Preview: King Henry VIII Visits an Old Friend in Prison

On Monday, June 19, we'll discuss Henry VIII's visits to his old friend/courtier, Blessed Sebastian Newdigate, held in prison on the king's orders because he would not swear the Oath of Supremacy. It's very appropriate that we remember these events because Monday is the anniversary of Newdigate's martyrdom, along with Humphrey Middlemore and William Exmew on June 19, 1535.

I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show at my usual time: about 6:50 a.m. Central/7:50 a.m. Eastern: please listen live here and/or listen to the podcast later here!

Arrested on May 25, they had been imprisoned in Marshalsea for about a fortnight before their trial at Westminster on June 11. The three were taken before the Privy Council before their trial, refused again to swear Henry's oaths and were condemned to death. While in prison, they were chained at the neck and hand and foot against pillars, unable to move. 

While his former courtier, now a Catholic priest, was in Marshalsea, Henry VIII visited him to try to persuade to swear the oath. It's interesting that according Father Bowden, the king's method of persuasion, other than imprisonment and confinement, is similar to the line of questioning often used in this period, when the issue was the monarch's Supremacy over the Church in England: Why can't you just go along with everyone else? Why do you have a problem with the king being the Supreme Head and Governor of the Church of England? What makes you so special? Do you think you're better, holier, than everyone else?

As Bowden quotes the exchange: after hearing the Henry's bribes and threats, Father Newdigate replied:

In court I served your Majesty loyally and faithfully, and so continue still your humble servant, although kept in this prison and bonds. But in matters that belong to the doctrine of the Catholic Church and the salvation of my poor soul, Your Majesty must excuse me.

Then Henry VIII asked:

Art thou wiser and holier than all the ecclesiastics and seculars of my kingdom?

Father Newdigate's reply:

I may not judge of others, nor do I esteem myself wise or holy, being far short in either; only this: I assure myself that the Faith and doctrine I profess is no new thing, but always among the faithful held for Christians and Catholics. We must obey God rather than men.

Thinking of why Father Bowden assembled these Mementoes of the English Martyrs and Confessors in 1910: it was because he knew Catholics in England then--as Catholics all over the world today--face the same question Henry VIII asked: why do you have to be different from everyone else? 

And Blessed Sebastian Newdigate answered, basing his steadfastness not on himself, but on the Truth he believed in: We must obey God rather than men, quoting the Acts of Apostles (5:29)

Father Bowden titles this memento: "The Whims of a King" with the Psalm verse: "Put not your trust in princes: in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation." (Psalm 145:2-3)

Blessed Sebastian Newdigate, pray for us!

Blessed Humphrey Middlemore, pray for us!

Blessed William Exmew, pray for us!

A Delayed Coronation: Elizabeth of York

Henry VII delayed not only his wedding to Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, until after his coronation (on October 30, 1485), but also her coronation. They were married on January 18, 1486 and she was crowned on November 25, 1487 after their first son and heir, Prince Arthur was born on September 20, 1486. Her coronation may have been delayed but it was appropriately celebrated, according to the Memoir of Elizabeth York in Privy purse expenses of Elizabeth of York: wardrobe accounts of Edward the Fourth, With a memoir of Elizabeth of York edited by Nicholas Harris Nicolas. The ceremonies began on November 23 and continued with her procession from the Tower of London to Westminster on November 24:

On Friday, the 23rd, the Queen left Greenwich by water for her coronation, of which a very interesting narrative is extant [from John Leland]. Arrayed in the robes of royalty, she was accompanied by the Countess of Richmond, her mother-in-law, and by an extensive retinue of peers and peeresses, and was escorted by the Lord-mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of London. Each Company furnished elegant barges, decorated with silk banners and streamers, richly emblazoned with the arms and badges, and rowed by men dressed in the proper liveries, of the respective crafts. Amidst the various objects of attraction, the Bachelor's barge claimed particular notice for its superior splendour, and from its carrying a red dragon, the ensign of the house of Tudor, which spouted fire into the Thames. Music of all kinds lent its aid to enliven the scene, and, thus attended, her Majesty arrived at the Tower. As she entered it, she was received by the King in the most gracious manner, or, to use the words of the narrator himself, "the King's highness welcomed her in such manner and form, as was to all the estates and others there being present a very good sight, and right joyous and comfortable to behold." Eleven Knights of the Bath were then created; and on the next day, after dinner, her Majesty being "royally apparelled, in a kirtle of white cloth of gold of damask, and a mantle of the same suit, furred with ermine, fastened before her breast with a great lace, curiously wrought of gold and silk, and rich knobs of gold at the end, tasselled; her fair yellow hair hanging down plain behind her back, with a call of pipes over it, and wearing on her head a circle of gold, richly garnished with precious stones," quitted her chamber of state. Her train was borne by her sister, the Lady Cecily, and being attended by a great retinue of lords, ladies, and others, she entered her litter, in which she was conveyed to Westminster.

