A Rough Wooing

By Gerald Urwin

Henry VIII could barely control his anger. How dare those wretched Scots refuse his offer to marry off his own dear son, Edward, to their Princess Mary? Where do they think they will get a better offer. No doubt it is her mother, Marie de Guise, who is behind their refusal. A French woman at the head of the Scottish Court! This calls for a firm hand. “Send the army north and let them wreak havoc.”

But it was a chastened English army that returned to Berwick in 1549. Over a thousand of their number would never return. Eighteen months they had endured behind fortress walls. They had found they were fighting not only the Scots but the French army in their thousands as well. Nor had they achieved their objective of capturing Mary. Instead she was safely landed in France, poised to marry the Dauphin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781398449299

Gerald Urwin

The author began writing upon retiring from his previous occupation as a college lecturer. At first he concentrated on the local history of Haddington, where he lived. After some early success he switched to writing a thriller and then to short stories. His latest effort is a historical account of Henry VIII’s foiled attempt to marry off his son Edward to Mary Queen of Scots.

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About the Author

The author began writing upon retiring from his previous occupation as a college lecturer. At first he concentrated on the local history of Haddington, where he lived. After some early success he switched to writing a thriller and then to short stories. His latest effort is a historical account of Henry VIII’s foiled attempt to marry off his son Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots.

Gerald Urwin

A Rough Wooing

Copyright © Gerald Urwin 2021

The right of Gerald Urwin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398449275 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398449282 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781398449299 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2021

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the memory of my late wife, Margaret

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are due to –

Angus McBride of Osprey Publishers, for the portraits of military personnel

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery for their portraits of Marie de Guise and Sir James Wilford

Chapter One

Did not so much mislike the (English) match as the rough manner of wooing.

Earl of Huntly

Henry VIII, King of England, Wales and Ireland, was a man convinced of his assured role. He had fallen out with Rome over its failure to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, because of her failure to produce a male heir. Henry, with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell, member of Council, made himself Supreme Head of the English Church and lost no time in attacking what he claimed was the unnatural presence of Roman Catholicism by the dissolution of monasteries, nunneries and friaries. He decreed that the Bible should be read in English and ordered an English version to be published.

In the last few years of his life, Henry VIII endured constant bouts of ill-health. From 1528 he had been afflicted with ulcers on both legs, which were probably varicose ulcers resulting from riding – he particularly enjoyed jousting, even though he had several nasty falls – whilst considerably overweight. He weighed over thirty stone in his later years and had a waistline in excess of fifty inches. A block and tackle was employed to lift him on and off his horse. In 1538 he was severely ill with a blood clot on the lungs and his life hung in the balance for a few days. Only his robust constitution – he enjoyed exercise of any description – saved him. In March 1541 he had an attack of fever, which was repeated in March 1544 and again in February 1546, an attack which lasted for three weeks. Throughout it all, Henry continued to eat and drink at a prodigious rate.

In Scotland, James V had married Marie de Guise, the daughter of Claude, the first Duke of Lorraine, in St Andrews in June 1538. Within four years their two sons had died, leaving them with a daughter, Mary, born at Linlithgow Palace on 8 December 1542, who was six days old when her father died at Falkland Palace .

Henry spotted his opportunity. By marrying his young son, Edward, Prince of Wales, to the newly born Mary, he would ensure that they would be monarchs of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In short, Britain itself.

James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, became Regent and Governor of Mary when her father died. As the great grandson of James II he was also heir-presumptive to the throne. James was a vacillating, chronically indecisive figure. He initially agreed to the Treaty of Greenwich (1543) by which the young Queen was betrothed to the six-year-old Edward, so fulfilling Henry’s plans to unify the two kingdoms. However, on returning to Scotland, Arran was criticised by Cardinal Beaton and Lennox and changed his mind. News of this volte-face reached Henry and caused him to fly into an apoplectic rage. He had intended to bring Mary up in the English court, in preparation for marriage to his son.

Meanwhile, Arran had also changed from Protestant to Catholic on 9 September 1543. For safety’s sake, Mary was moved to Stirling Castle to be crowned Queen at the age of nine months.

On 15 December 1543, Scotland entered into a treaty of alliance with France. Henry’s patience ran out. In May 1544, he sent the Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, with an army of 20,000 to invade Scotland and carry out a scorched-earth policy. In February the Scots repelled the English at the Battle of Ancrum Moor, but, undaunted, Hertford was back again in September. He led a violent raid and totally destroyed 7 religious houses, 14 castles and 50 villages. The Borders were devastated. Henry had decided to constrain the Scots by force.

The King’s health continued to deteriorate. On 26 December 1546 his will was read out. Hertford, soon to become the Duke of Somerset, was made Protector of the young King, Edward. On the 28th of January 1547, Henry died.

Hertford, now Somerset, continued the policy of constraint. He invaded Scotland again in August of 1547. On 10 September the Scots and English armies faced each other on Pinkie Cleugh.

The English army, about 16,000, comprised cavalry, artillery and naval support lying off the coast. Arran led about 36,000 Scots. They held a strong position barring the road to Edinburgh. The English were spread out from Fa’side to the beach. Arran, always irresolute, abandoned the position his army held. He mistook the manoeuvring of the English for a retreat and ordered a general attack. The English artillery took a dreadful toll. Arran again mistook the regrouping of Huntly’s troops as evidence of treachery. At the same time the Highlanders grew bored at a lack of action and turned their attention to seeking what plunder they could find. When the English charged a general rout of the Scots followed in which some 15,000 were slain and a further 1500 taken prisoner. The English lost 500.

Henry8.jpg

Henry VIII

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James Hamilton, Second Earl of Arran

Chapter Two

In the summer of 1547, Sir William Grey, Governor of Berwick and Warden of the East Marches, came with his army and laid siege to Yester Castle which lay three miles to the south west of Haddington. The besieged garrison, comprising both Scots and Spanish mercenaries, offered a stout defence until Lord Grey brought up his great cannons.