Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (d. March 3, 1542) was an illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England.
He was born in France at Calais, between 1461 and 1475, and died at the Tower of London, where he is buried. The identity of his mother is uncertain; the most likely candidate appears to be the "wanton wench" Elizabeth Wayte, although the historical record is spotty on this issue, and it is not entirely clear that Wayte is distinct from another of Edward's mistresses, Dame Elizabeth Lucy.[1] Dame Lucy is another possible candidate, as is Jane Shore.[2]His godfather was Thomas Fitzalan, 16th Earl of Arundel.
Arthur married twice in his life. His first marriage was on November 12, 1511, to Elizabeth Dudley, Baroness Lisle, daughter of Edward Grey, Viscount Lisle. Elizabeth was the widow of Edmund Dudley, treasurer to Henry VII, who had been executed in 1509 by Henry VIII. Elizabeth de Lisle, a descendant of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, was the mother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Plantagenet had three daughters by Elizabeth, Bridget, Elizabeth, and Frances Plantagenet.
Arthur's second marriage was in 1529 to Honor Grenville, (1493-1566) the widow of Sir John Basset, and daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville by his first wife, Isabella Gilbert.
Overshadowed by a host of legitimate male relatives, Arthur only achieved prominence under the Tudor dynasty. In 1514 he was captain of the Vice-Admiral's ship "Trinity Sovereign", rising to become Vice-Admiral of England. In 1520, he attended his nephew, King Henry VIII, at the Field of Cloth of Gold. On the April 25, 1523, Henry VIII created the title of Viscount Lisle and granted it to Arthur. He was also to be selected Sheriff of Hampshire, Privy Councilor, Governor of Calais, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and was named as deputy of Calais after the death of John Bouchier, Lord Berners on March 16, 1533.
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicion of treason on May 19, 1540 on the charge of plotting to betray Calais to the French. He was acquitted, but is reported to have died of an heart attack upon receiving the verdict. His widow, Honor, was buried at Logan, Cornwall 30 Apr 1566.
Six volumes of Plantagenet's letters, known as the "Lisle Letters", survive to the present day. These were collated as a body of evidence in the trial that followed Lisle's accusation of treason. Beginning with his elevation to the position of deputy of Calais, they culminate with his confinement in the Tower of London. [3]
| Preceded by: Sir Thomas Cheney |
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1539–1542 |
Succeeded by: Sir Thomas Seymour |
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Viscount Lisle 1523–1542 |
Succeeded by: Title extinct |
Further reading
- Muriel St. Clare Byrne, ed.: The Lisle Letters (University of Chicago Press, 1983) ISBN 0226088006
