ON THIS DAY - 22 April 1538
- thedudleywomen
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
On This Day (22 April) in 1538, Sir Thomas Audley, Lord High Chancellor of England, married for a second time; his bride was Lady Elizabeth Grey, a sister of Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, courtier and peer of Henry VIII.
Audley had been appointed as Keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm since May 1532, and Lord Chancellor six months later, following the resignation of Sir Thomas More, due to his strong religious convictions: More had refused to support his old friend Henry VIII's pursuit of the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, in addition to refusing to sign the Oath of Supremacy, which would reject the authority of the Pope in England and recognise the king as the head of the church in England.
Following his appointment to the highest political position in the English government, Audley continued to support Henry's pursuit in his 'Great Matter', looking to invalidate his marriage to Catherine, in order to legally marry Anne Boleyn. He also participated in and oversaw a number of high-profile treason trials, which led to conviction and execution of the accused, including those of Bishop John Fisher, Catholic nun Elizabeth Barton, the men accused of adultery with Anne Boleyn, and his own predecessor Sir Thomas More.
Having no known or surviving children from his first marriage, Audley entered into a second marriage with the younger Elizabeth, who was approximately 25 years his junior. Whilst unconfirmed, she was likely to have been present at court, as her parents had both been. Both parents had been active courtiers at court, during the reign of Henry VIII, with her mother, Margaret Wooton, Dowager Marchioness of Dorset continuing to participant in important court activities into her widowhood, including Anne Boleyn's coronation in 1533, and her daughter Elizabeth's baptism three months later.
A portrait miniature of Elizabeth, the new Lady Audley, was painted by court painter Hans Holbein the Younger, and has been dated to this time; it is believed that it was commissioned by her family in celebration of her marriage, with the original chalk sketch also surviving.
The couple went on to have two daughters: Margaret (b. 1540) and Mary (b.1541). Mary does not appear to have survived adolescence, leaving Margaret as Audley's heir. She also married twice: first to Henry 'Harry' Dudley, son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, in c.Spring 1553, one of a series of arranged political alliances, in preparation for the upcoming regime change with the pending death of Edward VI, and secondly to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk.
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