Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (c. 15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536) was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry acknowledged. He was the younger half-brother of Mary I, as well as the older half-brother of Elizabeth I and Edward VI. Through his mother, he was the elder half-brother of Elizabeth, George, and Robert Tailboys. His surname means "son of the king" in Norman French.
Henry FitzRoy was born in June 1519. His mother was Elizabeth Blount, Catherine of Aragon's lady-in-waiting, and his father was Henry VIII. FitzRoy was conceived when Queen Catherine was approaching her last confinement with another of Henry's children, a stillborn daughter born in November 1518. To avoid scandal, Blount was taken from Henry's court to the Augustinian priory of St Laurence at Blackmore near Ingatestone, in Essex.
FitzRoy's birthdate is often given as 15 June 1519, but the exact date is not known.
His birth may have been earlier than predicted. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was out of London from 9 to 18 June when he reappeared back at court in Windsor. The following day he was expected at Hampton Court, but he did not reappear at a council meeting at Westminster until 29 June. The policy of discretion worked, as the baby boy's arrival caused no great stir, and diplomatic dispatches record nothing of Henry VIII's illegitimate son.
The christening of the newborn Henry FitzRoy was not recorded even though Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was his godfather and known to have been present at the event. This puts the date of the christening possibly before 29 June when he reappeared at court. The identity of the other godfather is unknown. Although Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk took a great interest in Henry FitzRoy when he was older, in 1519 he was still the heir to the Dukedom of Norfolk, and styled the Earl of Surrey. If Henry had chosen the House of Howard, he would probably have chosen the elder Thomas Howard, who at the time was the 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Another suggestion for the second godfather could be Henry VIII himself, although it was not normal practice for a parent to stand as godparent to his own child: Henry had taken the role of godfather at the christening of his own nephew, Lord Henry Brandon (who was also the son of Henry's closest friend) in March 1516, and his daughter Princess Mary stood godmother to her half-brother Prince Edward in 1537.
The infant boy was given the surname FitzRoy to make sure that all knew he was son of the King. Henry VIII openly acknowledged the boy, perhaps because he felt that his lack of a male heir was a slur upon his manhood. At one point he proudly exhibited his newborn son to the court.
The boy's upbringing until the moment when he entered Bridewell Palace in June 1525 (six years following his birth) remains shrouded in confusion. Although the boy was illegitimate, this did not mean that young Henry lived remotely from and had no contact with his father. On the contrary, it has been suggested by his biographer, Beverly Murphy, that a letter from a royal nurse implies that FitzRoy had also been part of the royal nursery, and he was often at court after 1530.
In the 16th century, royal and noble households were in a state of constant movement and transition, so it is unlikely that FitzRoy grew up in any one house. He was probably transferred from household to household around London like his royal siblings: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. In 1519, the only surviving legitimate child of the King was the three-year-old Princess Mary. In that year her household was reorganised, suggesting that Henry made some provisions for his only son. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury replaced Lady Margaret Bryan as Mistress of Mary's household. At the same time at least two of Mary's carers appear to have left her service.
It is not impossible that Princess Mary's household could have been reorganised some time before her former servants found posts with Henry FitzRoy.
In addition, the correspondence of the child's first known tutor makes it clear that FitzRoy also received some rudimentary education prior to his elevation to the peerage in 1525. John Palsgrave grumbled loudly that Henry had been taught to recite his prayers in a "barbarous" Latin accent and dismissed the man who had instructed him as "no clerk". Although he was more well known from 1525 and onwards, there is some evidence that he was already in receipt of royal favour even before his ennoblement; this comes from a surviving list of "Wardrobe stuff appointed for my lord Henry". The "Lord Henry" in question is not identified but given that the subject was not considered to require a title and that the list has survived with further documents relating to the household established for Henry FitzRoy after his ennoblement, it would seem reasonable to assume that it is Henry FitzRoy. The familiar way in which he is described as "My Lord Henry" is also interesting and suggests that, amongst the officers close to the King, at least, his existence was hardly a secret. Alternatively, he may have been raised in the north with his mother and her husband Gilbert Tailboys, 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme, and their children.
By 1525, the House of Tudor had been on the throne for 40 years. However, cracks were beginning to appear. By the sixteenth year of his reign, 34-year-old Henry still lacked a male heir with his 40-year-old wife Catherine of Aragon. Their only surviving child and heiress was Princess Mary, who at the time was a girl of nine. Henry, though, had another child, an illegitimate one, a sturdy six-year-old son. Although Henry may have had other illegitimate children, Henry FitzRoy was the only one the King acknowledged. Henry VIII was also the only surviving son of Henry VII. Henry had no surviving younger brother nor any close male relations from his father's family who could be called up to share the burden of government in the King's name. As Henry and Catherine's marriage remained without a son, the king's only living son became more attractive for onlookers to observe. The King's chief minister at the time was Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and since Henry FitzRoy's birth, he had taken an interest in his monarch's only son. In a letter dated June 1525, the Cardinal refers to the King's son: "Your entirely beloved sonne, the Lord Henry FitzRoy".
In 1525, FitzRoy was given his own residence in London, which he was granted by his father: Durham House on the Strand. Since his birth, FitzRoy had remained in the background, although the boy had been brought up in remarkable style and comfort, almost as if he were a prince of the blood and not an acknowledged royal bastard. Such discretion over his son may not have been to the King's taste, and he may have felt his manhood and virility should be publicly demonstrated. He fully made up for his son's quiet birth and equally quiet christening when on 18 June 1525 the six-year-old boy was brought to Bridewell Palace on the western edge of the city of London where honours were showered upon him. That morning of the 18th, the six-year-old Lord Henry FitzRoy travelled by barge from Wolsey's mansion of Durham Place, near Charing Cross, down the River Thames. He came in the company of a host of knights, squires, and other gentlemen. At 9am his barge pulled up at the Watergate and his party made their way through the palace to the king's lodgings on the south side of the second floor. The rooms were richly decorated, with various members of the court and the nobility coming to see FitzRoy's elevation. Among them were numerous bishops, as well as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and the King's brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. During the first ceremony, when he was created Earl of Nottingham, FitzRoy was attended by Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, who carried the sword of state, along with John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, and William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel. Six-year-old Henry knelt before his father as Sir Thomas More read out the patents of nobility. It was the first time since the 12th century that an illegitimate son had been raised to the peerage, when Henry II had created his son William Earl of Salisbury. However, the ceremony was not yet complete. The onlookers watched as the young Lord Nottingham re-emerged into the chamber. The Earl of Northumberland carried the robes; behind him came Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, carrying the sword; the Earl of Arundel, carrying the cap of estate with a circlet; and the Earl of Oxford with a rod of gold. Once again young Henry FitzRoy knelt before his father, and as the patent was read he was invested with the trappings of a duke. This time when he rose to his feet he was Duke of Richmond and Somerset.