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From video: Why did Henry VIII treat his daughter-in-law so badly? Biography of Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond
Published: January 12, 2026
Video Description
Imagine being Henry VIII’s daughter-in-law and Anne Boleyn’s cousin!
In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling, I look at the life of Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset who married Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond in 1533. I’ll discuss her birth into the powerful Howard family, her place at court during the Queenship of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, her role in the baptism of Elizabeth I in 1533 and how Anne and King Henry manoeuvred the teenage Mary into a marriage with the King’s son by his former mistress, Bessie Blount, just months later.
I’ll then discuss what happened to Mary Fitzroy, Duchess of Richmond after both her royal cousin and her husband died in quick succession in 1536 and explain how and why Henry VIII treated his daughter-in-law so poorly, refusing to recognise her status or pay her dowry for years and forcing Mary to sell her jewellery to raise money. You’ll hear about how Mary fought for her rights as a member of the royal family against not just Henry, but also his other son, Edward VI and daughter Mary I and how she converted to Protestantism despite her family’s objections.
I’ll also look at the portrait of Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond by Hans Holbein the Younger, discuss her literary patronage and hear how she was nearly married to Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley, who later wed Queen Catherine Parr and was accused of inappropriate conduct with the young Elizabeth I. finally we’ll discuss Mary’s death and burial in St Michael's Church, Framlingham, Suffolk, next to the boy she’d married decades earlier, yet never even slept with.
Whether you're a fan of Tudor documentaries, passionate about forgotten women in history, or just love historical deep dives, this video is for you.
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YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
THE LIFE OF HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF RICHMOND AND SOMERSET
https://youtu.be/LGb-dtxSvks
WHO WAS BESSIE BLOUNT? HENRY VIII’S MISTRESS
https://youtu.be/7BkXXfDqFJE
TRAGIC DEATH AND BURIAL OF PRINCE ARTHUR
https://youtu.be/M7izXFVPG1M
THE SHORT LIFE OF PRINCE HENRY TUDOR, DUKE OF CORNWALL
https://youtu.be/7F6WYqzGURk
LEARN MORE
Beverley A. Murphy, B**stard Prince: Henry VIII's Lost Son (2004)
https://amzn.to/43P9TWH
Elizabeth Norton, Bessie Blount: Mistress to Henry VIII (2013)
https://amzn.to/3xMQhXu
Elizabeth Heale (ed.), The Devonshire Manuscript: A Women’s Book of Courtly Poetry
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/D/bo23515938.html
[FREE] The social edition of the Devonshire manuscript
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Devonshire_Manuscript
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