Henry VIII Chronology – What Happened in 1511?

An act was passed which stated that all able-bodied men under the age of 60 years were to keep bows and arrows in their houses and they were to regularly practice with the longbow.

Catherine of Aragon was delivered of a son who was named Henry after his father. In celebration guns were fired from the Tower and the city bells were rang. Beacons were lit and free wine was distributed to all Londoners. The infant prince was immediately created Prince of Wales.

Prince Henry was christened at Richmond. His godparents were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Surrey and the Countess of Devon.

Henry visited the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham to give thanks for the birth of his son and heir.

The royal court moved to the Palace of Westminster where banquets and tournaments were held to celebrate the Prince’s birth. The prince remained at Richmond in the care of his nursemaids.

Prince Henry died at Richmond Palace. Both King and Queen were deeply upset.

Prince Henry was given a lavish funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey.

King Henry VIII remained deeply upset by the death of his infant son. To hide his grief he began planning a campaign in France.

A group of Lollards (protestors against overindulgences in the Catholic Church) were found guilty of heresy by Archbishop William Warham. The five men were executed by burning at the stake.

A small naval force commanded by Lord D’Arcy was sent to Spain to assist Ferdinand in his fight against the Moors. However, when by the time they arrived Ferdinand had made peace with the Moors and they sailed for home.

A force of around 1,500 men commanded by Sir Edward Poynings was sent to support Margaret, Regent of the Netherlands, who was under attack by the Duke of Guelders.

Andrew Barton, a Scottish sailor whose father’s ship had been taken by the Portuguese, was given a signed authorisation by King James IV, to take merchandise from Portuguese ships until he had recovered his losses.
Henry VIII was very concerned that this would adversely affect trade because foreign ships would be reluctant to sail into British waters. He sent Thomas and Edward Howard in pursuit of Barton. Barton was killed and his two ships were taken.
When James IV heard the news he sent a letter of grievance to the English king.

Henry VIII and Catherine went on a progress of England.

Thomas Wolsey became a member of the King’s council. Henry was impressed with the way that he handled governmental matters quickly and efficiently.

It was no secret that Henry modelled himself on King Henry V and, like his predecessor, dreamed to becoming King of France. Ferdinand of Spain encouraged Henry knowing that if Henry invaded and defeated France he would not have to and it would save him the money and men.

Jane More, the 23 year old wife of Thomas More, died. She left her husband with four young children to care for.

The Humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus visited London. He stayed in the home of Thomas More.

This League was formed by The Pope, Venice and Spain, all of whom wished to remove the French from Italy. The aims of the League were:
to protect the church
to recover Bologna from the French
to restore to Venice all her conquered territories.
A clause was included in the treaty which gave Papal backing to all Spanish conquests outside Italy.

Thomas More married Alice Middleton, a widow with a daughter. His reasoning for making such a hasty re-marriage was that he needed a mother for his four young children.

Henry VIII joined the Holy League of Spain, Venice and the Pope. He hoped this move would help him to conquer lands in France.

This was signed by Henry VIII and Ferdinand of Spain. The Treaty agreed that both England and Spain would attack France before the end of April 1512. Ferdinand would attack the French in Italy while Henry would invade northern France. A joint Anglo-Spanish force would also attack Aquitaine, a former English vassal state.

King James IV of Scotland was still angry with Henry over the piracy affair. He informed the Pope that the killing of Andrew Barton and the taking of his ships were an act of war on Scotland. As a result the peace between Scotland and England made in 1509 was no longer valid.

Anticipating trouble with Scotland, King Henry VIII recalled the English force commanded by Edward Poynings that had been sent to the Netherlands.