Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1484-22 August 1545) was Lord President of the Council from 1530 to 1545, preceding William Paulet. He was the closest friend and brother-in-law of King Henry VIII of England, having married his sister, Mary Tudor. The Duke of Suffolk also served as a general of England during the Italian Wars, commanding English troops in France on two occasions. His granddaughter, Lady Jane Grey, was Queen of England for nine days in 1553.
Biography[]
The Duke in 1536
Charles Brandon was the son of King Henry VII of England's standard-bearer, who was slain by Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was brought up at King Henry's court and became a great favorite to King Henry VIII of England, who made him Master of the Horse in 1513. In 1515, Brandon married Mary Tudor, King Henry's sister. He was banished from the court by King Henry for marrying Mary without his permission, but the King was later persuaded by William Compton to allow Brandon to return to court; Brandon earned his place back at court after defeating King Henry in an arm-wrestling match. After Mary's death from complications following the sweating sickness, he remarried to Catherine Willoughby, a former ward of his whom he had intended to marry to his late son Henry. Brandon, a notorious womanizer, had trouble staying loyal to both of his wives, which would cause friction with both of them.
Military career[]
The Duke in 1542
Brandon distinguished himself at the sieges of Therouanne and Tournai in 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai, and he was created Duke of Suffolk by King Henry a year later. His status as Duke of Suffolk allowed for him to be appointed a diplomat to European monarchs, and it also gave him land and title. In 1523, he was sent to command the English troops in Calais, and he laid waste the north of France during the Italian War of 1521-26. In 1524, he was appointed Earl Marshal of England, but he relinquished the office to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in 1533. King Henry gave the Duke of Suffolk command of the royal army sent to crush the Pilgrimage of Grace uprising in Yorkshire in 1536, and the Duke of Suffolk offered a pardon to the rebels. However, the King told him to disregard his promises and brutally crush the uprising, and the Duke of Suffolk reluctantly carried out these orders, although he executed his orders without pause. In 1544, he commanded another invasion of France during the Italian War of 1542-46, during which he turned a captured French soldier, Brigitte Rousselot, into his chief mistress (he had been separated from his wife since 1536). Unfortunately, Suffolk died in Guildford, Surrey in 1545, shortly after returning home from one last visit to Henry VIII's court.
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