On November 25, her coronation as Queen Consort took place:

The next morning she was arrayed in a kirtle and mantle of purple velvet, furred with ermine laced in front, and wore in her hair a circle of gold richly set with pearls and other jewels. In this dress, she proceeded to Westminster Hall, where she remained under a canopy of state until the procession was ready. From the place where she stood to the pulpit in the Abbey the ground was covered with new ray cloth, and the struggle of the crowd to cut it to pieces after she passed was extremely great. The Earl of Arundel bore the staff with the dove, the Duke of Suffolk the sceptre, and the Duke of Bedford, who was bareheaded, the crown. On one side, her Majesty was supported by the Bishop of Winchester, and on the other, by the Bishop of Ely, and she was immediately followed by the Princess Cecily, who held her train. In this order she entered the west door of Westminster Abbey, and took her seat near the pulpit, when the usual ceremonies were performed; after which she returned to the Palace at Westminster. The King was a spectator from a handsome latticed stage, between the pulpit and the high altar, where also stood his mother, and many other ladies of rank.

Notice that there's no description of "the usual ceremonies"! This blog provides some information, based upon the last coronation of a Queen Consort performed in England on May 12, 1937, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the present Queen Elizabeth II's parents, were crowned:

Once the King receives the Sovereign’s Ring, the Sceptre and the Rod, the Archbishop places St Edward’s Crown on the Sovereign’s head and prayers start. If there is a Queen Consort, she is crowned at this point in a very simple ceremony immediately before homage is paid: the Queen is Crowned and anointed under the same canopy which was used for the King. Just like the King, the Queen Consort also has her Crown (typically, a new one made for her) and the Coronation Ring (the Consort’s Ring). Once the short ceremony is over, the Communion interrupted earlier is resumed and completed.

That coronation took place in the context of the King Regnant's ceremony, however. King Henry VIII had Anne Boleyn crowned as Queen Consort on June 1, 1533 but this description is rather lacking in detail too:

She prostrated herself before the High Altar, then, once more on her feet, received the Crown of St Edward, the rod and the sceptre, from the Archbishop of Canterbury. A Te Deum was sung, before Anne returned to preside over the extravagant coronation feast at Westminster Hall.

Like his father, Henry VIII waited until Anne was delivered of a baby who seemed likely to survive (the Princess Elizabeth) before crowning her. The changes that had taken place in England between 1487 and 1533 are remarkable, however, especially in religious practice and context.

Henry VIII's Wrath

Advance notice: I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show Tuesday morning about 7:50 Eastern time/6:50 Central to discuss Henry VIII's reaction to an abbot who didn't want to surrender his monastery peacefully. We'll base our conversation on this National Catholic Register post:

Even Fox News reported on the letter Henry VIII dictated in October 1536, demanding the most horrific punishment of an abbot of a small monastery in the northwest of England: he wanted him to be hanged, drawn, and quartered and the quarters displayed prominently as warnings to any who would oppose the will of Henry VIII. Then he changed his mind: the abbot should just be hanged. The secretary who took the king’s dictation crossed out the first punishment and then must have copied the letter and sent it.

The letter, on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, is on display at the Norton Priory Museum and Gardens in Cheshire. The museum, which opened in 2016, features “the most excavated monastic site in Europe. Boasting the ruins of an Abbey, 12th century undercroft and an 18th century Walled Garden, it is located within an oasis of tranquil woodland and wildflower meadows. The new museum displays thousands of artefacts (sic) from Norton’s 900 year history including the internationally significant 14th century statue of St Christopher.”

Norton Priory was a house of Augustinian Canons Regular, following the Rule of St. Augustine of Hippo, living in community and observing the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity and common property. The Canons Regular first came to in England during the twelfth century and established many houses, more than the Benedictines. Because St. Augustine had written his Rule for a community of priests with active ministries, the Augustinian Canons Regular throughout England served the spiritual needs of their neighbors, developing close relationships with them.

What had the Abbot of St. Mary’s Priory in Norton done to make Henry VIII so vindictively angry?

Read the rest there and listen live here tomorrow morning!