpected death of his brother Arthur, meant he took the crown. But today marks the anniversary of the death of another prince in line to the throne. Henry Frederick was the the first born son of James I and his wife Anne of Denmark. He was a hugely popular prince in England – a charismatic young man who was far more at ease in front of the public than his father James.
While he was not as good as scholar as his brother younger brother Charles, Henry did have wide ranging interests, and was particularly keen on military study. He also kept up to date with national and foreign affairs, and was, all in all, a prince that many had high hopes for.
While Henry had been known for his many physical pursuits, he was noted to be pale and weak in 1612. He attempted to keep up an active lifestyle that included playing tennis for hours and swimming in the Thames, but at just 18-years-old, fell ill with a fever at the end of October in 1612. His condition quickly worsened, and he died on 6 November. While poison was suspected – with some even suspecting that James, jealous of his son’s popularity, was behind his death – it is believed that Henry died from typhoid fever or porphyria. His death was considered a tragedy, and in the years after it he became almost a legend and a symbol for a greatness that had been lost, and an impossible ideal for his father or his younger brother to live up to.
Henry’s death is one of the many ‘what ifs’ of history – if he had survived to become Henry IX of England, would the country still have followed the path to civil war?
Image: Henry, Prince of Wales, after Isaac Oliver, c.1610, NPG 407, © National Portrait Gallery, London